A transverse intrafascicular multichannel electrode (TIME) to treat phantom limb pain — Towards human clinical trials

Over the last three years, a novel type of intrafascicular electrode was developed to serve as a corrective neural prosthetic interface to be placed in the peripheral nerve stumps of upper limb amputees who suffer from phantom limb pain (PLP). In general, the presented interface is an advancement of the thin-film LIFE electrode that was successfully used in amputees a couple of years ago. Although the LIFE concept proved to be effective, the longitudinal orientation of the implant prevented distribution of spatial selective sites in more than one fascicle. Therefore, a transversal approach was developed. The work presented was developed within the European project “TIME” and will be implanted in the median and ulnar nerves of an amputee subject in Rome later this year (2012). The present paper will outline the design, assembly technologies and full electrochemical characterization of the TIME-3H electrode for sub-chronic (<;30 days) human implants.