Dalton, ColinPurdy, Michael2016-07-202016-07-2020162016Purdy, M. (2016). Promotion of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration by Uniform Electric Field Application (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27458http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3144Peripheral nerve injury is a prevalent condition, afflicting millions of patients around the world and costing the healthcare system billions of dollars. It can lead to sensory loss and debilitating pain, and has a wide range of causes including trauma, infectious diseases, and diabetes. Although peripheral nerves have some inherent ability to regenerate, the recovery process is slow and complex, and regenerative outcomes are limited. However, electrical stimulation has been shown to accelerate recovery. In this work, uniform electric fields are explored in their capacity to encourage neurite outgrowth. A novel microelectrode array is designed to generate uniform fields for application to neurons in vitro, using snail and rat models. In parallel, an implantable nerve cuff was created to apply similar fields in vivo, in injured rat sciatic nerve models. Uniform electric field application was shown to increase overall neuritic outgrowth in snail neurons in vitro.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.NeuroscienceEngineering--BiomedicalNerve RegenerationElectrical Stimulationperipheral nerveMicroelectrode arraynerve conduitmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/27458