Electroconvulsive therapy simulations using an anatomically-realistic head model

Author

Bai, Siwei ; Loo, Colleen ; Dokos, Socrates

Author_Institution

Grad. Sch. of Biomed. Eng., Univ. of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, Australia

fYear

2011

fDate

Aug. 30 2011-Sept. 3 2011

Firstpage

5484

Lastpage

5487

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective treatment for severe depressive disorder. Efficacy and cognitive outcomes have been shown to depend on variations in treatment technique. A high resolution finite element model of a human head was generated from MRI scans and implemented with tissue heterogeneity and an excitable ionic neural model incorporated in the brain. The model was used to compare the effects of three common ECT electrode configurations, including the spatial profiles of electric field and excitation in the brain. The results showed that electrode placement has a significant effect in determining the spatial extent of activation in different brain regions, which would account for differences seen in clinical outcomes.

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; biomedical MRI; biomedical electrodes; brain models; finite element analysis; medical disorders; patient treatment; ECT; MRI scans; anatomically-realistic head model; brain; electroconvulsive therapy; finite element model; ionic neural model; severe depressive disorder; tissue heterogeneity; Brain modeling; Conductivity; Electrodes; Head; Magnetic heads; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical treatment; Brain; Computer Simulation; Electroconvulsive Therapy; Head; Humans; Models, Biological; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Therapy, Computer-Assisted;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC, 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE

Conference_Location

Boston, MA

ISSN

1557-170X

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4121-1

Electronic_ISBN

1557-170X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6091399

Filename

6091399