Optimal design method for selective nerve stimulation

• Published in: Electronics & communications in Japan. Part 3, Fundamental electronic science Fundamental electronic science, 2004-09, Vol.87 (9), p.62-72
• Main Authors: Kajimoto, Hiroyuki, Kawakami, Naoki, Tachi, Susumu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: electrical stimulation; linear programming; optimal control; quadratic programming; selective stimulation
• ISSN: 1042-0967; 1520-6440
• DOI: 10.1002/ecjc.20098

This paper discusses selective stimulation, which is a problem common to various electrical stimulation techniques. The induction of nerve activity by electrical stimulation is a technique which is widely used in medical and health care. In order to reduce unpleasant feelings during stimulation and to diversify the induced sensations, it is necessary to control the stimulus waveform and to design the electrode in appropriate ways. From the viewpoint of nerve stimulation, the above requirement can be interpreted as a selective stimulation problem in which the target nerve fiber is stimulated and the activities of other nerves are minimized. At the present stage of electrical stimulation, however, there is no means of representing selectivity of stimulation mathematically, although precise modeling of the stimulus site is possible. Consequently, the design for selective stimulation is based on trial and error. The purpose of this paper is to construct a mathematical framework for the design of selective stimulation. The requirement for selective stimulation is formulated as a quadratic programming problem which gives a route to the optimal stimulation technique. Several simple examples are solved, and the usefulness of the proposed method is shown through comparison to selective stimulation techniques that were proposed in the past. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 87(9): 62–72, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.20098