Pulsatile spinal cord surrogate for intradural neuromodulation studies

Abstract

We have designed, built and tested a novel spinal cord surrogate that mimics the low-amplitude cardiac-driven pulsations of the human spinal cord, for use in developing intradural implants to be used in a novel form of neuromodulation for the treatment of intractable pain and motor system dysfunction. The silicone surrogate has an oval cross section, 10 mm major axis × 6 mm minor axis, and incorporates a 3 mm diameter × 3 cm long angioplasty balloon that serves as the pulsation actuator. When pneumatically driven at 1 Hz and 1.5 atmospheres (≈ 1140 mm Hg), the surrogate’s diametric pulsation is ≈ 100 μm, which corresponds well to in vivo observations. The applications for this surrogate are presented and discussed.

Keywords::

• Spinal cord
• Neuromodulation
• Tissue surrogates
• Pial surface
• Intradural devices

Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues D. J. O’Connell (Neuroventures LLC), R. S. Nelson, R. Shurig and S. Scott (Evergreen Medical Technologies LLC), and S. Sheehan (University of Iowa) for several useful discussions. This work was funded in part by the University of Iowa GIVF Seed Funds program and the University of Virginia Biomedical Innovation Fund., and also in part by the Kopf Family Foundation, Inc.

Declaration of interest: Authors Howard, Brennan, Dalm, Utz and Gillies may receive patent royalties from any commercial licensing of the Iowa-Patch^™ intellectual properties that might be negotiated by their respective institutions.

Notice of correction:

This paper published online in issue Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, 2012; 36(1): 22–25 contained several errors which have now been corrected in this version. The publisher would like to apologize to the authors and readers for any inconvenience caused.