Cuff actuator for adaptive holding condition around nerves

A nerve stimulation technology is expected in the biomedical field. Above all, a functional electrical stimulation is studied in order to recover paralyzed functions. We have proposed a new nerve stimulation strategy and reported successful results. It is indispensable to guarantee a reliable contact between nerves and a stimulator for the nerve stimulation. Most of the conventional stimulators, however, were passive structures, and hence it was not easy to obtain the desired contact. This paper presents a cuff actuator that allows an adaptive contact between nerves and the stimulator in order to solve the above problem. A trial towards an implantable device is also presented.