Medical & biological engineering & computing
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Med Biol Eng Comput · May 2005
Influence of variable nerve fibre geometry on the excitation and blocking threshold. A simulation study.
The aim of the study was to investigate how variable fibre geometry influences the excitation and blocking threshold of an undulating peripheral nerve fibre. The sensitivity of the excitation and blocking thresholds of the nerve fibres to various geometric and stimulation parameters was examined. The nerve fibres had a spiral shape (defined by the undulation wavelength, undulation amplitude and phase), and the internodal length varied. ⋯ Owing to undulation, the blocking threshold of large fibres could be higher than the blocking threshold of small-diameter fibres, even if they had the same geometry. The results indicate that, during skeletal muscle stretching and contracting or during variation in joint angle, the excitation and blocking thresholds of the nerve fibres change owing to variations in fibre geometry. A straight fibre model could be too simple for modelling the response of peripheral nerve fibres to electrical stimulation.