Intraneural Device for Electrostimulation of Vagus Nerve in Rats: A Feasibility Study for Modulating Glucose Tolerance.

Objectives: This study introduces EMPATIC (Electro-Modulation of PAncreaTic Islet Cells), a miniaturized intraneural device designed for transversal insertion into small nerves with a mean diameter of 400 μm. EMPATIC aims to modulate glucose tolerance through intraneural vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in rats.

Materials And Methods: EMPATIC design was optimized to fit into the cervical vagus nerve of rats and was developd through thin film microtechnologies.

A low-cost, multiplexed μECoG system for high-density recordings in freely moving rodents.

Objective: Micro-electrocorticography (μECoG) offers a minimally invasive neural interface with high spatial resolution over large areas of cortex. However, electrode arrays with many contacts that are individually wired to external recording systems are cumbersome and make recordings in freely behaving rodents challenging. We report a novel high-density 60-electrode system for μECoG recording in freely moving rats.

Correlation between muscular and nerve signals responsible for hand grasping in non-human primates.

Neuroprosthetic devices that interface with the nervous system to restore functional motor activity offer a viable alternative to nerve regeneration, especially in proximal nerve injuries like brachial plexus injuries where muscle atrophy may set in before nerve re-innervation occurs. Prior studies have used control signals from muscle or cortical activity. However, nerve signals are preferred in many cases since they permit more natural and precise control when compared to muscle activity, and can be accessed with much lower risk than cortical activity.

Cadaveric bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: first experience treating a patient with large severe burns.

Background: In January 2005, Rasulov et al. originally published "First experience in the use of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of a patient with deep skin burns". Here, we present the first ever treated patient with cadaveric bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (CMSCs) in the history of Medicine.

Dermal papilla cells improve the wound healing process and generate hair bud-like structures in grafted skin substitutes using hair follicle stem cells.

Tissue-engineered skin represents a useful strategy for the treatment of deep skin injuries and might contribute to the understanding of skin regeneration. The use of dermal papilla cells (DPCs) as a dermal component in a permanent composite skin with human hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) was evaluated by studying the tissue-engineered skin architecture, stem cell persistence, hair regeneration, and graft-take in nude mice. A porcine acellular dermal matrix was seeded with HFSCs alone and with HFSCs plus human DPCs or dermal fibroblasts (DFs).

Modelization of a self-opening peripheral neural interface: a feasibility study.

In this paper a self-opening intrafascicular neural interface (SELINE) has been modeled using both a theoretical approach and a Finite Element (FE) analysis. This innovative self opening interface has several potential advantages such as: higher selectivity due to its three-dimensional structure and efficient anchorage system. Mechanical, structural and micro-technological issues have been considered to obtain an effective design of the electrode, as a feasibility study of the self-opening approach.

An implantable microactuated intrafascicular electrode for peripheral nerves.

Important advancements have been recently achieved in the field of neural interfaces to restore lost sensory and motor functions. The aim of this letter was to develop an innovative approach to increase the selectivity and the lifetime of polyimide-based intrafascicular electrodes. The main idea was to obtain a neural interface that is able to restore a good signal quality by improving the electrical connection between the active sites and the surrounding axons.

Shape memory alloy microactuation of tf-lIFes: preliminary results.

In this paper, a new approach aimed at improving the performance of intraneural longitudinal interfaces (tf-LIFEs) with the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is presented. Our goal is to develop a movable interface by embedding microactuators into the flexible tf-LIFEs structure. In this way, the optimal position of the electrical contacts can be searched inside the PNS and lost connections with neural cells could be replaced.