Dr. Bikson co-directs and lectures at NANS 2020 Engineering for Clinicians Course

Dr. Marom Bikson co-direct (with Dr. Scott Lempka) the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) pre-conference workshop, “Engineering principles of spinal cord stimulation and deep brain stimulation for clinicians,” from 8:00am to 5:00pm on Thursday January 23, 2020 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV.

The exciting workshop will present engineering principles relevant to Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). The target audience is clinicians that currently utilize or are interested in incorporating SCS and/or DBS technologies into their clinical practice. The field of neuromodulation is rapidly evolving and several technologies are now clinically available. These systems have diverse lead and stimulator designs. It is not always clear how different designs or waveform parameters affect the neural response and corresponding efficacy of the stimulation. Therefore, the goal of this course is to provide clinicians with an overview of the engineering principles and biophysics relevant to SCS and DBS. This course will also present the current understanding of the physiological effects and mechanisms of action of standard and emerging forms of SCS and DBS. Furthermore, this course will describe safety and regulatory issues that are critical to electrode design and stimulation parameters. At the end of the course, attendees will have a better understanding of the physiological and technical factors that determine the neural response to SCS and DBS. The ultimate goal of this course is to provide attendees with knowledge that will aid in their clinical implementation of SCS and DBS

Dr. Bikson provides two lectures in the course:

08:10 – 08:50 am: Neurostimulation fundamentals – waveform basics, membrane polarization, action potential threshold, region of activation. Download the lecture slides

02:00 – 02:30 pm: Sub-threshold mechanisms and heating in Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Download the lecture slides