Implanted electrodes in peripheral nerve stimulation and recording: prospects of their application in electronic prosthesis design.

The use of peripheral nervous electrodes over the past 70 years has greatly enhanced understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying nervous system function. The clinical implementation of these electrodes can restore some of the lost functions of the paralyzed or quadriplegic patient, such as bladder control, arm movements, standing, or walking. Stimulation without appropriate control does not lend itself to clinically useful application. Therefore, peripheral nervous electrodes are also required to collect and decode peripheral nerve impulse recordings. The position, shape, and size of an electrode with respect to a neuron or axon determine the stimulating or recording properties. The use of such coded information from impulse recordings is profoundly important for the control of an electronic prosthesis. This article reviews recently published scientific reports pertaining to the use of peripheral nervous electrodes in order to summarize the classifications found in the literature, delineate the progress of the peripheral nervous microelectrode, and estimate its utilizable prospect in the control of electronic prostheses.