Design of a portable electrotactile stimulator for sensory substitution applications

Author

Onesti, R.J. ; Tompkins, W.J. ; Webster, J.G. ; Wertsch, J.J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI, USA

fYear

1989

fDate

9-12 Nov 1989

Firstpage

1439

Abstract

The design, fabrication, and testing of an electronic stimulator for use in sensory substituion applications is discussed. The device is housed in a 5-cm×10-cm×15-cm plastic housing, weighs less than 1 kg, and is battery operated. The unit functions as part of a feedback system for people with insensate feet. By adding a special cable, the device can also be used in conjunction with a portable data-acquisition system previously developed. Controls have been incorporated to allow a researcher to determine the effect of various parameters on the quality of stimulation. The device produces a biphasic pulse with a maximal current amplitude of 20 mA and can operate for approximately 3 h. Multiplexing of the input and output channels minimizes component count as well as power consumption

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; mechanoception; sensory aids; 20 mA; 3 hr; battery operated device; biphasic pulse; electronic stimulator; feedback system; multiplexing; people with insensate feet; plastic housing; portable electrotactile stimulator; sensory substitution; Application software; Assembly; Batteries; Counting circuits; Digital control; Digital-controlled oscillators; Electric resistance; Immune system; Operational amplifiers; Potentiometers;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1989. Images of the Twenty-First Century., Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in

Conference_Location

Seattle, WA

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.1989.96278

Filename

96278