Wireless implant for motor function recovery after spinal cord injury
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsYi-Kai Lo, Wentai Liu, Victor R. Edgerton, Chih-Wei Chang
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Abstract
A wireless implant and associated system for motor function recovery after spinal cord injury, and more particularly a multi-channel wireless implant with small package size. The wireless implant can further be used in various medical applications, such as retinal prostheses, gastrointestinal implant, vagus nerve stimulation, and cortical neuromodulation. The system also includes a method and its implementation to acquire the impedance model of the electrode-tissue interface of the implant.
Claims10
An implantable epidural spinal stimulator apparatus for motor function recovery, comprising:
- (a) an implantable stimulator circuit configured for coupling to a neural network of an organism;
- (b) a flexible epidural electrode array coupled to the implantable stimulator circuit comprising a plurality of electrodes;
- (c) wherein said implantable stimulator circuit comprises a controller, memory and application software stored in said memory along with one or more stimulation parameters for:
- (i) generating one or more electrical pulses for epidural electrical stimulation of inter-neurons within the target treatment region to reengage a neural network connecting the brain and spinal cord;
- (ii) receiving bio-impedance data of the target treatment region via the electrode array;
- and
- (iii) performing real time adjustment of the stimulation parameters as a function of the acquired bio-impedance data or recorded physiological signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.