IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2019 Aug;27(8):1504-1510. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2019.2925904. Epub 2019 Jul 1.
Application of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is expanding with many studies applying adaptive threshold hunting to determine a motor threshold (MT). In addition to being a measure of corticospinal excitability, the MT is used as a baseline stimulation intensity (SI) to which following investigative or modulatory SIs are referenced to. Currently available tools for determining MTs include system-integrated tools and third-party stand-alone software. System-integrated MT-tools are still rarely available and the stand-alone software usually demand a separate computer, and hence possess additional space-requirements. I introduce and validate a free Android-based mobile application ("ATH-tool") for adaptive threshold hunting of the MT. The objective is to allow for a simple and validated recording of MTs with sharing capabilities for logs. For comparison, I applied Motor Threshold Assessment Tool 2.0, to compare the MT-values determined with the new application, as it applies closely the same routine. Computational validation with known true threshold values confirmed that the new application captured the true MT at high precision (error ≤ 0.9%). Previously published data on motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were used to simulate realistic response occurrence by considering experimental data from 15 healthy subjects at different stimulation intensities. The MTs of the different methods agreed well (ICC ≥ 0.971, ). There was no significant difference between the MTs determined with the different methods ( p ≥ 0.151 ). The novel mobile application should make it easier for researchers and clinicians to determine MTs and log the results.
经颅磁刺激（TMS）的应用正在不断扩展，许多研究都在应用自适应阈值搜索来确定运动阈值（MT）。除了作为皮质脊髓兴奋性的度量外，MT 还被用作基线刺激强度（SI），后续的研究或调节 SI 都以此为参考。目前用于确定 MT 的工具包括系统集成工具和第三方独立软件。用于确定 MT 的系统集成工具仍然很少见，而独立软件通常需要单独的计算机，因此还需要额外的空间。我引入并验证了一种免费的基于 Android 的移动应用程序（“ATH-tool”），用于自适应阈值搜索 MT。目的是允许使用日志记录功能简单而经过验证的 MT 记录。为了进行比较，我应用了 Motor Threshold Assessment Tool 2.0，以比较新应用程序确定的 MT 值，因为它应用了非常相似的常规程序。使用已知真实阈值的计算验证确认，新应用程序以高精度（误差≤0.9%）捕获真实 MT。使用不同刺激强度下 15 名健康受试者的实验数据来模拟真实的响应发生情况，从而使用先前发表的运动诱发电位（MEPs）数据进行了模拟。不同方法的 MT 之间非常吻合（ICC≥0.971，）。不同方法确定的 MT 之间没有显着差异（p≥0.151）。新的移动应用程序应该使研究人员和临床医生更容易确定 MT 并记录结果。
