Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 6 July 1973:
Vol. 181. no. 4094, pp. 74 - 76
DOI: 10.1126/science.181.4094.74
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Capacitor Electrode Stimulates Nerve or Muscle without Oxidation-Reduction Reactions

David L. Guyton 1 and F. Terry Hambrecht 1

1 Laboratory of Neural Control, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014

Porous tantalum disks, available as "slugs" from the capacitor industry, have large available surface area and a thin insulating coating of tantalum pentoxide. When implanted, they fill with extracellular fluid and operate as capacitor-stimulating electrodes having high capacitance per unit volume. Capable of stimulating excitable tissute without generating electrochemical by-products, these electrodes should provide a safer interface between neural prosthetic devices and human tissue.

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)