SBIR Phase II: Electroplated Iridium Oxide Coatings for Functional Electrical Stimulation

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*** 9800906 Twardoch This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project has as its goal to develop a process for electrodeposition of iridium oxide to produce conformal coatings on medical electrodes. Iridium oxide is exceptional for functional electrical stimulation (FES) electrodes because of its corrosion resistance, low impedance, and high charge injection capacity. Current methods of fabricating these coatings are unacceptable for many of the complex and thermally sensitive devices such as cochlear implants and neural cuffs. With electrodeposition, manufactured electrodes for a variety of FES applications can be "retrofitted" with the coatings, or the coating procedure can be integrated into the production process. The Phase I program was extremely successful. A near-neutral, room temperature aqueous plating bath has been developed for coating any metal surface with adherent, electroactive iridium oxide. Phase II will develop the control of electrodeposition to produce electrode coatings with maximum charge acceptance under pulse stimulation conditions on a variety of FES substrates. Collaborations with FES vendors and researchers in diverse areas, including cochlear, bladder and intracortical prostheses are planned. Phase III will entail coating services and licensing to the FES community. Product targets: 1) Commercial medical electrodes for neural prosthesis for treatment of functional impairment such as hearing loss, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, limb paralysis, and spasficity; and for depolarization and corrosion protection in pacemakers 2) Equipment for coating electrodes. ***