FORCE RECRUITMENT DURING ELECTRICAL NERVE-STIMULATION WITH MULTIPOLARINTRAFASCICULAR ELECTRODES

Experimentally, during electrical nerve stimulation, the influence is examined of two intrafascicular anodes on the force recruitment with o ne intrafascicular cathode. It is found that the anodes suppress recru itment and that this effect is more pronounced when the distance of th e anodes to the cathode is decreased, or when the anodal currents are increased. The measured recruitment curve patterns can be qualitativel y explained by a nerve stimulation model that calculates theoretical r ecruitment curves for intrafascicular multi-electrode configurations. Discrepancies between the experimental and the theoretical recruitment curves are seen, but these can be understood by taking into account a non-uniform fibre distribution.