Energy-efficiency of Cardiomyocyte Stimulation with Rectangular Pulses

Abstract

In cardiac pacemaker design, energy expenditure is an important issue. This work aims to explore whether varying stimulation pulse configuration is a viable optimization strategy for reducing energy consumption by the pacemaker. A single cardiomyocyte was used as an experimental model. Each cardiomyocyte was stimulated with different stimulation protocols using rectangular waveforms applied in varying number, in short succession. The amplitude, the width of each pulse, and the interval between consecutive pulses were modified. The application of multiple pulses in a short sequence led to a reduction of the threshold voltage required for stimulation when compared to a single pulse. However, none of the employed multi-pulse sequences reduced the overall energy expenditure of cell stimulation when compared to a single pulse stimulation. Among multiple pulse protocols, a combination of two short pulses (1 ms) separated with a short interval (0.5 ms) had the same energy requirements as a single short pulse (1 ms), but required the application of significantly less voltage. While increasing the number of consecutive pulses does not reduce the energy requirements of the pacemaker, the reduction in threshold voltage can be considered in practice if lower stimulation voltages are desired.

The MyoPulser field stimulator, a do it yourself programmable electronic pacemaker for contracting cells and tissues

“…Analysis of the MyoPulser-output confirmed sharp rectangular signals 9 , precisely following the settings applied by the user, pared with extensive data recording. Pulsing of living cells revealed remarkably exact contractions according to the applied parameters.…”

Theoretical Aspects of Resting-State Cardiomyocyte Communication for Multi-Nodal Nano-Actuator Pacemakers

“…The EGM is used to measure the local signal in the tissue level. To measure the interference of encoding signals to the EGM, we would need to (1) apply more advanced 3D topological tissue models, (2) analyze the coupling between cells, (3) identify possible multiple paths between the transmitting and receiving nano-actuators, and, ultimately, (4) consider the position and timing/synchronization issue of nano-actuators. This indicates the direction for future work in this field.…”

“…In the presence of heart muscle damage, heart conduction may be disturbed, and artificial pacemakers are needed to re-establish regular cardiac operation [1,2]. In our recent paper, we discussed state-of-the-art pacemakers, and proposed a conceptual nano-actuator-network-based leadless pacemaker to overcome limitations imposed by battery longevity [1] (Figure 1b).…”

IOCBIO Kinetics: An open-source software solution for analysis of data traces

“…The primary analysis modules can assist with automatic split of the trace on the basis of the events or some other protocol specification. In particular, it could be important for the experiments that can have hundreds of regions of interest, such as some electrophysiological recordings [12].…”