Electrode designs for efficient neural stimulation

摘要

Electrodes for use in neural stimulation applications, shaped to have fractal or pseudo-fractal geometries, with a generally planar core portion of the electrode using a base fractal geometry. A series of successively smaller holes is provided in the core portion, where each hole in the generally planar core portion can have a perimeter shape that is self-similar to a perimeter shape of the generally planar core portion. The selected electrode geometry affects the spatial distribution of the electric field in neuron-bearing tissue. This spatial distribution is related to the irregularity—or non-uniformity—of current density on the electrode surface. Optimized electrode geometries increase the efficiency of neural stimulation by maximizing the spatial variation of current density on the electrode surface.

主权项

1. An electrode for neural stimulation, the electrode comprising:
an electrically conductive body, the body having a generally planar core portion, wherein the generally planar core portion has a plurality of holes therein, and wherein the plurality of holes has one or more internal perimeters, wherein each of the one or more internal perimeters comprises at least three edges and at least three vertices, each edge being joined to its adjacent edges at a respective one of the at least three vertices, wherein a shape of the generally planar core portion is obtainable from a base shape that corresponds to a regular polygon having n sides by:
removing a first order smaller regular polygon having n sides from the interior of the base shape to provide a first order hole in the plurality of holes, the first order hole having n edges,dividing an area of the first order smaller regular polygon into a plurality of second order smaller regular polygons having n sides, andincreasing a number of vertices of the shape by attaching the second order smaller regular polygons to one or more selected edges of the shape.