Feasibility of physiological assessment for objective confirmation of non-invasive electrical recruitment of the saphenous nerve

Overactive bladder, urinary urgency, affects 14-18% of the Canadian population and costs our health care system over $350,000,000 annually. Most current treatments require ongoing in-person support or have low adherence rates, enhancing greater strain on our healthcare system and economy. Non-invasive saphenous nerve stimulation (nSNS) overcomes these issues however there is currently no objective method of confirming whether patients can activate the saphenous nerve during each treatment session. This research project will investigate the feasibility of measuring electrically evoked neural activity generated by nSNS. . We hypothesize that nSNS in humans can be quantitatively measured in a non-invasive manner. This will be the first-ever human feasibility study aimed at using electrically evoked neural signals to potentially screen OAB patients that can benefit from nSNS therapy.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kei Masani

Student:

Aleksandra Dojnov

Partner:

EBT Medical

Discipline:

Engineering - biomedical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Toronto