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http://dx.doi.org/10.7736/KSPE.2012.29.7.711

Effects of Modulation Type on Electrically-Elicited Tactile Sensation  

Hwang, Sun-Hee (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee Univ.)
Ara, Jawshan (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee Univ.)
Song, Tong-Jin (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jungwon Univ.)
Bae, Tae-Sue (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jungwon Univ.)
Park, Sang-Hyuk (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jungwon Univ.)
Khang, Gon (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee Univ.)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering / v.29, no.7, 2012 , pp. 711-716 More about this Journal
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how the modulation method affects the effectiveness of eliciting tactile sensations by electrical stimulation. Two methods were employed and the results were compared and analyzed; pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and pulse width modulation (PWM). Thirty-five healthy subjects participated in the experiments to measure the stimulation intensity that began to elicit a tactile sensation - activation threshold (AT). Constant-current monophasic rectangular pulse trains were employed, and the stimulation intensity was varied from zero until the subject felt any uncomfortable sensation. The step size of the stimulation intensity was 100nC/pulse. After each experiment, the subject described the sensation both quantitatively and qualitatively. The two modulation methods did not make a significant difference as far as the AT values were concerned, but most of the subjects showed 'intra-individual' consistency. Also, it was confirmed that our range of the stimulation parameters enabled us to obtain three major tactile sensations; tickling, pressure and vibration. The results suggested that the stimulation parameters and the modulation type should be selected for each individual and that selective electrical stimulation of the mechanoreceptors needs more diversified researches on the electrode design, multi-channel stimulation protocol, waveforms of the pulse train, etc.
Keywords
Sensory Feedback; Electrical Stimulation;
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