Mechanical Analysis of Human DBS Electrodes

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes have been proved to be effective in treating neural related diseases in rodents. These devices were successfully extended to the field of human neuro therapy. Many different electrodes exist. However, no quantitative ranking criterion is available to allow meaningful comparison of the various DBS electrodes to aid the designer.This paper presents a novel Figure of Merit (FOM) dedicated to DBS electrodes. The proposed optimization performance takes into account safety factors of mechanical analysis and the estimated fabrication cost of some materials. The FOM is used to rank several DBS electrode designs.Finite Element Models (FEM) analysis for several electrode layouts are conducted. FEM shows the effects of different design parameters on the electrode mechanical performance. These parameters include electrode dimensions, geometry, and materials. The electrodes mechanical analysis is evaluated from different points of view including: linear buckling analysis, stationary analysis with axial and shear loading. The safety factors are calculated for several designs with different materials (brittle and ductile materials). The results obtained from FEM mechanical analysis for the various electrodes prototypes are presented, which provide guidelines for different electrode designs and material choice. A proposed fabrication process along with an estimated fabrication cost is also introduced.