1. 3D-printed wearable backpack stimulator for chronic in vivo aquatic stimulation
- Author
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Graciela A. Unguez, Craig Duran, Michael Harris, Evan Salazar, Delia J. Valles-Rosales, Wei Tang, and Michael McDowell
- Subjects
Battery (electricity) ,Gymnotiformes ,Skeletal muscle ,Wearable computer ,Cell Differentiation ,Stimulation ,Equipment Design ,Biology ,Electric Stimulation ,Backpack ,Fish Diseases ,Electric Power Supplies ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,In vivo ,Printing, Three-Dimensional ,medicine ,Animals ,Regeneration ,Potentiometer ,Muscle, Skeletal ,Electric fish ,Spinal Cord Injuries ,Biomedical engineering - Abstract
The neural mechanisms underlying changes in gene expression in the interconversion between skeletal muscle and the non-contractile electrogenic cells of the electric organ in electric fishes require several days to be manifested. It is extremely challenging to study these non-immediate forms of plasticity in reduced preparations in cell culture due to the time requirements. To address this experimental obstacle we developed a 3D-printed wearable backpack that allows chronic electrical stimulation of aquatic teleost fish. The backpack holds a biphasic simulator using a full H-bridge driver structure. Stimulation amplitude is adjusted with a current source controlled by a micro potentiometer whereas the stimulation waveform is reconfigurable through a micro-controller. A 3.7 V Lithium Ion Polymer battery powers the entire circuit. This backpack system will allow underwater chronic stimulation experiments aimed to study the role that neuronal input exerts on cell phenotypes in a vertebrate species with high tissue regeneration and cell trans-differentiation capabilities.
- Published
- 2015
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