Neuroprothetik und Neuromodulation

Abstract

Stimulation of the nervous system with the aid of electrical active implants has changed the therapy of neurological diseases and rehabilitation of lost functions and has expanded clinical practice within the last few years. Alleviation of effects of neurodegenerative diseases, therapy of psychiatric diseases, the functional restoration of hearing as well as other applications have been transferred successfully into clinical practice. Other approaches are still under development in preclinical and clinical trials. The restoration of sight by implantable electronic systems that interface with the retina in the eye is an example how technological progress promotes novel medical devices. The idea of using the electrical signal of the brain to control technical devices and (neural) prostheses is driving current research in the field of brain-computer interfaces. The benefit for the patient always has to be balanced with the risks and side effects of those implants in comparison to medicinal and surgical treatments. How these and other developments become established in practice depends finally on their acceptance by the patients and the reimbursement of their costs.

Should patients with brain implants undergo MRI?

“…A magnetic moment is also exerted by currents around a closed loop, such as the eddy currents described by equation (2). It is perpendicular and proportional to the surface area A of the loop, µ = n A I (see figure 5(c)), or, in the case of eddy currents, described by equation ( 2…”

“…Bioelectronic devices in the human body, especially neural implants, have proven themselves as success stories hundreds of thousands of times [1,2]. They are used to restore body functions, improve the quality of life of patients with neuronal degenerative diseases, and still have great potential for ground-breaking novel applications.…”

Predicting Corrosion Delamination Failure in Active Implantable Medical Devices: Analytical Model and Validation Strategy

“…PDMS as encapsulation material has a long tradition in AIMDs [ 3 , 15 ]. The PDMS Sylgard-184 (Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, Michigan, United States) has been chosen for this study.…”

“…According to the EU Medical Device Regulation, neural prostheses are active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) which belong to the highest risk Class III of medical devices. This study addresses neural prostheses, which are implanted permanently into the human body and exposed to its fluids [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The cochlear implant serves as a blueprint and frame of reference for the developed specimen in this study, as it is the most commonly implanted neural prosthesis [ 4 ].…”

“…In this kind of prosthesis, an electrode array forms the interface between the implant and the nervous system. The electrodes and the connecting wires—so-called leads—are commonly encapsulated in silicone rubber, which serves as elastic, isolating and bio inert carrier material [ 3 ].…”