Electrical stimulation of small intestine using intraluminal ring electrodes

The aim of this study was to investigate whether intestinal myoelectrical activity could be entrained with intraluminal pacing. The study was performed in 9 healthy hound dogs (15-26 Kg). Four pairs of electrodes were implanted on the serosa of the jejunal at an interval of 5 cm with the most proximal pair 35 cm beyond the pylorus. An intestinal fistula was made at 20 cm beyond the pylorus. Electrical stimulation was performed using ring electrodes attached to a feeding tube which was placed in the jejunum via the fistula. Various pacing parameters were tested. A complete entrainment of the intestinal myoelectrical activity was achieved in every dog with intraluminal pacing. The optimal pacing parameters were: pulse width of 70 ms, amplitude of 4 mA and frequency of 1.1 times of intrinsic frequency (IF). The time required for the entrainment of the intestinal slow wave with intraluminal pacing was 25.0+/-2.1s. The maximum driven frequency was found to be 1.43+/-0.01 IF. The results reveal that intraluminal pacing is an effective and reliable method for the entrainment of intestinal myoelectrical activity.