A miniature, implantable wireless neural stimulation system
Author(s)
Arfin, Scott K. (Scott Kenneth)![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/37938/144553703-MIT.pdf.jpg?sequence=5&isAllowed=y)
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Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Advisor
Rahul Sarpeshkar.
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In this thesis, I present the design of a wireless neural stimulation system. The system consists of an external transmitter, controllable through a computer interface, and a miniature, implantable wireless receiver and stimulator. The implant is tailored for use in zebra finches - small birds weighing just 12-15g - as part of ongoing research into the neural mechanisms of sequence generation and learning. The implant, assembled on a miniature printed circuit board, contains a receiver coil, battery, electrodes, and a custom integrated circuit for data demodulation and neural stimulation. The chip, fabricated in a standard 0.5[mu]m CMOS process, is capable of delivering biphasic current pulses to 4 addressable electrode sites at 16 selectable current levels ranging from 100[mu]A to mA. Additionally, the biphasic pulses may be inverted. The entire implant weighs less than 1.5g and occupies a footprint smaller than 1.5cm2. A miniaturized neural stimulator such as this one also has applications in neural prostheses for blindness, Parkinson's disease, and paralysis.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-105).
Date issued
2006Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer SciencePublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.