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Speaker: Rachel Jakes
Advisor: Dustin Tyler
Title: Setting the Curve: A Method for Rapidly Characterizing PNS Parameters
Abstract: Restoring somatosensation with peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) requires precise control over neural recruitment. While the strength-duration (SD) curve is a well-established concept in neuromodulation, its application as a foundational tool for characterizing functional neural activation remains unexplored. This talk introduces and validates a novel method for efficiently mapping the pulse amplitude–pulse width (PA-PW) stimulation space using SD curves. Equal perceptual intensity contours were collected from two participants with upper limb loss using implanted cuff electrodes and fit with SD curves across multiple stimulation intensities. Accurate curve fits were achieved with just two samples per contour, and a metric was developed to assess curve estimation accuracy based on the spacing of the two sampled points. Finite element modeling further revealed that intensity-matched stimuli with different PA-PW combinations recruit distinct subsets of axons, with high-amplitude pulses favoring large-diameter fibers farther from the electrode. These findings support SD-based mapping as a fast, accurate strategy to enhance selectivity, resolution, and percept generation in clinical PNS. This approach also offers a scalable framework for evaluating interactions among additional stimulation parameters.