Nerve-Muscle Graft Chamber for Prosthesis Control

用于假体控制的神经肌肉移植室

• 批准号: 7538556
• 负责人: RONALD Raymond RISO
• 金额: $ 22.69万
• 依托单位: INNERSEA TECHNOLOGY, INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-30 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7538556
• 关键词: Agonist; Amplifiers; Amputation; Amputees; Anatomy; Animal Model; Animals; Area; Axon; Biological; Caliber; Characteristics; Chicago; Communication Aids for Disabled; Cutaneous; Development; Devices; Dissection; Elbow; Electrodes; Engineering; Exhibits; Fascicle; Fatigue; Fiber; Figs - dietary; Freedom; Funding; Future; Gray unit of radiation dose; Hand; Implant; Individual; Joint Prosthesis; Joints; Left; Limb structure; Location; Medial; Metabolism; Methods; Morphologic artifacts; Motor; Movement; Muscle; Muscle Cells; Natural regeneration; Nerve; Noise; Numbers; Pattern; Pattern Recognition; Performance; Peripheral; Peripheral Nerves; Personal Satisfaction; Phase; Phase I Clinical Trials; Positioning Attribute; Preparation; Property; Prosthesis; Public Health; Punch Biopsy; Purpose; Range; Rate; Reflex action; Rehabilitation therapy; Research; Residual state; Resistance; Rotation; Scientist; Signal Transduction; Slice; Small Business Funding Mechanisms; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Solutions; Source; Specificity; Structure; Surface; Surgeon; Surgical sutures; Techniques; Technology; Telemetry; Time; Training; Triceps Brachii Muscle; Upper arm; Work; Wrist; biceps brachii muscle; computerized data processing; concept; grasp; implantable device; instrument; interest; median nerve; motor control; muscle regeneration; nerve supply; neuroregulation; new technology; programs; prototype; relating to nervous system; repaired; response; restoration; size; technology development; volunteer

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective is to develop a nerve-muscle interface that allows amputees to obtain simultaneous control of all actuators in a multi-degree of freedom prosthetic arm. Control signals will be derived from naturally produced neural activity originating in the stumps of the amputated nerves. The proposed approach will develop a universal nerve-muscle replant technique by grafting amputated nerves into a chamber which contains autologus muscle slices and recording electrodes. Neural control can be more natural than currently used myoelectric control since the same functions previously served by particular motor fascicles are directed to the corresponding prosthesis actuators, for simultaneous joint control as in normal limbs rather than sequential control as in commercially available technology. The approach here further develops and extends muscle-nerve grafting techniques whereby the stump of an amputated nerve is grafted onto a host muscle, and re-innervation occurs as recently demonstrated by Kuiken et al. in Chicago. Voluntary activation of the grafted nerve-muscle unit produces ElectroMyoGraphic (EMG) signals for prosthetic control that can be sensed more reliably than the feeble neural activity. A drawback of the presently implemented Kuiken approach of transferring an amputated nerve stump to a normal muscle is that a healthy muscle must be sacrificed to create the new interface. Also, the host muscle becomes innervated by a mix of nerve fascicles originally targeted at multiple other muscles which reduces the specificity inherent in the neural commands. The present proposed approach of bringing small muscle slices contained in a compartmented array to the individual fascicles of an amputated nerve has the advantage of being able to interface individually with each motor fascicle. This can greatly increase the number of single purpose natural control signals without sacrificing a healthy muscle, and since muscles are isolated in chambers, there is no crosstalk possible. As a further advantage, the proposed method can be used with very short nerve segments, and the nerves can be instrumented in their native locations rather than having to be trans-located. The Phase 1 study is intended to demonstrate in an animal model that small slices of muscle residing in a chamber can be functionally innervated by grafted motor nerves and that the resultant ensemble of functional motor units will be able to provide well graded EMG activity that can be recorded over a long period with constant characteristics and reasonable fatigue properties. In Phase 2, the implanted chamber will be fitted with 'onboard' amplifier and telemetry circuitry that is currently under development by InnerSea Technology for other rehabilitation applications. This will provide exceptionally clear and stable EMG recordings from many peripheral motor control channels in comparison to the current use of surface EMG recordings. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposed technology development, if successful, will allow amputees to better control their electrically powered prostheses. Current technology is severely limited by very few control signal sources, so control of each actuator is typically done one at a time -- so for example, to reach and grasp a soda can, first the elbow would be extended, then the wrist rotated somewhat, then the hand opened, then the elbow adjusted, then the wrist rotation adjusted, then the hand closed, etc. The proposed technology would enable simultaneous movement of all actuators, and many more actuators, thereby restoring essentially normal limb function.

描述（由申请人提供）：目的是开发一种神经-肌肉接口，使截肢者能够同时控制多自由度假肢中的所有致动器。控制信号将源自截肢神经残端中自然产生的神经活动。该方法将发展一种通用的神经-肌肉移植技术，将切断的神经移植到含有自体肌肉切片和记录电极的腔室中。 神经控制可以比目前使用的肌电控制更自然，因为先前由特定运动神经束提供的相同功能被引导到相应的假肢致动器，用于如在正常肢体中的同时关节控制，而不是如在商业上可用的技术中的顺序控制。该方法进一步发展和扩展了肌肉神经移植技术，其中将截肢神经的残端移植到宿主肌肉上，并且发生神经再支配，如Kuiken等人最近在芝加哥所证明的。移植的神经-肌肉单元的自发激活产生用于假肢控制的肌电图（EMG）信号，该信号比微弱的神经活动更可靠地被感知。目前实施的将截肢的神经残端转移到正常肌肉的Kuiken方法的缺点是必须牺牲健康的肌肉来创建新的界面。此外，宿主肌肉变得由最初针对多个其他肌肉的神经束的混合来支配，这降低了神经命令中固有的特异性。 本发明提出的将包含在隔室阵列中的小肌肉切片带到截肢神经的各个神经束的方法具有能够单独地与每个运动神经束接口的优点。这可以大大增加单一目的自然控制信号的数量，而不会牺牲健康的肌肉，并且由于肌肉在腔室中被隔离，因此不可能存在串扰。作为另一个优点，所提出的方法可以与非常短的神经段一起使用，并且神经可以在其天然位置中被仪器化，而不是必须被移位。 第1阶段研究旨在在动物模型中证明，植入的运动神经可以对腔室中的小块肌肉进行功能性神经支配，并且所得到的功能性运动单元集合将能够提供分级良好的EMG活动，该EMG活动可以在长时间内记录，具有恒定的特征和合理的疲劳特性。在第二阶段，植入的腔室将配备“板载”放大器和遥测电路，目前正在开发的InnerSea技术的其他康复应用。与目前使用的表面EMG记录相比，这将从许多外周运动控制通道提供异常清晰和稳定的EMG记录。 公共卫生关系：这项拟议中的技术开发如果成功，将使截肢者能够更好地控制他们的电动假肢。当前的技术受到非常少的控制信号源的严重限制，因此每个致动器的控制通常一次完成一个-例如，为了达到并抓住苏打罐，首先手肘将被延伸，然后手腕稍微旋转，然后手打开，然后手肘调整，然后手腕旋转调整，然后手闭合，所提出的技术将使所有致动器以及更多的致动器能够同时运动，从而恢复基本上正常的肢体功能。