Electrical Nerve Stimulation

Functional electrical stimulation is the most important application in the field of clinical
treatment with currents or magnetism. This technique artificially generates neural activity in
order to overcome lost functions of the paralized, incontinent or sensory handicapped patient.
Electricity and magnetism is also used in many cases, e.g., to stimulate bone growth or
wound healing. Nevertheless, the basic mechanism of the artificial excitation of nerve and
muscle fibers has become known only in the last few years. Although many textbooks are
concerned with the natural excitation process there is a lack of information on the influence of
an applied electrical or magnetic field. This book, written for students and biomedical
engineers, should close the gap and, furthermore, it should stimulate the design of new
instrumentation using optimal strategies.