Transcutaneous electrical stimulation is used as an adjunct therapy for obesity, where it can enable increased levels of voluntary exercise. Due to the high resistivity of subcutaneous fat tissue, however, high stimulus currents are required to evoke muscle contraction in obese subjects, possibly leading to patient discomfort. In this study, a three-dimensional finite element model of the human...

AIM The harmful effect of hypocapnia on the neonatal brain emphasizes the importance of monitoring arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2). Transcutaneous monitoring of carbon dioxide (tcPCO2) reduces the need for arterial blood sampling. Drawbacks are high electrode temperature causing risks of skin burning. The aim was to determine the accuracy and precision of tcPCO2 at reduced electrode tem...

Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) and partial arterial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO(2)) are important respiratory parameters in critically ill neonates. A sensor combining a pulse oximeter with the Stow-Severinghaus electrode, required for the measurement of peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) and transcutaneous partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PtcCO(2)), respectively, has been recen...

Quell is a novel transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator for the treatment of chronic pain. It uses wearable intensive nerve stimulation to provide pain relief. The device is placed on the upper calf and includes sophisticated electrical stimulation technology, automation algorithms and electrode arrays. It may be used with an optional mobile app. This monograph covers scientific and technic...

Activation Volume, which is calculated from the Activating Function, describes the spatial location of nerve activation, thus is useful in optimizing stimulation electrodes geometry and waveform for improving selectivity and comfort in transcutaneous electrical stimulation. For example, the discomfort due to the fat thickness has been studied before, but the effect of fat thickness on selectivi...

The transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcPO2) was measured by a polarographic technique in the legs of 161 volunteers and compared with the levels found in 62 patients with ischaemic skin due to peripheral vascular disease. The results show that the tcPO2 was related to the degree of ischaemia and, in many cases, was a more accurate guide to the viability of the skin than clinical assessment. Meas...

Transcutaneous oxygen tension (tcPO2) measured with a heated electrode was compared with arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) in three groups of adult patients-group A: 20 patients with chronic respiratory disease; group B: eight hypothermic patents studied immediately after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery; and group C: 14 patients in an intensive care unit who had in all 35 comparisons of tcPO2 and P...

We tested the response characteristics of a dual transcutaneous (tc) PO2/PCO2 monitoring system in healthy subjects who breathed various gas mixtures, and we compared steady-state tc readings to simultaneous arterial blood gas analysis in 20 stable respiratory outpatients. The electrodes were simple to apply, required very little skin preparation, and had trivial signal drift. In healthy subjec...