Bidirectional Communication System for Magnetic Direct Feeding FES

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a type of therapy used for paralyzed patients. In FES, the implant direct feeding method is an ideal stimulus method. In this method, small stimulators are implanted in the paralyzed limbs, and magnetic coupling is used to simultaneously power the implants and enable digital communication with the mounted system. To realize this method, we have developed an implant antenna (magnetic connective dual-resonance antenna) that can transmit as well as receive signals and a mounted communication system that is responsible for supplying power and communication from outside the body to the implanted antenna inside of the body. However, to guarantee safe stimulation, this system requires the closed-loop control function. For this purpose, we have proposed a communication protocol that is inexpensive, and a new communication system that supports bidirectional communication. In this paper, we present the new protocol, the composition and mechanisms of the proposed system, and the experimental results that verify the efficiency of this system.