Award Date

12-1-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Committee Member

R. Jacob Baker

Second Committee Member

Sarah Harris

Third Committee Member

Grzegorz Chmaj

Fourth Committee Member

Dustin Hines

Number of Pages

80

Abstract

This thesis reports the design and outcomes of several circuits intended for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) research. In simple terms, TMS circuits are composed of four main blocks: high voltage power source, energy storage bank, control switch, and coil. Each one of these blocks has characteristics that influence how well the circuit will perform for TMS procedures. A successful TMS research circuit must have the ability to emit controlled electromagnetic pulses through a coil connected to it. For the first block, voltages ranging from 50 V to 2 kV were used. In the second block, capacitances ranging from 15 µF to 660 µF were used. For the third block, four types of control switches were used, including power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (Power MOSFETs), gas discharge tubes (GDTs), insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs). Lastly, for the coil block, different types of coils with different parameters were used. All of the aforementioned block characteristics influence the overall performance of the TMS circuit. Much was learned from each testing phase, and the experience was used to improve the following designs. The latest design uses an external high voltage power supply, has a capacitance of 660 µF, uses an IGBT device as the switching device, can drive a wide variety of coils, and is successful enough to be used for TMS research.

Controlled Subject

Magnetic brain stimulation; Neurosciences; Medical care--Research

Disciplines

Electrical and Computer Engineering | Engineering | Medical Neurobiology | Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Neurosciences

File Format

pdf

File Size

4100 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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