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, 10mm major axis×6mm minor axis, and incorporates a 3mm diameter×3cm long angioplasty balloon that serves as the pulsation actuator. When pneumatically driven at 1 Hz and 1.5 atmospheres (≈ 1140mm 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. © 2012 Informa UK, Ltd.