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Conductivities of Three-Layer Human Skull

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Abstract

In this study, electrical conductivities of compact, spongiosum, and bulk layers of cadaver skull were determined at varying electric fields at room temperature. Current was applied and withdrawn over the top and bottom surfaces of each sample and potential drop across different layers was measured using the four-electrode method. We developed a model, which considers of variations in skull thicknesses, to determine the conductivity of the tri-layer skull and its individual anatomical structures. The results indicate that the spongiform and the two compact layers of the skull have significantly different and inhomogeneous conductivities ranging from 0.76 ∓ .14 to 11.5 ∓ 1.8 milliS/m.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    M. Akhtari & H.C. Bryant

  2. Huntington Medical Research Institute, Pasadena, CA, USA

    M. Akhtari, A.N.Mamelak Mamelak & W.W. Sutherling

  3. Epilepsy and Brain Mapping Program, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA, USA

    A.N.Mamelak Mamelak & W.W. Sutherling

  4. Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA

    L. Heller, A. Matlachov, D.M. Ranken & E.D. Best

  5. Department of Neurology, The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    J.J. Shih

  6. Department of Neurosciences, The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    J.J. Shih

  7. Department of Physics, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    M. Mandelkern

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  1. M. Akhtari
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Akhtari, M., Bryant, H., Mamelak, A. et al. Conductivities of Three-Layer Human Skull. Brain Topogr 13, 29–42 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007882102297

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