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Ciotti F, John R, Katic Secerovic N, Gozzi N, Cimolato A, Jayaprakash N, Song W, Toth V, Zanos T, Zanos S, Raspopovic S. Towards enhanced functionality of vagus neuroprostheses through in silico optimized stimulation. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6119. [PMID: 39033186 PMCID: PMC11271449 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50523-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Bioelectronic therapies modulating the vagus nerve are promising for cardiovascular, inflammatory, and mental disorders. Clinical applications are however limited by side-effects such as breathing obstruction and headache caused by non-specific stimulation. To design selective and functional stimulation, we engineered VaStim, a realistic and efficient in-silico model. We developed a protocol to personalize VaStim in-vivo using simple muscle responses, successfully reproducing experimental observations, by combining models with trials conducted on five pigs. Through optimized algorithms, VaStim simulated the complete fiber population in minutes, including often omitted unmyelinated fibers which constitute 80% of the nerve. The model suggested that all Aα-fibers across the nerve affect laryngeal muscle, while heart rate changes were caused by B-efferents in specific fascicles. It predicted that tripolar paradigms could reduce laryngeal activity by 70% compared to typically used protocols. VaStim may serve as a model for developing neuromodulation therapies by maximizing efficacy and specificity, reducing animal experimentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Ciotti
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Robert John
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Natalija Katic Secerovic
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- The Mihajlo Pupin Institute, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Noemi Gozzi
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Cimolato
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Naveen Jayaprakash
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
- Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Weiguo Song
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
- Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Viktor Toth
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
- Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Theodoros Zanos
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
- Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
- Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
- Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Stavros Zanos
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
- Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
- Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
- Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Stanisa Raspopovic
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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2
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Saha R, Van Helden D, Hopper MS, Low WC, Netoff TI, Osborn J, Wang JP. Impact of anesthesia on micromagnetic stimulation ( μMS) of the vagus nerve. Biomed Phys Eng Express 2024; 10:035028. [PMID: 38565093 DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/ad3968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
To treat diseases associated with vagal nerve control of peripheral organs, it is necessary to selectively activate efferent and afferent fibers in the vagus. As a result of the nerve's complex anatomy, fiber-specific activation proves challenging. Spatially selective neuromodulation using micromagnetic stimulation(μMS) is showing incredible promise. This neuromodulation technique uses microcoils(μcoils) to generate magnetic fields by powering them with a time-varying current. Following the principles of Faraday's law of induction, a highly directional electric field is induced in the nerve from the magnetic field. In this study on rodent cervical vagus, a solenoidalμcoil was oriented at an angle to left and right branches of the nerve. The aim of this study was to measure changes in the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) followingμMS of the vagus. Theμcoils were powered by a single-cycle sinusoidal current varying in pulse widths(PW = 100, 500, and 1000μsec) at a frequency of 20 Hz. Under the influence of isoflurane,μMS of the left vagus at 1000μsec PW led to an average drop in MAP of 16.75 mmHg(n = 7). In contrast,μMS of the right vagus under isoflurane resulted in an average drop of 11.93 mmHg in the MAP(n = 7). Surprisingly, there were no changes in HR to either right or left vagalμMS suggesting the drop in MAP associated with vagusμMS was the result of stimulation of afferent, but not efferent fibers. In urethane anesthetized rats, no changes in either MAP or HR were observed uponμMS of the right or left vagus(n = 3). These findings suggest the choice of anesthesia plays a key role in determining the efficacy ofμMS on the vagal nerve. Absence of HR modulation uponμMS could offer alternative treatment options using VNS with fewer heart-related side-effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Saha
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Dusty Van Helden
- Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Matthew S Hopper
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Walter C Low
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Theoden I Netoff
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - John Osborn
- Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Jian-Ping Wang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
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3
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Blanz SL, Musselman ED, Settell ML, Knudsen BE, Nicolai EN, Trevathan JK, Verner RS, Begnaud J, Skubal AC, Suminski AJ, Williams JC, Shoffstall AJ, Grill WM, Pelot NA, Ludwig KA. Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect. J Neural Eng 2023; 20:10.1088/1741-2552/acb3fd. [PMID: 36649655 PMCID: PMC10339030 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/acb3fd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Electrical stimulation of the cervical vagus nerve using implanted electrodes (VNS) is FDA-approved for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, treatment-resistant depression, and most recently, chronic ischemic stroke rehabilitation. However, VNS is critically limited by the unwanted stimulation of nearby neck muscles-a result of non-specific stimulation activating motor nerve fibers within the vagus. Prior studies suggested that precise placement of small epineural electrodes can modify VNS therapeutic effects, such as cardiac responses. However, it remains unclear if placement can alter the balance between intended effect and limiting side effect. We used an FDA investigational device exemption approved six-contact epineural cuff to deliver VNS in pigs and quantified how epineural electrode location impacts on- and off-target VNS activation. Detailed post-mortem histology was conducted to understand how the underlying neuroanatomy impacts observed functional responses. Here we report the discovery and characterization of clear neuroanatomy-dependent differences in threshold and saturation for responses related to both effect (change in heart rate) and side effect (neck muscle contractions). The histological and electrophysiological data were used to develop and validate subject-specific computation models of VNS, creating a well-grounded quantitative framework to optimize electrode location-specific activation of nerve fibers governing intended effect versus unwanted side effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan L Blanz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Eric D Musselman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Megan L Settell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Bruce E Knudsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Evan N Nicolai
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
- Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, MN, United States of America
- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States of America
| | - James K Trevathan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Ryan S Verner
- LivaNova USA Inc., Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Jason Begnaud
- LivaNova USA Inc., Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Aaron C Skubal
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Aaron J Suminski
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Justin C Williams
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Andrew J Shoffstall
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- APT Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Warren M Grill
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Nicole A Pelot
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Kip A Ludwig
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe), Madison, WI, United States of America
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
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4
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Elamin ABA, Forsat K, Senok SS, Goswami N. Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Its Cardioprotective Abilities: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med 2023; 12:jcm12051717. [PMID: 36902505 PMCID: PMC10003006 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12051717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) being used in neuroscience, it has recently been highlighted that it has cardioprotective functions. However, many studies related to VNS are not mechanistic in nature. This systematic review aims to focus on the role of VNS in cardioprotective therapy, selective vagus nerve stimulators (sVNS), and their functional capabilities. A systemic review of the current literature was conducted on VNS, sVNS, and their ability to induce positive effects on arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and heart failure. Both experimental and clinical studies were reviewed and assessed separately. Of 522 research articles retrieved from literature archives, 35 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Literature analysis proves that combining fiber-type selectivity with spatially-targeted vagus nerve stimulation is feasible. The role of VNS as a tool for modulating heart dynamics, inflammatory response, and structural cellular components was prominently seen across the literature. The application of transcutaneous VNS, as opposed to implanted electrodes, provides the best clinical outcome with minimal side effects. VNS presents a method for future cardiovascular treatment that can modulate human cardiac physiology. However, continued research is needed for further insight.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kowthar Forsat
- College of Medicine, Ajman University, Ajman P.O. Box 346, United Arab Emirates
| | - Solomon Silas Senok
- College of Medicine, Ajman University, Ajman P.O. Box 346, United Arab Emirates
| | - Nandu Goswami
- Institute of Physiology (Gravitational Physiology and Medicine), Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai P.O. Box 505055, United Arab Emirates
- Correspondence:
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5
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Upadhye AR, Kolluru C, Druschel L, Lababidi LA, Ahmad SS, Menendez DM, Buyukcelik ON, Settell ML, Blanz SL, Jenkins MW, Wilson DL, Zhang J, Tatsuoka C, Grill WM, Pelot NA, Ludwig KA, Gustafson KJ, Shoffstall AJ. Fascicles split or merge every ∼560 microns within the human cervical vagus nerve. J Neural Eng 2022; 19:10.1088/1741-2552/ac9643. [PMID: 36174538 PMCID: PMC10353574 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac9643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Objective.Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is Food and Drug Administration-approved for epilepsy, depression, and obesity, and stroke rehabilitation; however, the morphological anatomy of the vagus nerve targeted by stimulatation is poorly understood. Here, we used microCT to quantify the fascicular structure and neuroanatomy of human cervical vagus nerves (cVNs).Approach.We collected eight mid-cVN specimens from five fixed cadavers (three left nerves, five right nerves). Analysis focused on the 'surgical window': 5 cm of length, centered around the VNS implant location. Tissue was stained with osmium tetroxide, embedded in paraffin, and imaged on a microCT scanner. We visualized and quantified the merging and splitting of fascicles, and report a morphometric analysis of fascicles: count, diameter, and area.Main results.In our sample of human cVNs, a fascicle split or merge event was observed every ∼560µm (17.8 ± 6.1 events cm-1). Mean morphological outcomes included: fascicle count (6.6 ± 2.8 fascicles; range 1-15), fascicle diameter (514 ± 142µm; range 147-1360µm), and total cross-sectional fascicular area (1.32 ± 0.41 mm2; range 0.58-2.27 mm).Significance.The high degree of fascicular splitting and merging, along with wide range in key fascicular morphological parameters across humans may help to explain the clinical heterogeneity in patient responses to VNS. These data will enable modeling and experimental efforts to determine the clinical effect size of such variation. These data will also enable efforts to design improved VNS electrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aniruddha R. Upadhye
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- APT Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Chaitanya Kolluru
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Lindsey Druschel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- APT Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Luna Al Lababidi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Sami S. Ahmad
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Dhariyat M. Menendez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- APT Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Ozge N. Buyukcelik
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Megan L. Settell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Stephan L. Blanz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute of Neuroengineering (WITNe), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Michael W. Jenkins
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - David L. Wilson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Curtis Tatsuoka
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- FES Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Warren M. Grill
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Nicole A. Pelot
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Kip A. Ludwig
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin Institute of Neuroengineering (WITNe), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Kenneth J. Gustafson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- FES Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Andrew J. Shoffstall
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- APT Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
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6
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Jeong H, Cho A, Ay I, Bonmassar G. Short-pulsed micro-magnetic stimulation of the vagus nerve. Front Physiol 2022; 13:938101. [PMID: 36277182 PMCID: PMC9585240 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.938101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is commonly used to treat drug-resistant epilepsy and depression. The therapeutic effect of VNS depends on stimulating the afferent vagal fibers. However, the vagus is a mixed nerve containing afferent and efferent fibers, and the stimulation of cardiac efferent fibers during VNS may produce a rare but severe risk of bradyarrhythmia. This side effect is challenging to mitigate since VNS, via electrical stimulation technology used in clinical practice, requires unique electrode design and pulse optimization for selective stimulation of only the afferent fibers. Here we describe a method of VNS using micro-magnetic stimulation (µMS), which may be an alternative technique to induce a focal stimulation, enabling a selective fiber stimulation. Micro-coils were implanted into the cervical vagus nerve in adult male Wistar rats. For comparison, the physiological responses were recorded continuously before, during, and after stimulation with arterial blood pressure (ABP), respiration rate (RR), and heart rate (HR). The electrical VNS caused a decrease in ABP, RR, and HR, whereas µM-VNS only caused a transient reduction in RR. The absence of an HR modulation indicated that µM-VNS might provide an alternative technology to VNS with fewer heart-related side effects, such as bradyarrhythmia. Numerical electromagnetic simulations helped estimate the optimal coil orientation with respect to the nerve to provide information on the electric field’s spatial distribution and strength. Furthermore, a transmission emission microscope provided very high-resolution images of the cervical vagus nerve in rats, which identified two different populations of nerve fibers categorized as large and small myelinated fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongbae Jeong
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Annabel Cho
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Ilknur Ay
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Giorgio Bonmassar
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Giorgio Bonmassar,
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7
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Fitchett A, Mastitskaya S, Aristovich K. Selective Neuromodulation of the Vagus Nerve. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:685872. [PMID: 34108861 PMCID: PMC8180849 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.685872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an effective technique for the treatment of refractory epilepsy and shows potential for the treatment of a range of other serious conditions. However, until now stimulation has generally been supramaximal and non-selective, resulting in a range of side effects. Selective VNS (sVNS) aims to mitigate this by targeting specific fiber types within the nerve to produce functionally specific effects. In recent years, several key paradigms of sVNS have been developed-spatially selective, fiber-selective, anodal block, neural titration, and kilohertz electrical stimulation block-as well as various stimulation pulse parameters and electrode array geometries. sVNS can significantly reduce the severity of side effects, and in some cases increase efficacy of the treatment. While most studies have focused on fiber-selective sVNS, spatially selective sVNS has demonstrated comparable mitigation of side-effects. It has the potential to achieve greater specificity and provide crucial information about vagal nerve physiology. Anodal block achieves strong side-effect mitigation too, but is much less specific than fiber- and spatially selective paradigms. The major hurdle to achieving better selectivity of VNS is a limited knowledge of functional anatomical organization of vagus nerve. It is also crucial to optimize electrode array geometry and pulse shape, as well as expand the applications of sVNS beyond the current focus on cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Svetlana Mastitskaya
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kirill Aristovich
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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8
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Horn CC, Forssell M, Sciullo M, Harms JE, Fulton S, Mou C, Sun F, Simpson TW, Xiao G, Fisher LE, Bettinger C, Fedder GK. Hydrogel-based electrodes for selective cervical vagus nerve stimulation. J Neural Eng 2021; 18. [PMID: 33784636 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/abf398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Objective.Electrical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has the potential to treat a wide variety of diseases by modulating afferent and efferent communication to the heart, lungs, esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Although distal vagal nerve branches, close to end organs, could provide a selective therapeutic approach, these locations are often surgically inaccessible. In contrast, the cervical vagus nerve has been targeted for decades using surgically implantable helix electrodes to treat epileptic seizures and depression; however, to date, clinical implementation of VNS has relied on an electrode with contacts that fully wrap around the nerve, producing non-selective activation of the entire nerve. Here we demonstrate selective cervical VNS using cuff electrodes with multiple contacts around the nerve circumference to target different functional pathways.Approach.These flexible probes were adjusted to the diameter of the nerve using an adhesive hydrogel wrap to create a robust electrode interface. Our approach was verified in a rat model by demonstrating that cervical VNS produces neural activity in the abdominal vagus nerve while limiting effects on the cardiovascular system (i.e. changes in heart rate or blood pressure).Main results.This study demonstrates the potential for selective cervical VNS as a therapeutic approach for modulating distal nerve branches while reducing off target effects.Significance.This methodology could potentially be refined to treat gastrointestinal, metabolic, inflammatory, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases amenable to vagal neuromodulatory control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles C Horn
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America.,Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Mats Forssell
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Michael Sciullo
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Jonathan E Harms
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Stephanie Fulton
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Chenchen Mou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Fan Sun
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Tyler W Simpson
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Gutian Xiao
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Lee E Fisher
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America.,Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Christopher Bettinger
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Gary K Fedder
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
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9
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Mastitskaya S, Thompson N, Holder D. Selective Vagus Nerve Stimulation as a Therapeutic Approach for the Treatment of ARDS: A Rationale for Neuro-Immunomodulation in COVID-19 Disease. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:667036. [PMID: 33927594 PMCID: PMC8076564 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.667036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most severe form of acute lung injury. It is induced by sepsis, aspiration, and pneumonia, including that caused by SARS coronavirus and human influenza viruses. The main pathophysiological mechanism of ARDS is a systemic inflammatory response. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can limit cytokine production in the spleen and thereby dampen any systemic inflammation and inflammation-induced tissue damage in the lungs and other organs. However, the effects of increased parasympathetic outflow to the lungs when non-selective VNS is applied may result in bronchoconstriction, increased mucus secretion and enhance local pulmonary inflammatory activity; this may outweigh the beneficial systemic anti-inflammatory action of VNS. Organ/function-specific therapy can be achieved by imaging of localized fascicle activity within the vagus nerve and selective stimulation of identified organ-specific fascicles. This may be able to provide selective neuromodulation of different pathways within the vagus nerve and offer a novel means to improve outcome in ARDS. This has motivated this review in which we discuss the mechanisms of anti-inflammatory effects of VNS, progress in selective VNS techniques, and a possible application for ARDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svetlana Mastitskaya
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Aristovich K, Donega M, Fjordbakk C, Tarotin I, Chapman CAR, Viscasillas J, Stathopoulou TR, Crawford A, Chew D, Perkins J, Holder D. Model-based geometrical optimisation and in vivo validation of a spatially selective multielectrode cuff array for vagus nerve neuromodulation. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 352:109079. [PMID: 33516735 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Revised: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuromodulation by electrical stimulation of the human cervical vagus nerve may be limited by adverse side effects due to stimulation of off-target organs. It may be possible to overcome this by spatially selective stimulation of peripheral nerves. Preliminary studies have shown this is possible using a cylindrical multielectrode human-sized nerve cuff in vagus nerve selective neuromodulation. NEW METHOD The model-based optimisation method for multi-electrode geometric design is presented. The method was applied for vagus nerve cuff array and suggested two rings of 14 electrodes, 3 mm apart, with 0.4 mm electrode width and separation and length 0.5-3 mm, with stimulation through a pair in the same radial position on the two rings. The electrodes were fabricated using PDMS-embedded stainless steel foil and PEDOT: pTS coating. RESULTS In the cervical vagus nerve in anaesthetised sheep, it was possible to selectively reduce the respiratory breath rate (RBR) by 85 ± 5% without affecting heart rate, or selectively reduce heart rate (HR) by 20 ± 7% without affecting respiratory rate. The cardiac- and pulmonary-specific sites on the nerve cross-sectional perimeter were localised with a radial separation of 105 ± 5 degrees (P < 0.01, N = 24 in 12 sheep). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest organotopic or function-specific organisation of neural fibres in the cervical vagus nerve. The optimised electrode array demonstrated selective electrical neuromodulation without adverse side effects. It may be possible to translate this to improved treatment by electrical autonomic neuromodulation for currently intractable conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirill Aristovich
- Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, UK.
| | - Matteo Donega
- Neuromodulation, Galvani Bioelectronics, Stevenage, UK
| | | | - Ilya Tarotin
- Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Daniel Chew
- Neuromodulation, Galvani Bioelectronics, Stevenage, UK
| | | | - David Holder
- Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, UK
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Dali M, Rossel O, Andreu D, Laporte L, Hernández A, Laforet J, Marijon E, Hagège A, Clerc M, Henry C, Guiraud D. Model based optimal multipolar stimulation without a priori knowledge of nerve structure: application to vagus nerve stimulation. J Neural Eng 2018; 15:046018. [DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/aabeb9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Guiraud D, Andreu D, Bonnet S, Carrault G, Couderc P, Hagège A, Henry C, Hernandez A, Karam N, Le Rolle V, Mabo P, Maciejasz P, Malbert CH, Marijon E, Maubert S, Picq C, Rossel O, Bonnet JL. Vagus nerve stimulation: state of the art of stimulation and recording strategies to address autonomic function neuromodulation. J Neural Eng 2016; 13:041002. [PMID: 27351347 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2560/13/4/041002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Neural signals along the vagus nerve (VN) drive many somatic and autonomic functions. The clinical interest of VN stimulation (VNS) is thus potentially huge and has already been demonstrated in epilepsy. However, side effects are often elicited, in addition to the targeted neuromodulation. APPROACH This review examines the state of the art of VNS applied to two emerging modulations of autonomic function: heart failure and obesity, especially morbid obesity. MAIN RESULTS We report that VNS may benefit from improved stimulation delivery using very advanced technologies. However, most of the results from fundamental animal studies still need to be demonstrated in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Guiraud
- Inria, DEMAR, Montpellier, France. University of Montpellier, DEMAR, Montpellier, France
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Dali M, Rossel O, Guiraud D. Fast Simulation and Optimization Tool to Explore Selective Neural Stimulation. Eur J Transl Myol 2016; 26:6060. [PMID: 27990231 PMCID: PMC5128964 DOI: 10.4081/ejtm.2016.6060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In functional electrical stimulation, selective stimulation of axons is desirable to activate a specific target, in particular muscular function. This implies to simulate a fascicule without activating neighboring ones i.e. to be spatially selective. Spatial selectivity is achieved by the use of multicontact cuff electrodes over which the stimulation current is distributed. Because of the large number of parameters involved, numerical simulations provide a way to find and optimize electrode configuration. The present work offers a computation effective scheme and associated tool chain capable of simulating electrode-nerve interface and find the best spread of current to achieve spatial selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Dali
- INRIA-LIRMM - Université de Montpellier, Campus Saint Priest - Montpellier , France
| | - Olivier Rossel
- INRIA-LIRMM - Université de Montpellier, Campus Saint Priest - Montpellier , France
| | - David Guiraud
- INRIA-LIRMM - Université de Montpellier, Campus Saint Priest - Montpellier , France
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Plachta DTT, Gierthmuehlen M, Cota O, Espinosa N, Boeser F, Herrera TC, Stieglitz T, Zentner J. Blood pressure control with selective vagal nerve stimulation and minimal side effects. J Neural Eng 2014; 11:036011. [PMID: 24809832 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2560/11/3/036011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Hypertension is the largest threat to patient health and a burden to health care systems. Despite various options, 30% of patients do not respond sufficiently to medical treatment. Mechanoreceptors in the aortic arch relay blood pressure (BP) levels through vagal nerve (VN) fibers to the brainstem and trigger the baroreflex, lowering the BP. Selective electrical stimulation of these nerve fibers reduced BP in rats. However, there is no technique described to localize and stimulate these fibers inside the VN without inadvertent stimulation of non-baroreceptive fibers causing side effects like bradycardia and bradypnea. APPROACH We present a novel method for selective VN stimulation to reduce BP without the aforementioned side effects. Baroreceptor compound activity of rat VN (n = 5) was localized using a multichannel cuff electrode, true tripolar recording and a coherent averaging algorithm triggered by BP or electrocardiogram. MAIN RESULTS Tripolar stimulation over electrodes near the barofibers reduced the BP without triggering significant bradycardia and bradypnea. The BP drop was adjusted to 60% of the initial value by varying the stimulation pulse width and duration, and lasted up to five times longer than the stimulation. SIGNIFICANCE The presented method is robust to impedance changes, independent of the electrode's relative position, does not compromise the nerve and can run on implantable, ultra-low power signal processors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis T T Plachta
- Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), Laboratory for Biomedical Microtechnology, University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 102, D-79110 Freiburg, Germany
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