An implantable electrical stimulator used for peripheral nerve rehabilitation in rats

This study evaluated an implantable electrical stimulator using a sciatic nerve injury animal model, and ethological, electrophysiological and histological assessments. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the study, and were subjected to crushing of the right sciatic nerve with a micro-vessel clamp. Electrical stimulators were implanted in twenty of the rats (the implantation group), while the remaining twenty rats were assigned to the control group. At three and six weeks following the surgery, the sciatic nerve function index (SFI) and the motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) were demonstrated to be significantly higher in the implantation group compared with the control group (P<0.05). Histological analysis, using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, showed the typical pathological atrophy, and an assessment of the nerve that had been crushed revealed distal axonal breakdown in the control group. These results suggest that the implantable electrical stimulator was effective, and was suitable for implantation in a Sprague-Dawley rat model.