The Chronically Stimulated Muscle as an Energy Source for Artificial Organs

Abstract

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.