Development of a Miniaturized Biphasic Constant-Current Charge-Balanced Stimulator for Freely Moving Animals

Abstract

Neurological disorders are diseases that target the central and peripheral nervous system. These disorders include Alzheimer, Parkinson’s disease and other dementias. Common treatment for some neurological disorders are drugs and when this method is not so effective, the next method is electrical stimulation, where a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) device is surgically implanted. In spite of extensive application in humans and research in animals, the mechanisms of DBS remain unclear. This thesis presents a miniaturized discrete system for long-term, biphasic constant current, charge balanced stimulation for DBS research in small animals with independently programmable anodic and cathodic currents and pulse widths, frequency, pulse order and inter pulse interval. It features a single current source and an H-bridge for setting current direction. The system is highly customizable, permitting trade-off between voltage compliance and the range, resolution and accuracy of currents and between power consumption and temporal resolution with minimal hardware modification.