Modeling the Behavior of Phased Arrays in Brain Tissue: Application to Deep Brain Stimulation

V. Valente[1], A. Demosthenous[1], and R. Bayford[2]

[1]Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
[2]Department of Natural Sciences, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
Published in 2009

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a therapeutic tool used for a number of neurological disorders including chronic pain, incontinence and movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. DBS consists of the low-frequency stimulation of an area of the brain, known as basal ganglia. The stimulation is provided by clinical implant, consisting of a pulse generator and an electrode lead terminating in 4 metal contacts. When a voltage pulse is applied between 2 contacts of the electrode, an electric field is generated, which distributes around the electrode, raising the membrane potential of the neural clusters in the proximity of the electrode, resulting in neural activity, which inhibits the disorder.

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