Development of an inspiratory pressure-triggered laryngeal pacer

Describes preliminary studies in the authors' ongoing work of developing an implantable device to alleviate the life threatening potential of bilateral vocal cord paralysis without conventional tracheotomy treatment. A means of triggering the device upon inspiration, specifically pressure transduction, is described. In addition, circuit parameters and necessary functions are reviewed, such as filtering and discrimination between ambient pressure changes and inspiration. Preliminary results from acute canine experiments have demonstrated feasibility.