IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst. 2009 Oct;3(5):321-31. doi: 10.1109/TBCAS.2009.2024927.
Magnetic stimulation of neural tissue is an attractive technology because neural excitation may be affected without requiring implantation of electrodes. Pulsed discharge circuits are typically implemented for clinical magnetic stimulation systems. However, pulsed discharge systems can confound in-vitro experimentation. As an alternative to pulsed discharge circuits, we present a circuit to deliver asymmetric current pulses for generation of the magnetic field. We scaled the system down by using ferrite cores for the excitation coil. The scaled system allows observation using electrophysiological techniques and preparations not commonly used for investigation of magnetic stimulation. The design was refined using a comprehensive set of design equations. Circuit modeling and simulation demonstrate that the proposed system is effective for stimulating neural tissue with electric-field gradients generated by time-varying magnetic fields. System performance is verified through electrical test.
磁刺激神经组织是一种很有吸引力的技术，因为它无需植入电极即可影响神经兴奋。脉冲放电电路通常用于临床磁刺激系统。然而，脉冲放电系统会干扰体外实验。作为脉冲放电电路的替代方案，我们提出了一种用于产生磁场的非对称电流脉冲的电路。我们使用铁氧体磁芯来缩小激励线圈的尺寸。该缩小系统允许使用通常不用于磁刺激研究的电生理学技术和制剂进行观察。该设计使用一套全面的设计方程进行了改进。电路建模和仿真表明，该系统通过时变磁场产生的电场梯度有效地刺激神经组织。通过电气测试验证了系统性能。
