Cuff Electrode Contact Assembly for Nerve Bundle Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cuff electrodes used for recording and applying electrical signals to nerve bundles face challenges in maintaining stable and even mechanical contact, as they can experience asymmetrical stress and deformation due to external forces, potentially leading to irreversible damage to the nerve fibers.
Innovation Solution
A cuff electrode design featuring a biocompatible, flexible film carrier substrate with a contact assembly made of non-flexible material, such as ceramic, that is firmly joined to the carrier substrate along a dimensionally stable region, ensuring even force transmission and preventing asymmetrical winding geometry, thereby minimizing shear forces on the nerve bundle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cuff electrode is loosely wound around the nerve fiber bundle to allow dynamic radial expansion, then the cuff electrode can adapt to natural changes in shape of the nerve fiber bundle, but external forces can significantly deform its winding geometry and expose the nerve fiber bundle to considerable mechanical stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The cuff electrode uses a flexible film carrier substrate that can be wound around the nerve bundle, providing both flexibility for adaptation and structural integrity for protection. The film structure allows dynamic radial expansion while maintaining a protective enclosure that distributes external forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The overlapping carrier substrate regions create a layered structure that acts as a cushioning mechanism, distributing external mechanical forces across multiple layers and preventing concentrated stresses on the nerve bundle.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the carrier substrate regions are overlapped through winding to lie on each other in a loosely sliding manner, then the cuff electrode can dynamically expand radially, but the loose winding geometry becomes vulnerable to deformation under external forces
Solution Approach 1:
The contact assembly merges multiple functions: it provides stable anchoring of the electrical lines to the carrier substrate, creates a firm joining region that prevents unwinding, and distributes forces evenly across the wound structure to maintain geometric stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact assembly acts as an intermediary element between the flexible carrier substrate and the rigid electrical lines, providing a transition zone that allows the flexible substrate to move while maintaining stable electrical connections and preventing deformation.
3Ease of operation
If the electrical lines extend within the polyimide film to a side edge area spatially separated from the wound region, then the electrical connections can be made to the supply unit, but the electrical lines are vulnerable to tensile forces from body movements
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical lines are pre-positioned and integrated within the carrier substrate during manufacturing, with their paths planned to minimize stress exposure. The contact assembly is pre-configured to receive and secure the lines before implantation, ensuring proper alignment and stress distribution from the outset.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention has a contact assembly including a spatial longitudinal extension which is orientated parallel to the winding axis. The contact assembly is fixedly joined to the carrier substrate along a joining region which has a joining region length orientated in parallel to the winding axis. The orthogonal projection relative to the winding axis overlaps with a first region of the carrier substrate which is wound into a tube.