Gustafson, Ken, Ph.D.

Research Statement

Bladder dysfunction resulting from neurological disease or spinal cord injury can have a devastating clinical impact. Our goal is to understand the complex interactions involved in the systems-level neural organization and control of bladder and urethral function. We use this information to develop neural prostheses or rehabilitative techniques that interface with the nervous system and restore genito-urinary function at the earliest opportunity. Our research interests are focused in four parallel areas:

• Basic neurophysiology studies to discover and characterize the neural pathways involved in bladder and urethral function.
• Translational research projects to develop methods to conduct investigations in humans and lead to clinical implementation.
• Clinical studies in individuals with and without neural dysfunction.
• Neural engineering studies to design and develop neural prostheses appropriate for the expected clinical applications.

Professional Affiliations

• Associate Director of Basic Science, Cleveland FES Center
• Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Urology;  Associate Director, Neural Engineering Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
• Biomedical Engineer, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
• Bioscientific Staff, Department of Orthopaedics, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
  

Publications (Select)

• Gustafson KJ, Pinault GC, Neville JJ, Syed I, Davis JA Jr, Jean-Claude J, Triolo RJ. Fascicular anatomy of human femoral nerve: implications for neural prostheses using nerve cuff electrodes. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2009;46(7):973-84. PubMed PMID: 20104420.
• Bruns TM, Bhadra N, Gustafson KJ. Bursting stimulation of proximal urethral afferents improves bladder pressures and voiding. J Neural Eng. 2009 Dec;6(6):066006. Epub 2009 Nov 9. PubMed PMID: 19901447.
• Lewandowski BE, Kilgore KL, Gustafson KJ. In vivo demonstration of a self-sustaining, implantable, stimulated-muscle-powered piezoelectric generator prototype. Ann Biomed Eng. 2009 Nov;37(11):2390-401. Epub 2009 Aug 6. PubMed PMID: 19657742.
• Mariano TY, Bhadra N, Gustafson KJ. Suppression of reflex urethral responses by sacral dermatome stimulation in an acute spinalized feline model. Neurourol Urodyn. 2009 Mar 12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 19283867.
• Bruns TM, Bhadra N, Gustafson KJ. Intraurethral stimulation for reflex bladder activation depends on stimulation pattern and location. Neurourol Urodyn. 2009;28(6):561-6. PubMed PMID: 19260091.
• Bruns TM, Gustafson KJ, Bhadra N. Reflex bladder activation via pudendal nerve and intraurethral stimulation depends on stimulation pattern and location. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2008;2008:2760-3. PubMed PMID: 19163277.
• Grinberg Y, Schiefer MA, Tyler DJ, Gustafson KJ. Fascicular perineurium thickness, size, and position affect model predictions of neural excitation. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2008 Dec;16(6):572-81. PubMed PMID: 19144589.
• Vaze A, Goldman H, Jones JS, Rackley R, Vasavada S, Gustafson KJ. Determining   the course of the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. Urology. 2008 Nov;72(5):1040-3.Epub 2008 Sep 25. PubMed PMID: 18817954.
• Mariano TY, Boger AS, Gustafson KJ. The feline dorsal nerve of the penis arises from the deep perineal nerve and not the sensory afferent branch. Anat Histol Embryol. 2008 Jun;37(3):166-8. PubMed PMID: 18479311.
• Bruns TM, Bhadra N, Gustafson KJ. Variable patterned pudendal nerve stimuli improves reflex bladder activation. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2008 Apr;16(2):140-8. PubMed PMID: 18403282.
• Goldman HB, Amundsen CL, Mangel J, Grill J, Bennett M, Gustafson KJ, Grill WM. Dorsal genital nerve stimulation for the treatment of overactive bladder symptoms. Neurourol Urodyn. 2008;27(6):499-503. PubMed PMID: 18092334.
• Boger A, Bhadra N, Gustafson KJ. Bladder voiding by combined high frequency electrical pudendal nerve block and sacral root stimulation. Neurourol Urodyn. 2008;27(5):435-9. PubMed PMID: 18041769.

Research Programs

• Electrical Activation of Afferent Nerves to Restore Bladder Function
• Producing micturition by combined afferent and efferent electrical stimulation
• Development of a muscle-powered piezoelectric energy convertor.
  

Co-Investigator Programs

• Ohio Neurostimulation and Neuromodulation Partnership, National Institutes of Health
• Enhancing Neuroprosthesis Performance with Cuff Electrodes, National Institutes of Health
• Electrical Treatment of Reflex Incontinence, Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service
• Development and testing of a novel device for diagnosis of urinary incontinence.
• Development of a muscle powered cardiac assist device, NASA

Contact Information