Wireless Devices for Peripheral Nerve Stimulation and Recording

Treatment of neurological disorders by neuromodulation has expanded the market for peripheral nerve stimulators and recording devices. While wireless powering can extend the life of these devices, the development risks associated with custom solutions have emerged as a barrier. We describe circuit designs for miniaturized stimulation and recording devices built only using commercial off-the-shelf components. We have used these circuit designs to build a human grade wireless nerve stimulation system that is not only small but also has no battery or leads, greatly reducing the risks associated with other devices available in the market. The implanted device can be programmed wirelessly to deliver charge balanced biphasic current pulses of varying amplitudes, pulse widths, frequencies and train durations. We have tested the device on the bench and in acute in vivo settings to demonstrate the reliability and efficacy of the stimulation. We have also conducted a chronic safety study in dogs to show that the device is safe to be implanted in humans. The results establish the potential of this device to advance the emerging field of closed loop neuromodulation systems.