IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2021 Jan;68(1):214-224. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2020.2995841. Epub 2020 Dec 21.
The present study aimed to evaluate a new tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) modality, which uses interferential currents, in terms of the stimulation electric field penetration efficiency into the body and physiological effectiveness.
In silico experiments were performed to analyze the penetration efficiency of proposed interferential current therapy (ICT). Based on this, we performed in vivo experiments to measure excitation threshold of ICT for the tibial nerve, which is related to stimulation field near the nerve. Regarding analysis of the physiological effectiveness, in vivo ICT-TNS was performed, and changes in bladder contraction frequency and voiding volume were measured. The penetration efficiency and physiological effectiveness of ICT were evaluated by comparison with those of conventional TNS using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
Simulation results showed that ICT has high penetration efficiency, thereby generating stronger field than TENS. These results are consistent with the in vivo results that nerve excitation threshold of ICT is lower than that of TENS. Moreover, ICT-TNS decreased contraction frequency and increased voiding volume, and its performance was profound compared with that of TENS-TNS.
The proposed ICT is more efficient in inducing the stimulation field near the tibial nerve placed deep inside the body compared with conventional TENS and shows a good clinical effectiveness for TNS.
The high efficiency of ICT increases the safety of noninvasive neurostimulation; therefore, it has clinical potential to become a promising modality for TNS to treat OAB and other peripheral neurostimulations.
本研究旨在评估一种新的胫骨神经刺激（TNS）模式，即使用干扰电流，从刺激电场穿透效率和生理效果两方面进行评估。
通过计算机模拟实验分析所提出的干扰电流疗法（ICT）的穿透效率。在此基础上，我们进行了体内实验，测量了与神经附近刺激场相关的 ICT 对胫骨神经的兴奋阈值。关于生理效果的分析，进行了体内 ICT-TNS 实验，测量了膀胱收缩频率和排尿量的变化。通过与经皮神经电刺激（TENS）相比，评估了 ICT 的穿透效率和生理效果。
模拟结果表明，ICT 具有较高的穿透效率，从而产生比 TENS 更强的场。这些结果与 ICT 的神经兴奋阈值低于 TENS 的体内结果一致。此外，ICT-TNS 降低了收缩频率并增加了排尿量，与 TENS-TNS 相比，其效果更为显著。
与传统 TENS 相比，所提出的 ICT 能更有效地在体内深处的胫骨神经附近产生刺激场，并且在 TNS 治疗 OAB 和其他周围神经刺激方面具有良好的临床效果。
ICT 的高效性增加了非侵入性神经刺激的安全性；因此，它具有成为 TNS 治疗 OAB 和其他周围神经刺激的一种有前途的模式的临床潜力。
