Electrical safety in spinal cord stimulation: current density analysis by computer modeling

The possibility of tissue damage in spinal cord stimulation was investigated in a computer modeling study. A decrease of the electrode area in monopolar stimulation resulted in an increase of the current density at the electrode surface. When comparing the modeling results with experimental data from literature, it was concluded that even with a small electrode area (0.7 mm/sup 2/) tissue damage in spinal cord stimulation is improbable.