On the design of a flexible stimulator for animal studies in auditory prostheses

The present paper describes the design of two stimulators (bench-top and portable) which can be used for animal studies in cochlear implants. The bench-top stimulator is controlled by a high-speed digital output board manufactured by National Instruments and is electrically isolated. The portable stimulator is controlled by a personal digital assistant (PDA) and is based on a custom interface board that communicates with the signal processor in the PDA through the secure digital IO (SDIO) slot. Both stimulators can provide 8 charge-balanced, bipolar channels of pulsatile and analog-like electrical stimulation, delivered simultaneously, interleaved or using a combination of both modes. Flexibility is provided into the construction of arbitrary, but charge-balanced, pulse shapes, which can be either symmetric or asymmetric.

► We present the design of a flexible bipolar stimulator for animal studies in auditory prostheses. ► We present the design of a user friendly graphical user interface that simplifies the task of programming the stimulator board. ► We present sample output waveforms generated by the system. ► We present the design of a portable version of the programmable current stimulator system. ► We provide a preview of an upcoming benchtop monopolar stimulator system.