Rodrigo Guellner Ghedini, Julio de Oliveira Espinel, Elaine Aparecida Felix, Artur de Oliveira Paludo, Rodrigo Mariano, Arthur Rodrigo Ronconi Holand, Cristiano Feijó Andrade
J Bras Pneumol.2013;39(4):
Every year, a large number of individuals become dependent on mechanical ventilation because of a loss of diaphragm function. The most common causes are cervical spinal trauma and neuromuscular diseases. We have developed an experimental model to evaluate the performance of electrical stimulation of the diaphragm in rabbits using single-channel electrodes implanted directly into the muscle. Various current intensities (10, 16, 20, and 26 mA) produced tidal volumes above the baseline value, showing that this model is effective for the study of diaphragm performance at different levels of electrical stimulation.
Keywords: Rabbits; Diaphragm; Electric stimulation; Models, animal.