tens placement for dorsal column stimulation

#Tens placement for dorsal column stimulation generator

In the vernacular, although it is just one component of an implanted, internally powered pulse generator (IPG), the word “battery” is used to refer to the entire device.īiphasic (or multiphasic) stimulation - stimulation using waveforms in which an electrode contact(s) switches from cathode to anode (and/or vice versa) during one period or cycle of the stimulation waveform.īipolar (or multipolar) stimulation - stimulation using at least one cathode and at least one anode, typically of similar size, relatively near the target (see also Monopolar stimulation).īurst stimulation - a series of stimulating pulses at a relatively high rate (frequency) repeated periodically at a lower rate in some applications, the stimulation pattern is designed to mimic the pattern of naturally occurring action potentials observed in individual neurons for example, five high frequency (500 per second) pulses followed by a pause, repeating 40 times per second.Ĭathode - a stimulating contact programmed as a negative pole that attracts cations (positive ions). Parallel longitudinal arrays can be created with parallel percutaneous electrodes, or a plate/paddle electrode can be prefabricated with contacts in two or more columns with fixed separation and offsets ( Fig. 1).īattery - a power cell or device used to store and provide electrical energy by electrochemical means. A percutaneous electrode, for example, is configured as a longitudinal array (single column) of contacts. The spinal cord and peripheral nerves, for example, are anisotropic in that they have greater impedance measured transversely than they do longitudinally.Īnode - a stimulating contact programmed as a positive pole that attracts anions (negative ions) and through which positive current enters the body.Īntidromic - a signal or molecule traveling in the opposite direction to that which is normal in a nerve fiber or transduction pathway the opposite of orthodromic.Īrray (as in electrode array) - an assembly of multiple stimulating/recording elements and contacts.

An action potential can propagate over distance (most rapidly along a myelinated axon) and can be triggered or inhibited by electrical stimulation.Īctive electrode (or contact) - electrode contact(s) at or near a targeted structure, through which current passes to achieve the physiologic effect(s) of stimulation.Īfferent - nerve fiber(s) conducting or carrying signals to a structure (for example, a nucleus) in the spinal cord or brain (for example, from peripheral tissues or organs).Īmplitude - voltage or current, typically the peak value in a waveform.Īnisotropic - having different properties or values in different directions (that is, the opposite of isotropic). (A secondary definition is adaptation, habituation, or reduced attention to a steady, unchanging stimulus, such as declining pain relief from SCS see Tolerance.)Īction potential - a rapid rise and fall in voltage gradients, caused when resting potential across a neuronal membrane is depolarized sufficiently. The rate and degree are related to axon diameter and play a role in underlying mechanisms of SCS. Accommodation - a rise in neuron membrane threshold with depolarization or a fall with hyperpolarization.

Tens placement for dorsal column stimulation