Medical implant for local stimulation of muscle and nerve cells has an annular core with an electric winding that is used to induce a stimulation voltage in the muscle or nerve tissue so that stimulation electrodes are not needed

摘要

Implant for generation of a local magnetic field with which a voltage can be coupled to muscle or nerve tissue. Said implant comprises a core of magnetic material of high permeability that is at least partially wound with a coil so that a magnetic field generated by the coil induces a voltage in the muscle or nerve cells to be stimulated. The invention also relates to a corresponding method for application of a suitable excitation pulse to nerve tissue that takes into account the non-linear behavior of nerve cells in that a quick alteration of the magnetic field induces a high voltage outside the nerve excitation threshold, while slow alteration generates a low voltage within the excitation threshold.