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Direct Electrical Stimulation Using a Battery-Operated Device for Induction and Modulation of Colonic Contractions in Pigs

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Abstract

Direct electrical stimulation of the colon offers a promising approach for the induction of propulsive colonic contractions by using an implantable device. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility to induce colonic contractions using a commercially available battery-operated stimulator (maximum pulse width of 1 ms and maximum amplitude of 10 V). Three pairs of pacing electrodes were inserted into the cecal seromuscular layer of anesthetized pigs. During a first set of in vivo experiments conducted on six animals, a pacing protocol leading to cecum contractions was determined: stimulation bursts with 1 ms pulse width, 10 V amplitude (7–15 mA), 120 Hz frequency, and 30-s burst duration, repeated every 2–5 min. In a second testing phase, an evaluation of the pacing protocol was performed in four animals (120 stimulation bursts in total). By using the battery-operated stimulator, contractions of the cecum and movement of contents could be induced in 92% of all stimulations. A cecal shortening of about 30% and an average intraluminal pressure increase of 10.0 ± 6.0 mmHg were observed.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made possible by grants from the Swiss Governmental Commission of Innovative Technologies (CTI) and Medtronic Europe. Authors would like to thank Marco Burki for his participation in the animal experiments and Prof. J.-P. Gardaz for his participation in the animal experiments and his assistance in writing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Signal Processing Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Mattia Bertschi & Jean-Marc Vesin

  2. Institute of Physiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Vincent Schlageter & Pavel Kucera

  3. Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Steve Aellen, Nicolas Peloponissios, Aris D’Ambrogio & Jean-Claude Givel

  4. Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Paul Herman Wiesel

  5. Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Pavel Kucera

  6. Medtronic Europe Sàrl, Route du Molliau 31, CH-1131, Tolochenaz, Switzerland

    Nathalie Virag

Authors
  1. Mattia Bertschi
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  2. Vincent Schlageter
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  3. Jean-Marc Vesin
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  4. Steve Aellen
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  5. Nicolas Peloponissios
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  6. Aris D’Ambrogio
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  7. Paul Herman Wiesel
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  8. Jean-Claude Givel
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  9. Pavel Kucera
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  10. Nathalie Virag
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathalie Virag.

Additional information

Associate Editor Sean S. Kohles oversaw the review of this article.

Nicolas Peloponissios is deceased.

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Bertschi, M., Schlageter, V., Vesin, JM. et al. Direct Electrical Stimulation Using a Battery-Operated Device for Induction and Modulation of Colonic Contractions in Pigs. Ann Biomed Eng 38, 2398–2405 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-010-9985-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-010-9985-6

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