CN104548346B - Injecting type nerve stimulator with electromagnetic coupling link power supply - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an injection-type nerve stimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link, which consists of a cylindrical casing with a cavity, electrodes that are sheathed and connected in the through holes at both ends of the casing, and a ball head of one of the electrodes. Eyelets, rechargeable batteries placed in the housing, microcontroller and microneurostimulator modules, data receiving modules, power management modules, biological and temperature sensors, pressure sensors, magnetic sensors, magnetic cores and coils, and fillers and so on; wherein, the electrode and the shell are sealed; the functional modules are powered by the electric energy coupled by the magnetic core and the coil; the sensors are used for environmental variable monitoring and nerve stimulation Process monitoring; the filler is used for space filling and component fixing. The present invention can be directly injected into the target nerve or muscle tissue that cannot be reached by an implanted nerve stimulator through a syringe, and is suitable for occasions requiring long-term or higher pulse amplitude stimulation.

Description

An injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of biomedical electronics medical instruments. The invention relates to an injectable nerve stimulator, and more particularly relates to an injectable nerve stimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link. The invention is mainly used in biomedicine to stimulate nerves or muscles.

Background technique

A neurostimulator is a biomedical electronic device. It is used to generate low-frequency electrical pulses to perform functional nerve electrical stimulation on organisms, so as to relieve pain symptoms, restore or adjust nerve or muscle functions, etc. Neurostimulators can be calibrated by neurologists, nurses, or trained technicians to meet the specific needs of individual patients. Implantable neurostimulators are currently the most mature and widely used in the market. This neurostimulator must be surgically implanted into the body of a human or other animal, which has the following limitations: 1) implanting the implantable neurostimulator in the body requires a long period of surgery (such as It takes about twelve hours to implant a deep brain stimulator), and the patient must endure a certain amount of pain; 2) Compared with the specific target nerve that needs to be stimulated, the size of the implantable neurostimulator is relatively large and cannot be implanted To the target nerve or muscle tissue with limited shape or volume (such as the brain); in order to transmit the stimulation signal to the brain, it is necessary to introduce a long electrode extension wire on the electrode; but the electrode extension wire is easy to move , it is possible to trigger an electrical stimulus in the wrong place, which greatly increases the risk of infection. Moreover, infections induced in any part of the implanted neurostimulator tend to spread throughout the system, in which case the battery or the entire implanted neurostimulator must be replaced surgically again; 3) the current market Implantable neurostimulators commonly used in the world are mainly powered by non-rechargeable batteries, and the power will be exhausted within 4 to 10 years. At this time, another operation is required to replace the battery, so its life cycle is short; 4) implantable After the nerve stimulator is implanted in the body, if discomfort occurs, when it needs to be removed or replaced, it needs to be operated again, so the secondary damage to the body tissue is relatively large.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to solve and overcome the technical problems and defects of the above-mentioned prior art, especially the implanted neurostimulator, and provide an injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link. The injection-type neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention has no related literature introductions, and no related patent documents have been searched.

For realizing above-mentioned purpose, the technical scheme that the present invention takes is:

An injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link, comprising a housing 1, an electrode 2, a rechargeable battery 3, a microcontroller and a microneurostimulator module 4, a data receiving module 5, a power management module 6, a biological and temperature The sensor 7, the pressure sensor 8, the magnetic sensor 9, the magnetic core 10, the coil 11, the eye hole 12 and the filler 13 etc. constitute.

The shell 1 is used to protect the injectable nerve stimulator and human tissue from being corroded by each other. The electrode 2 is the interface between the injectable nerve stimulator and the biological tissue. The rechargeable battery 3 stores the electric energy coupled between the magnetic core 10 and the coil 11 and supplies power to other functional modules. The microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4 are used to generate, manage and control the operation of the injection neurostimulator; wherein the microneurostimulator generates a pulse with adjustable polarity, amplitude, duty cycle and frequency, through The electrodes 2 provide appropriate electrical stimulation to the nerve or muscle tissue; the microcontroller is used to manage and control the operation of the injectable nerve stimulator, such as starting or stopping stimulation, monitoring nerve behavior, and reading data information. The data receiving module 5 is used for decoding the stimulation signal information sent by the external signal transmitter, such as polarity, amplitude, duty cycle and frequency. The power management module 6 rectifies, filters and stabilizes the converted electric energy to drive other functional modules. The biological and temperature sensor 7 integrates a biological sensor and a temperature sensor into one module; the former is used to detect the behavior of nerve or muscle tissue, extract electrical signals and physiological or biochemical parameters in the living body, etc.; the latter is used to sense injection The temperature of the neurostimulator and the temperature at the interface between it and the tissue in which it is placed. The pressure sensor 8 is used to measure the pressure change of the injectable nerve stimulator in the body after injection, so as to warn risks. The magnetic sensor 9 is used to measure changes in the magnetic field in the body to warn of risks. The magnetic core 10 and the coil 11 are used for energy and data transmission. The eyelet 12 is used for short-term removal of the injectable neurostimulator. The filler 13 is used for space filling and component fixing.

The housing 1 is a cylinder with a cavity, and the two ends of the cylinder of the housing 1 are provided with a coaxial through hole; the electrodes 2 are 2 cylinders respectively installed in the through holes, and the electrodes 2 are cylindrical. One end is put through and connected in the through hole of the shell 1, and is connected to the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4 by a metal wire, and the other extension end is a ball head; the rechargeable battery 3 is cylindrical , is arranged at the left end in the cavity of the casing 1, the outer cylindrical surface of the rechargeable battery 3 is covered with the magnetic core 10 and the 2 layers of the coil 11 wound on the outer surface of the magnetic core 10; the magnetic Sensor 9, power management module 6, microcontroller and micro-neurostimulator module 4, data receiving module 5, biological and temperature sensor 7, and pressure sensor 8 are placed in the cavity of the housing 1 in order from left to right and are isolated from each other. The right end inside; the two power connectors of the rechargeable battery 3 are sequentially connected in series to the magnetic sensor 9, the power management module 6, the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4, the data receiving module 5, the biological And temperature sensor 7 and pressure sensor 8; Described microcontroller and microneurostimulator module 4 also have two-way signal to be connected to described data receiving module 5; The two-way signal of described biology and temperature sensor 7, described pressure One signal of the sensor 8 and one signal of the magnetic sensor 9 are connected to the data receiving module 5; the two joints of the coil 11 are first connected to the power management module 6, and then connected to the power management module 6 after capacitive coupling. The data receiving module 5; the eye hole 12 is a through hole in which the center line of the hole opened on the ball head of any one of the two electrodes 2 is perpendicular to the axis of the electrode 2 . The filler 13 fills the remaining space inside the housing 1 and fixes all the components inside it.

The above shell 1 is made of biocompatible materials, such as any one of ceramics or glass, preferably ceramics; its outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the corresponding injection needle.

The above-mentioned electrode 2 is made of a biocompatible conductor, such as any one of platinum, platinum-iridium alloy, iridium oxide, titanium nitride, and silk, preferably platinum; the diameter of the above-mentioned electrode 2 is less than the inner diameter of the above-mentioned shell 1; its ball The diameter of the head is larger than the diameter of its cylinder.

The above-mentioned rechargeable battery 3 adopts a high-energy rechargeable battery (such as a lithium-ion battery, etc.), and its diameter and length are respectively smaller than the diameter and length of the above-mentioned magnetic core 10 .

The signals between the above-mentioned rechargeable battery 3, microcontroller and microneurostimulator module 4, data receiving module 5, power management module 6, biological and temperature sensor 7, pressure sensor 8, and magnetic sensor 9 are formed by metal bonding wires. connected.

The above magnetic core 10 is made of high permeability ferrite core.

The above-mentioned coil 11 is made of metal wire.

The diameter of the eye hole 12 is smaller than the diameter of the ball head of the electrode 2 .

The above-mentioned filler 13 is any one of epoxy resin or gel, preferably epoxy resin.

Compared with the prior art, an injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

1. Since the size of the injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention is very small, it can be injected into the target nerve or muscle tissue through a syringe, and small and medium-caliber injection needles (such as 16G and below), in order to reduce the damage to living muscle tissue or nerves during injection.

2. Since the injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention can be injected into the target nerve or muscle tissue that cannot be reached by the implanted neurostimulator, there is no need for electrode extension wires, thereby greatly Reduced risk of infection.

3. Since the injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention is powered by an electromagnetic coupling link, its energy is transmitted wirelessly and can be stored in a rechargeable battery, so there is no need to replace the battery, and the whole life The cycle is long.

4. Since the injection-type neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention has eye holes, if discomfort occurs at the initial stage of injection, it can be quickly removed at the original opening, causing secondary damage to body tissues Small.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a structural representation of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the interface signal connection schematic diagram between electrode 2 and microcontroller and microneurostimulator module 4;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the power supply signal connection between the rechargeable battery 3 and the microcontroller and the micro-neurostimulator module 4, the data receiving module 5, the power management module 6, the biological and temperature sensor 7, the pressure sensor 8 and the magnetic sensor 9;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the data signal connection between the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4, the data receiving module 5, the power management module 6, the biological and temperature sensor 7, the pressure sensor 8 and the magnetic sensor 9;

5 is a schematic diagram of the interface signal connection between the coil 11 and the data receiving module 5 and the power management module 6;

In the figure: 1. Shell, 2. Electrode, 3. Rechargeable battery, 4. Microcontroller and microneurostimulator module, 5. Data receiving module, 6. Power management module, 7. Biological and temperature sensor, 8. Pressure sensor, 9. Magnetic sensor, 10. Magnetic core, 11. Coil, 12. Eye hole, 13. Filling.

detailed description

In order to deepen the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described in further detail below in conjunction with the examples and accompanying drawings. The examples are only used to explain the present invention, and do not constitute regulations on the protection scope of the present invention.

The meaning of "inner and outer" mentioned in the present invention refers to that relative to the neurostimulator itself, the direction pointing to the interior of the neurostimulator is inward, and vice versa, it is not a specific limitation to the neurostimulator of the present invention .

The meaning of "left and right" mentioned in the present invention refers to that when the reader is facing the accompanying drawings, the left side of the reader is the left, and the right side of the reader is the right, rather than specific to the neurostimulator of the present invention. limited.

The meaning of "connection" in the present invention may be a direct connection between components or an indirect connection between components through other components.

As shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, an injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link consists of a shell 1, an electrode 2, a rechargeable battery 3, a microcontroller and a microneurostimulator. The stimulator module 4, the data receiving module 5, the power management module 6, the biological and temperature sensor 7, the pressure sensor 8, the magnetic sensor 9, the magnetic core 10, the coil 11, the eye hole 12 and the filler 13 etc. constitute.

The shell 1 is a cylinder with a cavity, its outer diameter (Φ1) is 1 mm, its inner diameter is 0.9 mm, and its length (L1) is 4 mm, made of ceramics; the two ends of the ceramic shell 1 cylinder are opened There is a through hole with a coaxial diameter of 0.42 mm, and a ceramic cap for sealing is placed in each of the through holes. The electrode 2 is made of a cylinder with a diameter (Φ21) of 0.4 mm and a length of 0.4 mm and a ball head with an end diameter (Φ22) of 0.6 mm, all made of platinum metal; the ends of the two platinum electrodes 2 cylinders are respectively Set in the round hole of the ceramic cap of the shell 1 to form the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and adopt a cermet sealing ring with alumina as the main raw material to seal; the positive electrode and the negative electrode are respectively connected by metal wires (NS_OUT+ and NS_OUT- ) is connected to the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4, as shown in Figure 2. The rechargeable battery 3 is an injection-type lithium-ion rechargeable battery manufactured by the U.S. company Qullion, with a diameter of 0.6 mm and a length of 3 mm; it is placed on the left side of the inner cylinder of the housing 1 . The magnetic sensor 9, power management module 6, microcontroller and micro-neurostimulator module 4, data receiving module 5, biological and temperature sensor 7, and pressure sensor 8 functional modules are arranged in sequence from left to right and are isolated from each other. The space on the right side of the inner cylinder of the housing 1 is manufactured using a 90nm CMOS process. The signals between the rechargeable battery 3, the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4, the data receiving module 5, the power management module 6, the biological and temperature sensor 7, the pressure sensor 8, and the magnetic sensor 9 are bonded by metal line connected. The two power connector lines (BAT+ and BAT-) of the rechargeable battery 3 are sequentially connected in series to the magnetic sensor 9, the power management module 6, the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4, and the data receiving module 5. The biological and temperature sensor 7 and the pressure sensor 8, as shown in FIG. 3 . The control and communication between the microcontroller and the microneurostimulator module 4 and the data receiving module 5 are realized by I ² C bus (SDA and SCL) signals; the biological signal ( BIO) and temperature signal (TEMP) input described data receiving module 5; The pressure signal (PRESSURE) that described pressure sensor 8 produces it is input described data receiving module 5; The magnetic signal (PRESSURE) that described magnetic sensor 9 produces it produces ( MAGNETIC) input described data receiving module 5, as shown in Figure 4. The two connector wires (WIRE+ and WIRE-) of the coil 11 are firstly connected to the power management module 6, and then connected to the data receiving module 5 after capacitive coupling (DATA_RX+ and DATA_RX-), as shown in FIG. 5 . The magnetic core 10 is made up of two hollow semi-cylindrical high-permeability ferrite cores, with an outer diameter of 0.85 mm, an inner diameter of 0.75 mm, and a length of 3.2 mm; Rechargeable battery 3 on. The coil 11 is wound on the outer surface of the magnetic core 10 in two layers by thin copper wire with a diameter of 50 microns, and its two joints are connected with the power management module 6, as shown in FIG. 3 . Described eye hole 12 is a through hole that the hole center line that offers on the ball head of any one of described 2 electrodes 2 is perpendicular to the axis of electrode 2, and its diameter (Φ12) is 0.1 millimeter. The filler 13 uses epoxy resin to fill the remaining space inside the housing 1 and fix all other components inside. After all components are packed into the housing 1, the ceramic cap of the housing 1 is sealed on the end of its cylinder, and sealed with O-shaped ceramic sealing ring and ceramic sealant.

The above embodiments are only preferred specific implementation modes of the present invention. Certainly, the present invention also can have other various embodiments, under the situation of not departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, any person familiar with this technical field, when can make various corresponding equivalent designs according to the present invention, all Should belong to the scope of protection of the appended claims of the present invention.

The diameter and length of an injectable neurostimulator powered by an electromagnetic coupling link of the present invention are very small, and can be directly injected into the implanted neurostimulator through a syringe and a small and medium-caliber injection needle (such as 16G and below). In the target nerve or muscle tissue that the stimulator cannot reach, it can be removed quickly. The present invention is not only suitable for occasions requiring long-term stimulation, but also suitable for occasions requiring stimulation with higher pulse amplitude.

Claims (8)

1. the injection nerve stimulator that a kind of electromagnetic coupled link is powered, including shell (1), electrode (2), rechargeable battery (3), microcontroller and micro- nerve stimulator module (4), data reception module (5), power management module (6), biological and temperature Sensor (7), pressure transducer (8), Magnetic Sensor (9), magnetic core (10) and coil (11)；It is characterized in that：Described shell (1) is There is the cylinder of cavity, the cylindrical two ends of shell (1) offer a through hole of coaxial line；Described electrode (2) is to pacify respectively Dress 2 cylinders in through-holes, the cylindrical one end of electrode (2) wears in the through hole being connected to shell (1), and passes through metal Wire connects to described microcontroller and micro- nerve stimulator module (4), and another elongated end termination is bulb；Described chargeable electricity Pond (3) is cylinder, is arranged on the left end in described shell (1) cavity, rechargeable battery (3) cylindrical outer surface is set with The magnetic core (10) stated and 2 layers of described coil (11) being wrapped in described magnetic core (10) outer surface；Described Magnetic Sensor (9), power supply Management module (6), microcontroller and micro- nerve stimulator module (4), data reception module (5), biological and temperature sensor (7) With pressure transducer (8) from left to right in order and the mutually isolated right-hand member being placed in described shell (1) cavity；Described fill Two power connections of battery (3) are connected to described Magnetic Sensor (9), electricity by metallic bond zygonema successively in series Source control module (6), microcontroller and micro- nerve stimulator module (4), data reception module (5), biological and temperature sensor And pressure transducer (8) (7)；Described microcontroller and micro- nerve stimulator module (4) also have two paths of signals to connect to described number According to receiver module (5)；The two paths of signals of described biological and temperature sensor (7), a road signal of described pressure transducer (8) and One road signal of described Magnetic Sensor (9) is connected to described data reception module (6)；Two joints of described coil (11) are first Connect to described power management module (6), then connect after Capacitance Coupled to data reception module (5)；Described shell (1) It is additionally provided with cavity for fixing described Magnetic Sensor (9), power management module (6), microcontroller and micro- nerve stimulator mould Block (4), the implant (13) of data reception module (5), biology and temperature sensor (7) and pressure transducer (8)；Described 2 One eyelet (12) of centerline hole and electrode (2) axis perpendicular is further opened with the bulb of arbitrary in electrode (2).

2. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described magnetic core (10) it is made up of the semicylinder of two pieces of hollows, manufactured using high magnetic conductivity ferrite iron core.

3. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described shell (1) material is pottery or glass.

4. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described electrode (2) material is platinum, platinum-iridium alloy, yttrium oxide, titanium nitride, in silkworm silk any one.

5. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described electrode (2) cylindrical diameter is less than the internal diameter of described shell (1)；The cylindrical bulb of described electrode (2) is with diameter greater than electrode (2) circle The diameter of cylinder.

6. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described can Rechargeable battery (3) is the lithium ion battery with high-energy.

7. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described line Circle (11) constructs for plain conductor.

8. the injection nerve stimulator that electromagnetic coupled link according to claim 1 is powered, is characterized in that：Described fills out Filling thing (13) is epoxy resin or gel.