Anatomic Phantom for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Studies

ABSTRACT:Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can potentially provide a safe, non-invasive, and painless method for enhancing cognition, vigilance, and learning rate. However, further research is required to evaluate, demonstrate, and understand its efficacy in a controlled and reproducible manner. Hypothesis-driven studies of tDCS require targeted delivery of electrical currents to specific functional regions in the brain, often using specialized scalp electrode configurations. To support such studies, detailed physics-based computational models of head anatomies have been developed to predict distribution of intracranial current densities in response to applied tDCS. For the required validation of these models, Creare proposes to develop an anatomically-realistic, highly-instrumented, head phantom for high-fidelity tDCS studies. Our tDCS head phantom will feature (1) realistic tissue electrical properties, (2) detailed anatomic structure, (3) compatibility with clinical and developmental scalp electrodes, (4) an embedded electrode array for high-resolution electrical field measurements, and (5) an integrated data acquisition system for logging of test data.BENEFIT:Validation of intracranial current distribution models using the tDCS head phantom will allow these tools to be used to optimize tDCS electrode design, scalp placement, intensity, and electrode montage. This can enable use of tDCS to enhance cognitive performance and vigilance, as well as, improve clinical efficacy of therapeutic non-invasive brain stimulation treatments for a number of neuropsychiatric disorders.