The chronically stimulated muscle as an energy source for artificial organs. Preliminary results of a basic study in sheep.
In 5 adult sheep the psoas muscle of one side was electrically stimulated through the muscle nerves with an implantable stimulation unit for more than 5 weeks. In the final experiments the isometric tetanic tension of the stimulated muscles was reduced to 50-70% of the contralateral normal muscle. The use of only 15 Hz as a stimulation frequency led to a transformation of the originally fast muscle into a slow muscle with more resistance to fatigue. Future application of the chronically stimulated psoas muscle for driving artificial organs is discussed.
D000818:Animals; D001187:Artificial Organs; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D009132:Muscles / Q000201:enzymology / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D012756:Sheep; D013997:Time Factors