Magnetic Stimulation of the Spinal Cord: Experimental Results and Simulations

Analysis of the activation of spinal nerves during magnetic stimulation of the lumbar area

“…According to the electromagnetic field theory, the electric field inside the tissue can be computed by means of the scalar electric potential and the vector magnetic potential [2], [3], [4]:…”

“…According to (1), the computation of the electric field due to electromagnetic induction is done by means of the magnetic vector potential [1], [2]:…”

Magnetic coil design for evaluating the response of the spinal cord during magnetic stimulation

“…Preliminary experiments and computer simulations [3], [4], aimed to evaluate if transcutaneous magnetic stimulation is able to directly stimulate the spinal cord or only adjacent spinal nerves were activated during the procedure.…”

“…In the practical experiments of magnetic stimulation of the spinal cord, it was used the traditional figure-of-eight commercial coil [3], [5]. This coil has the following technical characteristics: the coil's diameter of 70 [mm], a weight of 1.…”

“…Because the traditional figure of eight commercial coil could represent a drawback in achieving activation of the spinal cord [3], we also investigated different distributions of the turns inside this magnetic coil and assessed the influence of these new configurations upon the stimulation process. II.…”