Recently as one of the medical treatments of the neurogenic bladder, which is due to traffic accidents, labour disasters and other causes, the electrical stimulation of the bladder has been markedly used in the field of rehabilitation. T. Burghele et al. (1959) have reported the new concept of emptying the paralyzed bladder by means of electrically induced detrusor muscle contraction. During the past decade a number of investigators have tested this method. However, this technique is still experimental, and much laboratory and clinical research must be done before this approach is perfected and considered clinically acceptable. The author has improved this method by carring out the experiments on a dog, and has made a new induction implantable bladder pacemaker using high efficiency R. F. energy transport circuit.
This consists of an implantable receiver and a hand-held external transmitter. The receiver is powered by an external high frequency oscillator at 890 kHz, and it demodulates bursts of R. F. into stimulus pulses. The output channel provides stimulus pulses 4 to 10 msec in duration, at an amplitude of 1 to 6 V into a 150 Ω load, and.a repetition rate of 13 to 30 per second. The internal circuitry is encapsulated in epoxy and the electrode leads are protected in a highly flexible implantable silicone.
One of the problems encountered in applications is contraction of the sphincter of urethra during stimulation, so that voiding is considerably impeded or impossible even in the presence of strong bladder contraction and high intravesical pressure.
However in this paper, the author has shown that the new pacemaker can eliminate the leak current and prevents the contraction of the urethral sphincter by using two pairs of electrode, which are electrically isolated from each other.
It was confirmed, by the experiments on the chronic dog, that the leak current to the urethra had so decreased that the micturition with it could be satisfactorily improved.
Also the author has designed a new urine volume detecting apparatus using a tiny magnet and reed switch.
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