Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a promising technique for eliciting referred tactile sensations in patients with limb amputation. Although several studies show the validity of this technique, its application in daily life and away from laboratories is limited by the need for mo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/4/782 |
| _version_ | 1797604323731963904 |
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| author | Riccardo Collu Roberto Paolini Martina Bilotta Andrea Demofonti Francesca Cordella Loredana Zollo Massimo Barbaro |
| author_facet | Riccardo Collu Roberto Paolini Martina Bilotta Andrea Demofonti Francesca Cordella Loredana Zollo Massimo Barbaro |
| author_sort | Riccardo Collu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a promising technique for eliciting referred tactile sensations in patients with limb amputation. Although several studies show the validity of this technique, its application in daily life and away from laboratories is limited by the need for more portable instrumentation that guarantees the necessary voltage and current requirements for proper sensory stimulation. This study proposes a low-cost, wearable high-voltage compliant current stimulator with four independent channels based on Components-Off-The-Shelf (COTS). This microcontroller-based system implements a voltage-current converter controllable through a digital-to-analog converter that delivers up to 25 mA to load up to 3.6 kΩ. The high-voltage compliance enables the system to adapt to variations in electrode-skin impedance, allowing it to stimulate loads over 10 kΩ with currents of 5 mA. The system was realized on a four-layer PCB (115.9 mm × 61 mm, 52 g). The functionality of the device was tested on resistive loads and on an equivalent skin-like RC circuit. Moreover, the possibility of implementing an amplitude modulation was demonstrated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:44:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-96ba0a10393e402f94716120da9585c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:44:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-96ba0a10393e402f94716120da9585c52023-11-17T20:29:16ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2023-03-0114478210.3390/mi14040782Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory FeedbackRiccardo Collu0Roberto Paolini1Martina Bilotta2Andrea Demofonti3Francesca Cordella4Loredana Zollo5Massimo Barbaro6Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Cagliari, Piazza D’Armi, 09123 Cagliari, ItalyResearch Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies (CREO Lab), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, ItalyResearch Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies (CREO Lab), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, ItalyResearch Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies (CREO Lab), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, ItalyResearch Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies (CREO Lab), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, ItalyResearch Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies (CREO Lab), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Cagliari, Piazza D’Armi, 09123 Cagliari, ItalyTranscutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a promising technique for eliciting referred tactile sensations in patients with limb amputation. Although several studies show the validity of this technique, its application in daily life and away from laboratories is limited by the need for more portable instrumentation that guarantees the necessary voltage and current requirements for proper sensory stimulation. This study proposes a low-cost, wearable high-voltage compliant current stimulator with four independent channels based on Components-Off-The-Shelf (COTS). This microcontroller-based system implements a voltage-current converter controllable through a digital-to-analog converter that delivers up to 25 mA to load up to 3.6 kΩ. The high-voltage compliance enables the system to adapt to variations in electrode-skin impedance, allowing it to stimulate loads over 10 kΩ with currents of 5 mA. The system was realized on a four-layer PCB (115.9 mm × 61 mm, 52 g). The functionality of the device was tested on resistive loads and on an equivalent skin-like RC circuit. Moreover, the possibility of implementing an amplitude modulation was demonstrated.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/4/782neurostimulatorsensory feedbackwearable electronic systemTENS |
| spellingShingle | Riccardo Collu Roberto Paolini Martina Bilotta Andrea Demofonti Francesca Cordella Loredana Zollo Massimo Barbaro Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback Micromachines neurostimulator sensory feedback wearable electronic system TENS |
| title | Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback |
| title_full | Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback |
| title_fullStr | Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback |
| title_short | Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback |
| title_sort | wearable high voltage compliant current stimulator for restoring sensory feedback |
| topic | neurostimulator sensory feedback wearable electronic system TENS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/4/782 |
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