Selective activation of peripheral nerve fascicles: Use of field steering currents
Testing of a twelve electrode spiral nerve cuff for selective activation of peripheral nerve fascicles was performed on the sciatic nerve in six cats. The effects of electrode position and magnitude of transverse field steering current on selective activation of individual fascicles were investigated. Stimulation using spatially isolated tripoles activated different regions of the nerve trunk. Modulation of both the transverse steering current magnitude and the longitudinal current magnitude increased selectivity and reduced the slope of recruitment curves compared to curves obtained using just a single value of transverse current. The multipolar cuff provided an effective means to activate individual fascicles that were well defined at the level of the cuff.
