The human nervous system is an extremely complex mapping of nerve and electrical signals. In this tangled web of nerve tissue, the secrets to many diseases, like Parkinson’s, loss of sight, phantom pain, and effective artificial limbs lie waiting to be discovered. Medical application solutions for creating nerve recordings are advancing the health care field to better understand how the human nervous system functions at the individual cell level.
In order to take accurate and useful nerve readings, Imedical Healthcare Solutions diagnostic devices have to be capable of performing multiple readings within a small nerve bundle in order to track their function. At the core of the medical application solutions aiding nerve recordings is the DC micromotor for precision motion in small spaces.
Simultaneous Nerve Measurements
Older methods for investigating nerve activity were restricted to a single reading using only one diagnostic electrode. The challenge facing the medical industry was to have a method for making multiple simultaneous measurements to get a more clear picture of how nerves interact. The medical application solutions for this problem boiled down to a multichannel manipulator with three or five channels contained in units that can be positioned independently of each other. This created an environment where research can be conducted with accurate and reproducible measurements.
DC Micromotors Powering Research
The main hurdle for this type of diagnostics is the extremely small space requirements for nerve measurements. The scale of positioning has to conform to the micrometer level, or the width of a human hair, but still be able to measure over a total area covering 30 millimeters. All of these movements and probe positioning has to be precisely reproducible for accurate data recording. Ultimately, the solution for reproducible and accurate motion is the DC micromotor.
DC micromotors and DC gearmotors can be utilized for medical application solutions requiring extremely small and powerful drives. They can be miniaturized down to 6 or 10 millimeters to allow for control of multiple electrodes in a small area. DC micromotors are also able to achieve extremely precise movements with high gear reduction ratios up to 1:625. The proper gear ratio gives DC micromotors the ability to be controlled and to find the optimal point between high rotational speeds that would spoil high accuracy movements while still deriving enough power from the same rotational movement. This setup establishes an extremely stable and precise position system based on DC gearmotors.
The end result for nerve recording medical application solutions also relies on durable system components. The motors are designed as a ball bearing mounted permanent magnet equipped rotor rotates in a stator formed by three coils. This design feature translates to a long serve lifetime due to the fact that only the ball bearings are subject to wear. The lower power requirements also translate into long battery life.