Wearable Neuromodulators

Abstract

In neuromodulation, by delivering a form of stimulus to neural tissue the response of an associated neural circuit may be changed, enhanced or inhibited (i.e., modulated) as desired. This powerful technique may be used to treat various medical conditions as outlined in this chapter. After a brief introduction to the human nervous system, key example applications of electrical neuromodulation such as cardiac pacemakers, devices for pain relief, deep brain stimulation, cochlear implant and visual prosthesis and their respective methods of deployment are discussed. Furthermore, key features of wearable neuromodulators with reference to some existing devices are briefly reviewed. This chapter is concluded by a case study on design and development of a wearable device with non-invasive electrodes for treating lower urinary tract dysfunctions after spinal cord injury.