Programa del congreso

Neuromuscular stimulation through implantable devices has a significant potential for restoring motor function and supporting rehabilitation in patients with neurological or musculoskeletal impairments. We have developed a novel approach for the implementation of a dense network of wireless flexible threadlike intramuscular implants with an unprecedent level of miniaturization for neuromuscular stimulation that avoids bulky components such as coils and batteries: the eAXON implants. In this study, eAXON implants were implanted by injection at the Tibialis Anterior, Gastrocnemius Medialis and Gastrocnemius Lateralis muscles of healthy rabbits to evaluate their performance after three months of implantation and assess the device’s stability by analyzing their migration and encapsulation by the surrounding muscular tissue. After three months, all implants remained complete and 54% of them still induced an observable stimulation. A thin and homogeneous fibrotic layer was formed along the implants with a mean maximum thickness of 27 µm, and X-ray analysis suggests the need to refining the design of the implants to prevent them from migrating.