de Neufville Donaldson, Nicholas; (1990) The Electrical Design of an Implantable Stimulator to Restore Motor Control to the Paralysed. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Multichannel implantable stimulators are being developed which will enable many motor nerves to be stimulated independently. It is hoped that, when implanted in patients with spinal cord injuries, and used as part of suitable control systems, these devices will deliver patterns of stimulation so as, for example, to restore gait to paraplegics or grasp to tetraplegics. The new implantable stimulator is to be powered by radio-frequency magnetic Induction from one transmitter coil. This must provide stabilised voltages for the stimulus pulses and for the implant's power supply. It must also carry signals which specify the stimulus pulse widths. It is desirable that these requirements should be met for a wide range of coupling coefficient, between the transmitter and the receiver coils, so that the transmitter need only be placed approximately in apposition to the implant. Also, the efficiency should be reasonably high as the energy must be derived from a battery carried by the user. In the theoretical section of the thesis, a set of design formulae are presented for inductive links, and their properties are investigated. Rve methods of voltage stabilization are compared, particularly with respect of their energy losses. The need for high efficiency and the fact that components in the implant should be of small volume constrain the method of signalling. The stimulator should be reliable and safe: the ramifications of these requirements are considered. A design is presented which has severed novel features. The performance of the prototype is measured and the design is assessed.

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