Electrode-Nerve Interface Properties to Treat Patients with OSA through Electrical Stimulation

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common breathing disorder affecting around one in seven individuals in the world. Electrical stimulation of respiration neural pathways can be a treatment alternative to enhance patients’ conditions. Hypoglossal nerve stimulation is an emerging management of OSA. While a few studies have explored this avenue, and a single implantable system is commercially available, additional effort is required to achieve clinical expectations. Hypoglossal nerve can be stimulated with electrode embedded in a cuff format encircling the nerve. To maximize the benefit of neural stimulation, the electrode-hypoglossal nerve interface (EHNI) impedance should be analyzed. In this study, a precise hypoglossal nerve model is built with inhomogeneous conductivity in COMSOL. The simulation results provided the properties of the EHNI impedance in its two parts resistive and capacitance. The parameters of the EHNI are associated with the size of the electrode’s interfaces. The smaller size of these interfaces, the higher the impedance and the lower of its capacitance. These results bring knowledge to build efficient implantable devices in total implant’s volume and in its energy consumption.