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Nerve conduction block utilising high-frequency alternating current

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Abstract

High-frequency alternating current (AC) waveforms have been shown to produce a quickly reversible nerve block in animal models, but the parameters and mechanism of this block are not well understood. A frog sciatic nerve/gastrocnemius muscle preparation was used to examine the parameters for nerve conduction block in vivo, and a computer simulation of the nerve membrane was used to identify the mechanism for block. The results indicated that a 100% block of motor activity can be accomplished with a variety of waveform parameters, including sinusoidal and rectangular waveforms at frequencies from 2 kHz to 20 kHz. A complete and reversible block was achieved in 34 out of 34 nerve preparations tested. The most efficient waveform for conduction block was a 3–5 kHz constant-current biphasic sinusoid, where block could be achieved with stimulus levels as low as 0.01 μC phase−1. It was demonstrated that the block was not produced indirectly through fatigue. Computer simulation of high-frequency AC demonstrated a steady-state depolarisation of the nerve membrane, and it is hypothesised that the conduction block was due to this tonic depolarisation. The precise relationship between the steady-state depolarisation and the conduction block requires further analysis. The results of this study demonstrated that high-frequency AC can be used to produce a fast-acting, and quickly reversible nerve conduction block that may have multiple applications in the treatment of unwanted neural activity.

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  1. K. L. Kilgore

    Present address: Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

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  1. MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    K. L. Kilgore

  2. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    K. L. Kilgore & N. Bhadra

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Kilgore, K.L., Bhadra, N. Nerve conduction block utilising high-frequency alternating current. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 42, 394–406 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02344716

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