• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.53-58
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• 2022

Noninvasive stimulation of the nervous system for treating chronic neuropathic pain has received attention because of its tolerability and relative efficacy. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a representative method of noninvasive brain stimulation. Evidence-based guidelines on therapeutic use of rTMS have been proposed recently for several neurological diseases. These guidelines recommend treating neuropathic pain by applying high-frequency (≥ 5 Hz) rTMS to the primary motor cortex contralateral to the painful side. This review summarizes the mechanisms and guidelines of rTMS for treating neuropathic pain, and proposes directions for future research.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 2012

We have developed an alternating magnetic field stimulation system consisting of a switched-mode power supply and a digital control circuit which modulates a duty ratio to maintain a magnetic field intensity of a few mT even while the frequency increases up to 4 kHz with a controllable coil temperature below $30^{\circ}C$ in air. This duty ratio modulation and water circulation are advantageous for cell culture under ac-magnetic field stimulation by preventing the incubator from exceeding a cell-viable temperature of $37^{\circ}C$. Although the temperature of the coil when subjected to a sinusoidal voltage rapidly increased, that of our system modulated by the duty factor did not change. This is a potentially valuable method to investigate the effects of intermediate frequency magnetic field stimulation on biological entities such as cells, tissues and organs.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.2685-2692
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• 2009

We propose pulsed magnetic stimulation below 30W by the AC(60Hz) switching control of leakage transformer primary which has some advantage of cost and size compared to a typical pulsed power supply. Pulse repetition rate is adjusted from 5Hz to 60Hz to control magnetic stimulation output. In this magnetic stimulation, a low voltage open loop control for high voltage discharge circuit is employed to avoid the HV sampling or switching and high voltage leakage transformer is used to convert rectified low voltage pulse to high voltage one. A ZCS(Zero Cross Switch)circuit and a DSP & FPGA are used to control gate signal of SCR precisely. The pulse repetition rate is limited by 60Hz due to the frequency of AC line and a high leakage inductance. The maximum magnetic stimulation output was obtained about 33W at pulse repetition rate of 60Hz, total 40, 80, 120, $160^{\circ}$, SCR gate trigger angle $90^{\circ}$ and total output.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

An electromagnetic generator with variable stimulation parameters is required to conduct basic research on magnetic flux density and frequency for pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs). In this study, we design an electromagnetic generator that can conduct basic research by providing parameters optimized for cell and animal experimental conditions through adjustable stimulation parameters. The magnetic core was selected as a solenoid capable of uniform and stable electromagnetic stimulation. The solenoid was designed in consideration of the experimental mouse and cell culture dish insertion. A voltage and current adjustable power supply for variable magnetic flux density was designed. The system was designed to be adjustable in frequency and pulse width and to enable 3-channel output. The reliability of the system and solenoid was evaluated through magnetic flux density, frequency, and pulse width measurements. The measured magnetic flux density was expressed as an image and qualitatively observed. Based on the acquired image, the stimulation area according to the magnetic flux density decrease rate was extracted. The PEMF frequency and pulse width error rates were presented as mean ± SD, and were confirmed to be 0.0928 ± 0.0934% and 0.529 ± 0.527%, respectively. The magnetic flux density decreased as the distance from the center of the solenoid increased, and decreased sharply from 60 mm or more. The length of the magnetic stimulation area according to the degree of magnetic flux density decrease was obtained through the magnetic flux density image. A PEMF generator and stimulation parameter control system suitable for cell and animal models were designed, and system reliability was evaluated.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.181-184
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• 2014

The aim of the present study was to examine whether motor imagery (MI) practice in conjunction with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to stroke patients could improve theirgait ability. This study was conducted with 29 subjects diagnosed with hemiparesis due to stroke.The experimental group consisted of 15 members who were performed MI practice in conjunction with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, while the control group consisted of 14 members who were performed MI practice and sham therapy. Both groups received traditional physical therapy for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks; additionally, they received mental practice for 15 minutes. The experimental group was instructed to perform rTMS and the control group was instructed to apply sham stimulation for 15 minutes. Gait analysis was performed using a three-dimensional motion capture system, which is a real-time tracking device that delivers data via infrared reflective markers using six cameras. Results showed that the velocity, step length, and cadence of both groups were significantly improved after the practice (p<0.05). Significant differences were found between the groups in velocity and cadence (p<0.05) as well as with respect to the change rate (p<0.05) after practice. The results showed that MI practice in conjunction with rTMS is more effective in improving gait ability than MI practice alone.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2011

Background: In the brain, the dominant primary motor cortex (M1) has a greater hand representation area, shows more profuse horizontal connections, and shows a greater reduction in intracortical inhibition after hand exercise than does the non-dominant M1, suggesting a hemispheric asymmetry in M1 plasticity. Methods: We performed a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study to investigate the hemispheric asymmetry of paired associative stimulation (PAS)-induced M1 plasticity in 9 right-handed volunteers. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured in the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscles of both hands, and MEP recruitment curves were measured at different stimulation intensities, before and after PAS. Results: MEP recruitment curves were significantly enhanced in the dominant, but not the non-dominant M1. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the dominant M1 has greater PAS-induced plasticity than does the non-dominant M1. This provides neurophysiological evidence for the asymmetrical performance of motor tasks related to handedness.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.326-332
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• 2017

The effects of exposure to an extremely low-frequency magnetic field (25 Hz 20G) on animal cells have been studied. In some reports, stimulation was performed for fixed frequency and variations in magnitude; however, animal-cell experiments have established that both parameters play an important role. The present work undertook the modeling, simulation, and development of a uniform-magnetic-field generation system with variable frequency and stimulation intensity (0-60 Hz, 1-25G) for experimentation with cell cultures in situ. The results showed a coefficient of variation less than 1 % of the magnetic-field dispersion at the working volume, which is consistent with the corresponding simulation results demonstrating a uniform magnetic field. On the other hand, long-term tests during the characterization process indicated that increments of only $0.4^{\circ}C$ in the working volume temperature will not be an interfering factor when experiments are carried out in in situ cell cultures.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.314-319
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• 2008

In this paper, the electric field distribution induced inside the brain during Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation(TMS) has been thoroughly investigated in terms of tissue heterogeneity and anisotropy as well as different head models. To achieve this, first, an elaborate head model consisting of seven major parts of the head has been built based on the Magnetic Resonance(MR) image data. Then the Finite Element Method(FEM) has been used to evaluate the electric field distribution under different head models or three different conductivity conditions when the head model has been exposed to a time varying magnetic field achieved by utilizing the Figure-Of-Eight(FOE) stimulation coil. The results show that the magnitude as well as the distribution of the induced field is significantly affected by the degree of geometrical asymmetry of head models and conductivity conditions with respect to the center of the FOE coil.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.53-57
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• 2019

In this study, we prepared sputtering cathode for large sputtering thin film in the facing targets sputtering(FTS) system. Before fabrication of cathode equipment, we investigated optimal magnetic flux in the sputtering cathode by using magnetic field stimulation(Comsol). According to the result of magnetic field stimulation, we manufactured the cathode. After we mounted laboratory-designed cathode on FTS system, the discharge properties were observed in vacuum condition. In addition, ITO films were deposited on glass substrate and their electrical and optical properties were investigated by various measurements (four-point probe, UV-VIS spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), Hall-effect measurement).

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.129-132
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• 2015

The aim of the present study was to examine whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve gait ability of acute stage stroke patients. This study was conducted with 39 subjects who were diagnosed as having a hemiparesis due to stroke. The experimental group included 20 subjects who underwent repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and the control group included 19 subjects who underwent sham therapy. The stroke patients in the experimental group underwent conventional rehabilitation therapy and rTMS was applied daily to the hotspot of the lesional hemisphere. The stroke patients in the control group underwent sham rTMS and conventional rehabilitation therapy. Participants in both groups received therapy five days per week for four weeks. Temporospatial gait characteristics, such as stance phase, swing phase, step length in affected side, velocity, and cadence, were assessed before and after the four week therapy period. A significant difference was observed in post-treatment gains for the step length in the affected side, velocity, and cadence between the experimental group and control group ( p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups on stance phase and swing phase ( p > 0.05). We conclude that rTMS may be beneficial in improving the effects of acute stage stroke on gait ability.