Multi-Channel Electrochemical Measurement System

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We are requesting funding for the purchase of a Multi-channel Electrochemical Measurement System. Neural stimulating and recording electrodes are a major component of many implantable devices. Examples include cochlear implants and central auditory prostheses which utilize electrical neural stimulations to overcome hearing loss, and deep brain stimulation to relieve the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The properties of the electrodes are an important aspect of quality control both for clinical devices and in pre-clinical animal studies. Several principal investigators at Huntington Medical Research Institutes and their collaborators are conducting NIH-funded projects using implantable electrodes, in order to develop central auditory prosthesis, and advanced deep brain and spinal cord stimulators. The proposed, state-of-the-art, true multichannel measurement system allows for multiple channels of measurements to be conducted simultaneously and independently, with up to sixteen electrodes within one array or in separate arrays. The system is expected to reduce, by a factor of sixteen, the time and labor required for the electroplating of high-charge capacity electrode material, during the fabrication of recording and stimulation electrodes. When used to characterize electrodes implanted chronically into animals, the requested instrument will also reduce the duration of anesthesia by a factor of sixteen, and may sufficiently expedite these procedures such that in some instances anesthesia will not be required. This will reduce the risk of death or medical complication for these valuable animals.