STELLA+: Expanding the Research Potential for Long-Term Deep Brain Stimulation Studies in Freely-Moving Rodents

Franz Plocksties, Christoph Niemann, Mareike Fauser, Alexander Storch, Dirk Timmermann, Christian Haubelt

2025

Abstract

Rodent models are essential for our understanding of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) mechanisms. However, most existing preclinical devices lack to support the broad experimental range required for modern DBS approaches. This paper presents the neurostimulation system STELLA+, which aims to enhance the scope of long-term DBS research in rodent models. STELLA+ upgrades the previous STELLA system that has been successfully used in several rodent studies. It features technical and architectural enhancements to increase performance and functionality for long-term DBS experiments. Initial in vitro findings demonstrate that STELLA+ delivers charge-balanced, current-controlled pulses with high accuracy across a range of stimulation settings up to a compliance voltage of 4.3 V. With a maximum current consumption of 25.1 µA at 4.3 V in bilateral DBS-on mode, STELLA+ enables long-term experiments of 6.8 weeks using a 29 mAh lithiumion battery. Additionally, STELLA+ includes a Bluetooth Low Energy module and the capability to acquire and compute on-board physiological data, enabling adaptive DBS applications. All these features are housed within a compact size of 21x14.5x4 mm, minimizing the impact on rodents. Compared to the other stateof-the-art DBS devices, STELLA+ demonstrates enhanced efficiency in stimulus generation and a uniquely comprehensive feature set.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Plocksties F., Niemann C., Fauser M., Storch A., Timmermann D. and Haubelt C. (2025). STELLA+: Expanding the Research Potential for Long-Term Deep Brain Stimulation Studies in Freely-Moving Rodents. In Proceedings of the 18th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: BIODEVICES; ISBN 978-989-758-731-3, SciTePress, pages 74-87. DOI: 10.5220/0013305200003911

in Bibtex Style

@conference{biodevices25,
author={Franz Plocksties and Christoph Niemann and Mareike Fauser and Alexander Storch and Dirk Timmermann and Christian Haubelt},
title={STELLA+: Expanding the Research Potential for Long-Term Deep Brain Stimulation Studies in Freely-Moving Rodents},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 18th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: BIODEVICES},
year={2025},
pages={74-87},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013305200003911},
isbn={978-989-758-731-3},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 18th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: BIODEVICES
TI - STELLA+: Expanding the Research Potential for Long-Term Deep Brain Stimulation Studies in Freely-Moving Rodents
SN - 978-989-758-731-3
AU - Plocksties F.
AU - Niemann C.
AU - Fauser M.
AU - Storch A.
AU - Timmermann D.
AU - Haubelt C.
PY - 2025
SP - 74
EP - 87
DO - 10.5220/0013305200003911
PB - SciTePress