Article

Surface electrical stimulation (SES) is being investigated as a noninvasive
method to evoke natural sensations distal to electrode location. This may improve
treatment for phantom limb pain as well as provide an alternative method to
deliver sensory feedback. The median and/or ulnar nerves of 35 subjects were
stimulated at the elbow using surface electrodes. Strength-duration curves of
hand sensation were found for each subject. All subjects experienced sensation in
their hand, which was mostly described as a paresthesia-like sensation. The
rheobase and chronaxie values were found to be lower for the median nerve than
the ulnar nerve, with no significant difference between sexes. Repeated sessions
with the same subject resulted in sufficient variability to suggest that
recalculating the strength-duration curve for each electrode placement is
necessary. Most of the recruitment curves in this study were generated with 28 to
36 data points. To quickly reproduce these curves with limited increase in error,
we recommend 10 data points. Future studies will focus on obtaining different
sensations using SES with the strength-duration curve defining the threshold of
the effective parameter space.

Langue : ANGLAIS