Principles of an intraneural wire electrode array signal measurement device

The measurement technique discussed within this paper has an array electrode sensors placed through the cross-section of an intact ventral root nerve. Neural potentials above a threshold value are to be recorded in the region of each electrode. This paper's scope is limited to the design of a prototype nerve cuff and instrumentation as it applies to the usefulness of a micro-machined intraneural wire electrode array as a measurement/characterization technique. Data obtained from the 37 channel device will be analyzed by a neural network. Potentially, muscular movement will be correlated with real time neural data. A micro-machined nerve cuff will be fitted with an array of Pt electrodes deposited on tines. The tines project from the cuff into the nerve. The cuff will have a 1 mm length and a 1 mm diameter. Two half-cylinders will fit together to form the cuff. The intraneural wire electrode array signal measurement device is designed to record 37 channels (regions) of neural activity. Analog sensor channels will form the data input domain and one digital channel forms the output data domain. Each sensor channel's input is to be amplified, filtered, sampled, counted and displayed. Each stage of the instrumentation functions to provide a uniform characterization of neural data.