Recent advances in the design of implantable stimulator output stages

As the most important part of an implanted stimulation device, the stimulator output stage is in direct contact with the biological tissue, and is responsible for triggering the action potential in the stimulated nerves. The design of the stimulator output stage is governed by both biomedical and IC design constraints. In this paper, we present an overview of some recent advances in the design of implantable stimulator output stages for functional electrical stimulation applications. We also discuss a stimulator output stage structure which is suitable for large reduction of the physical size of the entire stimulator circuit.