PubMed HealthSearch

PubMed · 1813741

Injectable microstimulator for functional electrical stimulation.

Abstract

A family of digitally controlled devices is constructed for functional electrical stimulation in which each module is an hermetically sealed glass capsule that is small enough to be injected through the lumen of a hypodermic needle. The overall design and component characteristics of microstimulators that receive power and command signals by inductive coupling from a single, externally worn coil are described. Each device stores power between stimulus pulses by charging an electrolytic capacitor formed by its two electrodes, made of sintered, anodised tantalum and electrochemically activated iridium, respectively. Externally, a highly efficient class E amplifier provides power and digitally encoded command signals to control the amplitude, duration and timing of pulses from up to 256 such microstimulators.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

G E Loeb, C J Zamin, J H Schulman, P R Troyk. 1991. Injectable microstimulator for functional electrical stimulation.. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02446097

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

Mitochondrially-imported cytoplasmic tRNA(Lys)(CUU) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: in vivo and in vitro targetting systems.

The cytoplasmic tRNA(Lys)(CUU) (tRNA(1Lys)) is the single yeast tRNA species to be traffiked from the cytoplasm into the mitochondrial compartment of the cell. To study mechanisms of this targetting we worked out two test systems. The in vivo system based on the electroporation of intact yeast cells was used to introduce labelled tRNAs into the cytoplasm. All tRNA species tested were effectively introduced into the cytoplasm, but only the cytoplasmic tRNA(1Lys) was found in the mitochondrial compartment within 1-2 hours after the electroporation procedure. The in vitro system permits specific transfer of the tRNA(1Lys) into isolated mitochondria. Contrary to the known systems for protein transport into isolated mitochondria, mitochondrial import of tRNA(1Lys) in vitro requires the presence of soluble cellular proteins in the reaction mixture. The translocation proved to be ATP-dependent and to require the presence of an ATP-generation system in the reaction. Preincubation of the tRNA with the total cellular extract of the cell markedly increases the rate of the translocation. Two protein fractions are necessary to direct the import in vitro. The first one has high heparin-binding affinity, while the other protein fraction is not retained by heparin-Sepharose.

Electric Stimulation