MAGNETIC STIMULATION OF PERIPHERAL-NERVES - COMPUTATION OF THE INDUCED ELECTRIC-FIELD IN A CYLINDER-LIKE STRUCTURE

The uncertain site of excitation is the main factor that prevents magn etic stimulation of peripheral nerves from becoming a routine clinical tool. Long and straight fibres are thought to be excited by the first spatial derivative of the electric field component parallel to the fi bre and by the electric field component perpendicular to the fibre. Th e authors have developed an analytical model to compute both of these field features inside pseudo-cylindrical structures. Here they analyse the computation of the electric fields induced with different stimula tor arrangements: they examine the effects of changes in stimulator co il location, orientation, size, and geometry and of changes in the dim ensions of the limbs and in the position of the nerve inside the limb.