Study on DBS device for small animals

Although deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy has been achieved, fine tuning on the operational parameters and the equipment are needed in order to make the stimulation treatment more applicable. Thus, the purpose of this study is to design and produce a deep brain stimulation device for DBS experiments for small animals (e.g. rats). Physical size, durability, cost of device and convenience of operation are the major focuses in this study. The designed pulse generator can produce pulses with adjustable frequencies, pulse widths and amplitudes. Telemetry and remote control of the system reduced the physical size of the implant component. Battery voltage measurement and electrode impedance measurement justified the values of parameters applied for stimulation. Power consumption is low enough and test results show it is expected to work for more than three months when using typical pulse parameters. Finally, we use the device on the DBS experiment of rats. The results prove that the design of the device can fulfill the requirements for deep brain stimulation in animal experiments.