Abstract

Overview

The study introduces a novel bidomain integral equation designed for the full electromagnetic coupling between stimulation devices and various cellular structures, including the intracellular, membrane, and extracellular regions of neurons.

Methods

• The boundary element formulation connects the device, tissue inhomogeneity, and cell membrane-induced electric fields.
• This method utilizes first-order nodal elements and an unconditionally stable Crank-Nicholson time-stepping scheme.
• Validation through simulations of cylindrical Hodgkin-Huxley axons and spherical cells under multiple brain stimulation scenarios.

Main Results

Shows that the boundary element method produces accurate results for both electric and magnetic stimulation without the need for complex volume meshes.

Significance

Highlights the practical applications of device-induced electromagnetic fields in modulating brain activity for both research and therapeutic purposes. Emphasizes the importance of fast-bidomain solvers for large-scale neural network simulations featuring realistic neuron morphologies.