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http://dx.doi.org/10.9718/JBER.2011.32.1.045

Development of a Low-Noise Amplifier System for Nerve Cuff Electrodes  

Song, Kang-Il (Biomedical Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Chu, Jun-Uk (Biomedical Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Suh, Jun-Kyo Francis (Biomedical Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Choi, Kui-Won (Biomedical Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Yoo, Sun-K. (Department of Medical Engineering, Yonsei University)
Youn, In-Chan (Biomedical Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Publication Information
Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research / v.32, no.1, 2011 , pp. 45-54 More about this Journal
Abstract
Cuff electrodes have a benefit for chronic electroneurogram(ENG) recording while minimizing nerve damage. However, the ENG signals are usually contaminated by electromyogram(EMG) activity from the surrounding muscle, the thermal noise generated within the source resistance, and the electric noise generated primarily at the first stage of the amplifier. This paper proposes a new cuff electrode to reduce the interference of EMG signals. An additional middle electrode was placed at the center of cuff electrode. As a result, the proposed cuff electrode achieved a higher signal-to-interference ratio compared to the conventional tripolar cuff. The cuff electrode was then assembled together with closure, headstage, and hermetic case including electronic circuits. This paper also presents a lownoise amplifier system to improve signal-to-noise ratio. The circuit was designed based on the noise analysis to minimize the electronic noise. The result shows that the total noise of the amplifier was below $1{\mu}V_{rms}$ for a cuff impedance of $1\;k{\Omega}$ and the common-mode rejection ratio was 115 dB at 1 kHz. In the current study, the performance of nerve cuff electrode system was evaluated by monitoring afferent nerve signals under mechanical stimuli in a rat animal model.
Keywords
Peripheral nerve signal; Nerve cuff electrode; Low-noise amplifier; Sciatic nerve;
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