Abstract
Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord has shown promise in restoring standing and walking after paralysis, yet key challenges remain in achieving selective and stable movements over long durations of stimulation. Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) provides precise and sustained activation of motor circuits in animal models. Nevertheless, translation of ISMS to humans requires assessment of surgical feasibility, safety and long-term stability in an animal model with spine and spinal cord size and morphology similar to those in humans. Here, we demonstrate the development and implementation of a fully implantable, wirelessly controlled ISMS device as well as its feasibility of implantation and functionality in domestic pigs. The ISMS implants contained strain relief mechanisms to improve mechanical compliance and minimize foreign body response. We tested the device in 4 pigs for periods of 8 to 14 days to assess surgical feasibility and early implant stability. Following implantation, stimulation through the electrodes successfully generated functional muscle contractions, graded movements around the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord revealed that the electrodes remained in place. All animals implanted with the device experienced transient motor paralysis post-implantation, with recovery of muscle strength and coordination after one week. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that glial encapsulation around the electrodes was confined to a 200 µm region from the center of the implantation sites and showed no migration of the implant. This suggests that the transient deficits are likely the effects of the surgical procedure (laminectomy, durotomy and spinal cord manipulation), although a contribution from the penetrating electrodes cannot be excluded. Such complications can be minimized by optimized surgical protocols, particularly, the application of anti-inflammatory corticosteroids and epidural hemostatic agents. This work establishes the feasibility of ISMS for restoring standing and walking after spinal cord injury and demonstrates its capability of selectively targeting motor networks throughout the lumbar enlargement in a large-animal model.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data are provided within the manuscript.
References
Ding, W. et al. Spinal cord injury: The global incidence, prevalence, and disability from the global burden of disease study 2019. Spine 47, 1532–1540 (2022).
Lu, Y. et al. Global incidence and characteristics of spinal cord injury since 2000–2021: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Med. 22, 285 (2024).
National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Traumatic spinal cord injury facts and figures at a glance. Birmingham, AL: University of Alabama at Birmingham https://msktc.org/sites/default/files/Facts-and-Figures-2024-Eng-508.pdf (2024).
Dimitrijevic, M. R., Gerasimenko, Y. & Pinter, M. M. Evidence for a spinal central pattern generator in humans a. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 860, 360–376 (1998).
Angeli, C. A. et al. Recovery of over-ground walking after chronic motor complete spinal cord injury. N. Engl. J. Med. 379, 1244–1250 (2018).
Harkema, S. et al. Effect of epidural stimulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord on voluntary movement, standing, and assisted stepping after motor complete paraplegia: A case study. Lancet 377, 1938–1947 (2011).
Gill, M. L. et al. Neuromodulation of lumbosacral spinal networks enables independent stepping after complete paraplegia. Nat. Med. 24, 1677–1682 (2018).
Rowald, A. et al. Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis. Nat. Med. 28, 260–271 (2022).
Wagner, F. B. et al. Targeted neurotechnology restores walking in humans with spinal cord injury. Nature 563, 65–71 (2018).
Mesbah, S. et al. Neuroanatomical mapping of the lumbosacral spinal cord in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury. Brain Commun. 5, fcac330 (2023).
Chalif, J. et al. Epidural spinal cord stimulation for spinal cord injury in humans: A systematic review. J. Clin. Med. 13, 1090 (2024).
Mushahwar, V. K. & Horch, K. W. Selective activation of muscle groups in the feline hindlimb through electrical microstimulation of the ventral lumbo-sacral spinal cord. IEEE Trans. Rehabil. Eng. 8, 11–21 (2000).
Bamford, J., Putman, C. & Mushahwar, V. Intraspinal microstimulation preferentially recruits fatigue-resistant muscle fibres and generates gradual force in rat. J. Physiol. 569, 873–884 (2005).
Saigal, R., Renzi, C. & Mushahwar, V. K. Intraspinal microstimulation generates functional movements after spinal-cord injury. IEEE. Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 12, 430–440 (2004).
Holinski, B. et al. Intraspinal microstimulation produces over-ground walking in anesthetized cats. J. Neural Eng. 13, 056016 (2016).
Hachmann, J. T. et al. Large animal model for development of functional restoration paradigms using epidural and intraspinal stimulation. PLoS ONE 8, e81443 (2013).
Dalrymple, A. N. & Mushahwar, V. K. Intelligent control of a spinal prosthesis to restore walking after neural injury: Recent work and future possibilities. J. Med. Robot. Res. 5, 2041003 (2020).
Dalrymple, A. N., Roszko, D. A., Sutton, R. S. & Mushahwar, V. K. Pavlovian control of intraspinal microstimulation to produce over-ground walking. J. Neural Eng. 17, 036002 (2020).
Dalrymple, A. N., Everaert, D. G., Hu, D. S. & Mushahwar, V. K. A speed-adaptive intraspinal microstimulation controller to restore weight-bearing stepping in a spinal cord hemisection model. J. Neural Eng. 15, 056023 (2018).
Tawakol, O. et al. In-vivo testing of a novel wireless intraspinal microstimulation interface for restoration of motor function following spinal cord injury. Artif. Organs 48, 263–273 (2024).
Roszko, D. A. et al. Laser-microfabricated polymer multielectrodes for intraspinal microstimulation. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 70, 354–365 (2022).
Tawakol, O. S. M. S. A Wireless Intraspinal Microstimulation Interface for the Recovery of Motor Function Following Spinal Cord Injury. (Illinois: Illinois Institute of Technology, United States, 2024).
Lau, B., Guevremont, L. & Mushahwar, V. K. Strategies for generating prolonged functional standing using intramuscular stimulation or intraspinal microstimulation. IEEE. Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 15, 273–285 (2007).
Snow, S., Horch, K. W. & Mushahwar, V. K. Intraspinal microstimulation using cylindrical multielectrodes. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 53, 311–319 (2006).
Prochazka, A., Mushahwar, V. & Yakovenko, S. Activation and coordination of spinal motoneuron pools after spinal cord injury. Prog. Brain Res. 137, 109–124 (2002).
Guevremont, L. et al. Locomotor-related networks in the lumbosacral enlargement of the adult spinal cat: Activation through intraspinal microstimulation. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 14, 266–272 (2006).
Mushahwar, V., Aoyagi, Y., Stein, R. & Prochazka, A. Movements generated by intraspinal microstimulation in the intermediate gray matter of the anesthetized, decerebrate, and spinal cat. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 82, 702–714 (2004).
Zimmermann, J. B., Seki, K. & Jackson, A. Reanimating the arm and hand with intraspinal microstimulation. J. Neural Eng. 8, 054001 (2011).
Sharpe, A. N. & Jackson, A. Upper-limb muscle responses to epidural, subdural and intraspinal stimulation of the cervical spinal cord. J. Neural Eng. 11, 016005 (2014).
Tao, C. et al. Comparative study of intraspinal microstimulation and epidural spinal cord stimulation. in 3795–3798 (IEEE, 2019).
Ibáñez, J., Angeli, C. A., Harkema, S. J., Farina, D. & Rejc, E. Recruitment order of motor neurons promoted by epidural stimulation in individuals with spinal cord injury. J. Appl. Physiol. 131, 1100–1110 (2021).
Gaunt, R. A., Prochazka, A., Mushahwar, V. K., Guevremont, L. & Ellaway, P. H. Intraspinal microstimulation excites multisegmental sensory afferents at lower stimulus levels than local α-motoneuron responses. J. Neurophysiol. 96, 2995–3005 (2006).
Mirkiani, S. et al. Functional motor mapping of domestic pig lumbar spinal cord using penetrating microelectrodes. J. Neuroeng. Rehabil. 22, 1–19 (2025).
Mushahwar, V. K., Collins, D. F. & Prochazka, A. Spinal cord microstimulation generates functional limb movements in chronically implanted cats. Exp. Neurol. 163, 422–429 (2000).
Bamford, J. A., Todd, K. G. & Mushahwar, V. K. The effects of intraspinal microstimulation on spinal cord tissue in the rat. Biomaterials 31, 5552–5563 (2010).
Ersen, A., Elkabes, S., Freedman, D. S. & Sahin, M. Chronic tissue response to untethered microelectrode implants in the rat brain and spinal cord. J. Neural Eng. 12, 016019 (2015).
Tsui, C. T., Lal, P., Fox, K. V., Churchward, M. A. & Todd, K. G. The effects of electrical stimulation on glial cell behaviour. BMC Biomed. Eng. 4, 7 (2022).
Polikov, V. S., Tresco, P. A. & Reichert, W. M. Response of brain tissue to chronically implanted neural electrodes. J. Neurosci. Methods. 148, 1–18 (2005).
Biran, R., Martin, D. C. & Tresco, P. A. Neuronal cell loss accompanies the brain tissue response to chronically implanted silicon microelectrode arrays. Exp. Neurol. 195, 115–126 (2005).
Prasad, A. & Sanchez, J. C. Quantifying long-term microelectrode array functionality using chronic in vivo impedance testing. J. Neural Eng. 9, 026028 (2012).
McCreery, D., Pikov, V., Lossinsky, A., Bullara, L. & Agnew, W. Arrays for chronic functional microstimulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 12, 195–207 (2004).
Toossi, A. et al. Comparative neuroanatomy of the lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat, cat, pig, monkey, and human. Sci. Rep. 11, 1955 (2021).
Toossi, A., Everaert, D. G., Azar, A., Dennison, C. R. & Mushahwar, V. K. Mechanically stable intraspinal microstimulation implants for human translation. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 45, 681–694 (2017).
Lee, J. H. et al. A novel porcine model of traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury. J. Neurotrauma 30, 142–159 (2013).
Zimmermann, J. B. & Jackson, A. Closed-loop control of spinal cord stimulation to restore hand function after paralysis. Front. Neurosci. 8, 87 (2014).
Toossi, A. et al. Effect of anesthesia on motor responses evoked by spinal neural prostheses during intraoperative procedures. J. Neural Eng. 16, 036003 (2019).
Toossi, A. et al. Ultrasound-guided spinal stereotactic system for intraspinal implants. J. Neurosurg. Spine 29, 292–305 (2018).
Mirkiani, S. et al. Safety of mapping the motor networks in the spinal cord using penetrating microelectrodes in Yucatan minipigs. J. Neurosurg. Spine. 1, 1–13 (2024).
Toossi, A., Everaert, D. G., Perlmutter, S. I. & Mushahwar, V. K. Functional organization of motor networks in the lumbosacral spinal cord of non-human primates. Sci. Rep. 9, 13539 (2019).
Borrell, J. A., Frost, S. B., Peterson, J. & Nudo, R. J. A 3D map of the hindlimb motor representation in the lumbar spinal cord in Sprague Dawley rats. J. Neural Eng. 14, 016007 (2016).
Krüger, J., Caruana, F. & Rizzolatti, G. Seven years of recording from monkey cortex with a chronically implanted multiple microelectrode. Front. Neuroeng. 3, 1314 (2010).
Wang, L. et al. High-density implantable neural electrodes and chips for massive neural recordings. Brain-X 2, e65 (2024).
Obaid, A. et al. Massively parallel microwire arrays integrated with CMOS chips for neural recording. Sci. Adv. 6, eaay2789 (2020).
Bamford, J. A., Lebel, R. M., Parseyan, K. & Mushahwar, V. K. The fabrication, implantation, and stability of intraspinal microwire arrays in the spinal cord of cat and rat. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 25, 287–296 (2016).
Cogan, S. F. Neural stimulation and recording electrodes. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 10, 275–309 (2008).
Kelly, A. et al. Laser-induced periodic surface structure enhances neuroelectrode charge transfer capabilities and modulates astrocyte function. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 6, 1449–1461 (2020).
Pena, A. et al. Mechanical fatigue resistance of an implantable branched lead system for a distributed set of longitudinal intrafascicular electrodes. J. Neural Eng. 14, 066014 (2017).
Memberg, W. D., Stage, T. G. & Kirsch, R. F. A fully implanted intramuscular bipolar myoelectric signal recording electrode. Neuromodulation 17, 794–799 (2014).
Thota, A. K. et al. A Multi-lead Multi-electrode System for Neural-interface Enabled Advanced Prostheses. in 109–110 (IEEE, 2013).
Thota, A. K., Jung, R. & Kuntaegowdanahalli, S. S. Multi-lead multi-electrode management system. (2016).
Henderson, J. M., Schade, C., Sasaki, J., Caraway, D. L. & Oakley, J. C. Prevention of mechanical failures in implanted spinal cord stimulation systems. Neuromodulation 9, 183–191 (2006).
Shiroff, J. A., Skubitz, J. J. & Rawat, P. B. Electrode leads for use with implantable neuromuscular electrical stimulator. (2019).
Machado, A. et al. Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease: Surgical technique and perioperative management. Mov. Disord. 21, S247–S258 (2006).
Hasoon, J. et al. Device-related complications associated with cylindrical lead spinal cord stimulator implants: A comprehensive review. Curr. Pain Headache Rep. 28, 941–947 (2024).
Dalrymple, A. N., Jones, S. T., Fallon, J. B., Shepherd, R. K. & Weber, D. J. Overcoming failure: Improving acceptance and success of implanted neural interfaces. Bioelectron. Med. 11, 6 (2025).
Huang, Y. et al. Crossed-wire laser microwelding of Pt-10 Pct Ir to 316 LVM stainless steel: Part II. Effect of orientation on joining mechanism. Metall. Mater. Trans. A 43, 1234–1243 (2012).
Quazi, M. M. et al. A comprehensive assessment of laser welding of biomedical devices and implant materials: recent research, development and applications. Crit. Rev. Solid State Mater. Sci. 46, 109–151 (2021).
Mirkiani, S. et al. Overground gait kinematics and muscle activation patterns in the Yucatan mini pig. J. Neural Eng. 19, 026009 (2022).
Lau, B., Guevremont, L. & Mushahwar, V. K. Strategies for generating prolonged functional standing using intramuscular stimulation or intraspinal microstimulation. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 15, 273–285 (2007).
Moritz, C. T., Lucas, T. H., Perlmutter, S. I. & Fetz, E. E. Forelimb movements and muscle responses evoked by microstimulation of cervical spinal cord in sedated monkeys. J. Neurophysiol. 97, 110–120 (2007).
Mushahwar, V. & Horch, K. Selective activation and graded recruitment of functional muscle groups through spinal cord stimulation. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 860, 531–535 (1998).
Gustafsson, B. & Jankowska, E. Direct and indirect activation of nerve cells by electrical pulses applied extracellularly. J. Physiol. 258, 33–61 (1976).
McIntyre, C. C. & Grill, W. M. Extracellular stimulation of central neurons: Influence of stimulus waveform and frequency on neuronal output. J. Neurophysiol. 88, 1592–1604 (2002).
Formento, E. et al. Electrical spinal cord stimulation must preserve proprioception to enable locomotion in humans with spinal cord injury. Nat. Neurosci. 21, 1728–1741 (2018).
Capogrosso, M. et al. A computational model for epidural electrical stimulation of spinal sensorimotor circuits. J. Neurosci. 33, 19326–19340 (2013).
Hachmann, J. T. et al. Epidural spinal cord stimulation as an intervention for motor recovery after motor complete spinal cord injury. J. Neurophysiol. 126, 1843–1859 (2021).
Azad, T. D. et al. Duraplasty in acute spinal cord injury: A systematic review. Eur. Spine J. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-025-08811-2 (2025).
Archavlis, E. et al. Pathophysiologic mechanisms of severe spinal cord injury and neuroplasticity following decompressive laminectomy and expansive duraplasty: A systematic review. Neurol. Int. 17, 57 (2025).
Streijger, F. et al. Duraplasty in traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury: Impact on spinal cord hemodynamics, tissue metabolism, histology, and behavioral recovery using a porcine model. J. Neurotrauma. 38, 2937–2955 (2021).
Cerro, P. D. et al. Neuropathological and motor impairments after incomplete cervical spinal cord injury in pigs. J. Neurotrauma. 38, 2956–2977 (2021).
Ziu, E., Weisbrod, L. J. & Mesfin, F. B. Spinal shock. in StatPearls [Internet] (StatPearls Publishing, 2024).
Gayen, C. D. et al. Survival model of thoracic contusion spinal cord injury in the domestic pig. J. Neurotrauma. 40, 965–980 (2023).
Amiri, A. R., Fouyas, I. P., Cro, S. & Casey, A. T. Postoperative spinal epidural hematoma (SEH): Incidence, risk factors, onset, and management. Spine. J. 13, 134–140 (2013).
Moxon, K. A. et al. Long-term recordings of multiple, single-neurons for clinical applications: the emerging role of the bioactive microelectrode. Materials 2, 1762–1794 (2009).
McConnell, G. C. et al. Implanted neural electrodes cause chronic, local inflammation that is correlated with local neurodegeneration. J. Neural Eng. 6, 056003 (2009).
Szarowski, D. et al. Brain responses to micro-machined silicon devices. Brain Res. 983, 23–35 (2003).
Biran, R., Martin, D. C. & Tresco, P. A. The brain tissue response to implanted silicon microelectrode arrays is increased when the device is tethered to the skull. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A. 82, 169–178 (2007).
Nolta, N. F., Christensen, M. B., Crane, P. D., Skousen, J. L. & Tresco, P. A. BBB leakage, astrogliosis, and tissue loss correlate with silicon microelectrode array recording performance. Biomaterials 53, 753–762 (2015).
Subbaroyan, J., Martin, D. C. & Kipke, D. R. A finite-element model of the mechanical effects of implantable microelectrodes in the cerebral cortex. J. Neural Eng. 2, 103 (2005).
Wellman, S. M., Li, L., Yaxiaer, Y., McNamara, I. & Kozai, T. D. Revealing spatial and temporal patterns of cell death, glial proliferation, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction around implanted intracortical neural interfaces. Front. Neurosci. 13, 493 (2019).
Kozai, T. D., Jaquins-Gerstl, A. S., Vazquez, A. L., Michael, A. C. & Cui, X. T. Brain tissue responses to neural implants impact signal sensitivity and intervention strategies. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 6, 48–67 (2015).
Vedam-Mai, V. et al. The national DBS brain tissue network pilot study: need for more tissue and more standardization. Cell Tissue Banking 12, 219–231 (2011).
Orlowski, D. et al. Brain tissue reaction to deep brain stimulation—A longitudinal study of DBS in the Goettingen minipig. Neuromodulation 20, 417–423 (2017).
Grill, W. M. & Mortimer, J. T. Electrical properties of implant encapsulation tissue. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 22, 23–33 (1994).
Roitbak, T. & Syková, E. Diffusion barriers evoked in the rat cortex by reactive astrogliosis. Glia 28, 40–48 (1999).
Barrese, J. C. et al. Failure mode analysis of silicon-based intracortical microelectrode arrays in non-human primates. J. Neural Eng. 10, 066014 (2013).
Suner, S., Fellows, M. R., Vargas-Irwin, C., Nakata, G. K. & Donoghue, J. P. Reliability of signals from a chronically implanted, silicon-based electrode array in non-human primate primary motor cortex. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 13, 524–541 (2005).
Mushahwar, V. K. & Horch, K. W. Proposed specifications for a lumbar spinal cord electrode array for control of lower extremities in paraplegia. IEEE Trans. Rehabil. Eng. 5, 237–243 (1997).
Jankowska, E. & Roberts, W. An electrophysiological demonstration of the axonal projections of single spinal interneurones in the cat. J. Physiol. 222, 597–622 (1972).
Kim, Y.-T., Hitchcock, R. W., Bridge, M. J. & Tresco, P. A. Chronic response of adult rat brain tissue to implants anchored to the skull. Biomaterials 25, 2229–2237 (2004).
Vomero, M. et al. On the longevity of flexible neural interfaces: Establishing biostability of polyimide-based intracortical implants. Biomaterials 281, 121372 (2022).
Luan, L. et al. Ultraflexible nanoelectronic probes form reliable, glial scar–free neural integration. Sci. Adv. 3, e1601966 (2017).
Waters, C. M. Reactive oxygen species in mechanotransduction. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 287, L484–L485 (2004).
Cheung, K. C. Implantable microscale neural interfaces. Biomed. Microdevices 9, 923–938 (2007).
Minev, I. R. et al. Electronic dura mater for long-term multimodal neural interfaces. Science 347, 159–163 (2015).
Kathe, C. et al. Wireless closed-loop optogenetics across the entire dorsoventral spinal cord in mice. Nat. Biotechnol. 40, 198–208 (2022).
Hanson, T. L., Diaz-Botia, C. A., Kharazia, V., Maharbiz, M. M. & Sabes, P. N. The “sewing machine” for minimally invasive neural recording. BioRxiv 578542 (2019).
Bertelsen, A., Melo, J., Sánchez, E. & Borro, D. A review of surgical robots for spinal interventions. Int. J. Med. Robot. Comput. Assist. Surg. 9, 407–422 (2013).
Frederick, R. A., Meliane, I. Y., Joshi-Imre, A., Troyk, P. R. & Cogan, S. F. Activated Iridium oxide film (AIROF) electrodes for neural tissue stimulation. J. Neural Eng. 17, 056001 (2020).
Frederick, R. A., Troyk, P. R. & Cogan, S. F. Wireless transmission of voltage transients from a chronically implanted neural stimulation device. J. Neural Eng. 19, 026049 (2022).
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Aaron Hucekly for assistance with some of the surgical procedures; Katie-Marie Buswell-Zuk and Ryan Edgar, and Katie Rousu for surgical monitoring and maintenance of anesthesia at the Ray Rajotte Surgical Medical Research Institute; Peter Seres for MRI scans; David Roszko, Michel Gautier and Rod Gramlich for technical assistance with electromechanical devices; and Dr. Leanne Paetkau, Dr. Nathan Bosvik and Isabelle Gauthier for veterinary support.
Funding
This work was funded in part by the US Department of Defense Congressionally-directed Medical Research Program—Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Prairies Economic Development Canada, University of Alberta Hospital Foundation, and Brain Canada Foundation. SM was supported by a Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Dean’s Doctoral Scholarship, a 75th Anniversary Scholarship, an Alberta Graduate Excellence Studentship and an Alberta Innovates Graduate Studentship. CLO was supported by an Alberta Graduate Excellence Studentship and a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Graduate Scholarship. AA was supported by a 75th Anniversary Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Graduate Student Award and a Mary Louise Imrie Graduate Student Award. VKM is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Functional Restoration.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
V.K.M. conceived the experiments and secured funding. S.M. implemented the experiments, collected data, and wrote the first version of the manuscript. C.L.O. assisted with the experiments and led the immunohistochemistry work. A.A. assisted with the experiments and analyzed the range of movement and isometric force data. N.T. contributed to all experiments, assisted with anesthesia monitoring, and participated in tissue processing for histology and immunohistochemistry. K.S. assisted with the experiments and tissue processing. D.W. developed the bench testing setup for mechanical assessments. O.T. contributed to the development of the implantable stimulator. P.R.T. developed the implantable stimulator. R.F. performed the surgical procedures in most experiments. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Mirkiani, S., O’Sullivan, C.L., Arefadib, A. et al. A fully implantable intraspinal microstimulation device for early preclinical evaluation of feasibility, stability, and functionality. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42212-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42212-9
