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Theranostics 2019; 9(23):7099-7107. doi:10.7150/thno.35436 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Flexible Multielectrode Array for Skeletal Muscle Conditioning, Acetylcholine Receptor Stabilization and Epimysial Recording After Critical Peripheral Nerve Injury

Malia McAvoy^*1,2, Jonathan K. Tsosie^*3, Keval N. Vyas^*1, Omar F. Khan^1,4, Kaitlyn Sadtler¹, Robert Langer^1,2,4,5, Daniel G. Anderson^1,2,4,5✉

1. David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
2. Harvard/MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 351 Engineering Terrance Mudd Building, 500 West 120th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA
4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
5. Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
*These authors contributed equally to this work.

✉ Corresponding author: e-mail dganderedu

Abstract

Complete re-innervation after a traumatic injury severing a muscle's peripheral nerve may take years. During this time, the denervated muscle atrophies and loses acetylcholine receptors, a vital component of the neuromuscular junction, limiting functional recovery. One common clinical treatment for atrophy is electrical stimulation; however, epimysial electrodes currently used are bulky and often fail due to an excessive inflammatory response. Additionally, there remains a need for a device providing in vivo monitoring of neuromuscular regeneration and the maintenance of acetylcholine receptors. Here, an implantable, flexible microelectrode array (MEA) was developed that provides surface neuromuscular stimulation and recording during long-term denervation.

Methods: The MEA uses a flexible polyimide elastomer and an array of gold-based microelectrodes featuring Peano curve motifs, which together maintain electrode flexibility. The devices were implanted along the denervated gastrocnemius muscles of 5 rats. These rats underwent therapeutic stimulation using the MEA daily beginning on post-operative day 2. Another 5 rats underwent tibial nerve resection without implantation of MEA. Tissues were harvested on post-operative day 14 and evaluated for quantification of acetylcholine receptors and muscle fiber area using immunofluorescence and histological staining.

Results: The Young's modulus was 1.67 GPa, which is comparable to native tendon and muscle. The devices successfully recorded electromyogram data when implanted in rats. When compared to untreated denervated muscles, MEA therapy attenuated atrophy by maintaining larger muscle fiber cross-sectional areas (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the acetylcholine receptor areas were markedly larger with MEA treatment (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: This proof-of-concept work successfully demonstrates the ability to combine conformability, tensile strength-enhancing metal micropatterning, electrical stimulation and recording into a functional implant for both epimysial stimulation and recording.

Keywords: flexible multielectrode array, functional electrical stimulation, electromyography, neuromuscular junction, neural interface

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