TY - JOUR
T1 - Optical parameter variability in laser nerve stimulation
T2 - A study of pulse duration, repetition rate, and wavelength
AU - Izzo, Agnella D.
AU - Walsh, Joseph T.
AU - Jansen, E. Duco
AU - Bendett, Mark
AU - Webb, Jim
AU - Ralph, Heather
AU - Richter, Claus Peter
N1 - Funding Information:
Manuscript received June 30, 2006; revised November 20, 2006. This work was supported in part by the ER Capita Foundation and in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Grant F31 DC008246-01, Grant R41 DC008515-01, and Grant HHN-260-2006-00006-C. Asterisk indicates corresponding author. *A. D. Izzo is with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 USA. She is also with the Department of Otolaryngology, Feinberg Medical School, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611 USA (e-mail: a-izzo@northwestern.edu).
PY - 2007/6
Y1 - 2007/6
N2 - Pulsed lasers can evoke neural activity from motor as well as sensory neurons in vivo. Lasers allow more selective spatial resolution of stimulation than the conventional electrical stimulation. To date, few studies have examined pulsed, mid-infrared laser stimulation of nerves and very little of the available optical parameter space has been studied. In this study, a pulsed diode laser, with wavelength between 1.844-1.873 μm, was used to elicit compound action potentials (CAPs) from the auditory system of the gerbil. We found that pulse durations as short as 35 μs elicit a CAP from the cochlea. In addition, repetition rates up to 13 Hz can continually stimulate cochlear spiral ganglion cells for extended periods of time. Varying the wavelength and, therefore, the optical penetration depth, allowed different populations of neurons to be stimulated. The technology of optical stimulation could significantly improve cochlear implants, which are hampered by a lack of spatial selectivity.
AB - Pulsed lasers can evoke neural activity from motor as well as sensory neurons in vivo. Lasers allow more selective spatial resolution of stimulation than the conventional electrical stimulation. To date, few studies have examined pulsed, mid-infrared laser stimulation of nerves and very little of the available optical parameter space has been studied. In this study, a pulsed diode laser, with wavelength between 1.844-1.873 μm, was used to elicit compound action potentials (CAPs) from the auditory system of the gerbil. We found that pulse durations as short as 35 μs elicit a CAP from the cochlea. In addition, repetition rates up to 13 Hz can continually stimulate cochlear spiral ganglion cells for extended periods of time. Varying the wavelength and, therefore, the optical penetration depth, allowed different populations of neurons to be stimulated. The technology of optical stimulation could significantly improve cochlear implants, which are hampered by a lack of spatial selectivity.
KW - Auditory nerve
KW - Cochlear implant
KW - Spiral ganglion cell
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U2 - 10.1109/TBME.2007.892925
DO - 10.1109/TBME.2007.892925
M3 - Article
C2 - 17554829
AN - SCOPUS:34249307490
SN - 0018-9294
VL - 54
SP - 1108
EP - 1114
JO - IRE transactions on medical electronics
JF - IRE transactions on medical electronics
IS - 6
ER -