Generating Artificial Sensory Perceptions Using Spinal Cord Stimulation
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Summary
The purpose of this research study is to identify sensations that can be evoked with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and to understand how these sensations change when stimulation parameters are modified.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Male and female patients 18-85 years old * Undergoing SCS implantation for treatment of chronic pain * Subjects with ability to walk 10m without assistance * Provides written consent for the study Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects with high risk of falling * Refusal to participate in study * Subjects lacking consent capacity
Interventions
- OtherSpinal cord stimulation (SCS)
After implantation of SCS trial leads - which is standard of care for evaluating whether SCS improves chronic pain - patients will visit clinic before the trial leads are explanted. During these visits, stimulation will be turned off and the leads will be disconnected from the clinical external pulse generator and reconnected to an external research stimulator. Patients will be seated in a chair and will interface with a touch-screen display where they will participate in a psychophysical task (a two-alternative forced-choice task). More specifically, the task will involve selecting between two options on a screen while spinal stimulation is delivered through the leads. As the patients perform the tasks, audio or video recordings will be made for future research analysis, education, or scientific communication. The research stimulator will also collect epidural signals through the stimulation leads.
Location
- Ambulatory Care CenterChapel Hill, North Carolina