Intraoperative Testing of Selectivity of Spiral Nerve Cuff Electrodes

Nerve cuff electrodes were used intraoperatively to stimulate peripheral nerves to test electrode selectivity in the human upper extremity. Subjects were recruited from patients undergoing upper extremity nerve repair procedures. The nerves were stimulated through different contacts in the cuff and with varying parameters. Data was recorded to estimate stimulation threshold and determine selectivity data. Thresholds appeared to be higher than anticipated based on previous cat data. Preliminary selectivity was demonstrated on several nerves