Feasibility of using peroneal nerve recordings for deriving stimulation timing in a foot drop correction system

The objective of this research was to demonstrate the potential of using peroneal nerve activity to derive timing control for stimulation in foot drop correction and to attempt recording and stimulation through the same electrode. Two subjects were implanted with cuff electrodes on the peroneal nerve. An input domain was derived from the recorded electroneurogram (ENG) and fed to a detection algorithm based on an Adaptive Logic Network (ALN) for predicting stimulation timing. A switching circuit was furthermore built for switching between stimulator and recorder for combined use of the cuff electrode.  The detection was successful, but the accuracy depended on the signal to noise ratio of the recorded ENG. The switching circuit successfully allowed for simultaneous recording and stimulation through the same cuff electrode. We conclude that the peroneal nerve can potentially be used to record sensory information for derivation of a stimulator control signal in a foot drop application, while at the same time being stimulated to activate foot dorsiflexors.