An Implantable Device to Regulate Urination through Deep Brain Stimulation (original) (raw)

Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a disease in which patients lose control of their bladder. It is particularly common in elderly women having a prevalence of as much as 30% to 50% [1]. Many of these patients are left without successful treatment. A recent study has shown a new option for treatment that consists of deep brain stimulation (DBS) at a site known as the periaqueductal gray (PAG) [2, 3]. To test the effectiveness of this treatment, chronic stimulation of the PAG should be used in animals to see if it can reliably prevent micturition in the long term. A device was created that incorporated a piezoresistive pressure sensor and two electrodes connected through an implantable circuit developed by other members of this lab. The pressure sensor was implanted in the bladder and the electrodes were implanted in the PAG. When the bladder pressure reached a level greater than XXmmHg, XXmA of current was sent between the electrodes. The threshold was set slightly lower than the actual v...