MiniVStimA: A miniaturized easy to use implantable electrical stimulator for small laboratory animals

PLoS One. 2020 Oct 30;15(10):e0241638. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241638. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

According to PubMed, roughly 10% of the annually added publications are describing findings from the small animal model (mice and rats), including investigations in the field of muscle physiology and training. A subset of this research requires neural stimulation with flexible adjustments of stimulation parameters, highlighting the need for reliable implantable electrical stimulators, small enough (~1 cm3), that even mice can tolerate them without impairing their movement. The MiniVStimA is a battery-powered implant for nerve stimulation with an outer diameter of 15 mm and an encapsulated volume of 1.2 cm3 in its smallest variation. It can be pre-programmed according to the experimental protocol and controlled after implantation with a magnet. It delivers constant current charge-balanced monophasic rectangular pulses up to 2 mA and 1 ms phase width (1 kΩ load). The circuitry is optimized for small volume and energy efficiency. Due to the variation of the internal oscillator (31 kHz ± 10%), calibration measures must be implemented during the manufacturing process, which can reduce the deviation of the frequency related parameters down to ± 1%. The expected lifetime of the smaller (larger) version is 100 (480) days for stimulation with 7 Hz all day and 10 (48) days for stimulation with 100 Hz. Devices with complex stimulation patterns for nerve stimulation have been successfully used in two in-vivo studies, lasting up to nine weeks. The implant worked fully self-contained while the animal stayed in its familiar environment. External components are not required during the entire time.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Laboratory
  • Electric Stimulation / instrumentation*
  • Electrodes, Implanted*
  • Equipment Design
  • Female
  • Mice
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar

Grants and funding

The major part of the monetary and all human resources came from the Medical University of Vienna / the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. The project was partially funded by MED-EL (https://www.medel.com/) - The funders had no role in study design, data collection, and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There was no additional external funding received for this study.