A theoretical analysis of epidural electrical stimulation of the spinal cord

Author

Malalasekera, A.

Author_Institution

Dept. of AAETS, Loughborough Univ. of Technol., UK

Volume

1

fYear

1999

fDate

1999

Abstract

Epidural electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is one of the clinical applications of the electrical stimulation of nerve fibres. In the electrical stimulation, the dosage administrated is measured in terms of stimulus current which is a function of pulse duration. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to calculate threshold currents for vertical spinal cord nerve fibres due to a monopolar epidural electrode placed at the mid-thoracic region. A 3-dimensional (3-D) finite element model represented the human thorax. Threshold currents were calculated for fibres of several diameters for a range of pulse durations. Based on the results obtained, an empirical equation was suggested to represent the theoretical threshold current in terms of fibre diameter and stimulus pulse duration

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; finite element analysis; neurophysiology; physiological models; 3-dimensional finite element model; clinical applications; empirical equation; epidural electrical stimulation; fibre diameter; human thorax; mid-thoracic region; monopolar epidural electrode; nerve fibres; spinal cord; stimulus current; stimulus pulse duration; theoretical analysis; threshold currents; Current measurement; Electric variables measurement; Electrical stimulation; Electrodes; Finite element methods; Humans; Mathematical model; Pulse measurements; Spinal cord; Threshold current;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

[Engineering in Medicine and Biology, 1999. 21st Annual Conference and the 1999 Annual Fall Meetring of the Biomedical Engineering Society] BMES/EMBS Conference, 1999. Proceedings of the First Joint

Conference_Location

Atlanta, GA

ISSN

1094-687X

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5674-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.1999.802556

Filename

802556