Nerve cuff, method and apparatus for manufacturing same
First Claim
1. A nerve cuff comprising:
- a wall band member having an inner surface defining a lumen when said wall band member is in a closed configuration for receiving a nerve therethrough; and
at least one longitudinal and contiguous conductor extending within said lumen, said conductor being insulated and having at least one exposed portion thereof, thereby providing an electrode, wherein, when mounting said nerve cuff to a nerve, each said electrode is in electrical communication with the nerve.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A nerve cuff comprising a wall band member having an inner surface defining a lumen when the wall band member is in a closed configuration for receiving a nerve therethrough. At least one longitudinal and contiguous conductor extends within the lumen. The conductor is insulated and has at least one exposed portion thereby providing an electrode. When mounting the nerve cuff to a nerve, each electrode is in electrical communication with the nerve. A multi-channel nerve cuff further comprises a plurality of longitudinal ridges formed on the inner surface with each adjacent pair of ridges defining a longitudinal chamber. Each chamber comprises a respective conductor extending therein. When mounting the multi-channel nerve cuff to the nerve, the ridges abut the nerve providing for each chamber to isolate respective longitudinal portions of the nerve. A method and an apparatus for manufacturing such nerve cuffs are also disclosed.
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Citations
72 Claims
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1. A nerve cuff comprising:
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a wall band member having an inner surface defining a lumen when said wall band member is in a closed configuration for receiving a nerve therethrough; and
at least one longitudinal and contiguous conductor extending within said lumen, said conductor being insulated and having at least one exposed portion thereof, thereby providing an electrode, wherein, when mounting said nerve cuff to a nerve, each said electrode is in electrical communication with the nerve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A nerve cuff comprising:
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a wall band member having an inner surface defining a lumen when said wall band member is in a closed configuration for receiving a nerve therethrough;
at least one longitudinal protuberance on said inner surface extending within said lumen; and
at least one electrode mounted to said longitudinal protuberance, wherein, when mounting said nerve cuff to a nerve, said at least one longitudinal protuberance provides for said electrode to be in contact with or at least near the surface of the nerve. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A nerve cuff comprising:
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a wall band member having an inner surface defining a lumen when said wall band member is in a closed configuration for receiving a nerve therethrough;
a plurality of longitudinal ridges formed on said inner surface, each adjacent pair of said ridges defining a longitudinal chamber;
a longitudinal protuberance extending within each said chamber; and
a longitudinal and contiguous conductor mounted to each said longitudinal protuberance, said conductor being insulated and having at least one exposed portion thereof thereby providing an electrode, wherein, when mounting said nerve cuff to a nerve, said ridges abut the nerve providing for each said chamber to isolate respective longitudinal portions of the nerve, each said longitudinal protuberance providing for a said electrode to be in contact with or at least near the surface of the nerve.
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39. A method of manufacturing a nerve cuff, said method comprising:
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(a) providing a mold comprising a plurality of longitudinal grooves;
(b) positioning longitudinal conductors coated with insulation within respective longitudinal grooves;
(c) applying flexible bio-compatible material on the mold with the longitudinal conductors positioned therein;
(d) curing the flexible bio-compatible material so as to provide a wall band member with the longitudinal conductors adhered thereto;
(e) ejecting the wall band member with the adhered longitudinal conductors; and
(f) removing lengths of the insulation on the longitudinal conductors thereby providing electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. An apparatus for manufacturing a nerve cuff, said apparatus comprising:
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a base;
at least one open mold formed within the top face of said base, said mold comprising longitudinal grooves for positioning longitudinal conductors therein;
end plates positioned near each end of said base, each said end plate comprising alignment holes for aligning the conductors positioned in said grooves; and
first and second conductor clamps for clamping the conductors near each longitudinal end thereof respectively, at least one of said first and second conductor clamps being so moveable as to tighten the clamped conductors, wherein when the conductors are positioned in said grooves and tightened, a flexible bio-compatible material can be applied to said mould for providing the nerve cuff. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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- 71. A multi-channel nerve cuff comprising a wall band member having an inner surface defining a lumen when said wall band member is in a closed configuration for receiving a nerve therethrough, said inner surface defining a plurality of channels, each said channel including a plurality of electrodes, each said electrode of a same said channel provided from a same conductor, wherein, when mounting said nerve cuff to a nerve, each said electrode is in electrical communication with the nerve.
Specification