Neuromuscular disruption with ultrashort electrical pulses

Andrei Pakhomov; Juergen F. Kolb; Ravindra P. Joshi; Karl H. Schoenbach; Thomas Dayton; James Comeaux; John Ashmore; Charles Beason

doi:10.1117/12.665617

25 May 2006 Neuromuscular disruption with ultrashort electrical pulses

Andrei Pakhomov, Juergen F. Kolb, Ravindra P. Joshi, Karl H. Schoenbach, Thomas Dayton, James Comeaux, John Ashmore, Charles Beason

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6219, Enabling Technologies and Design of Nonlethal Weapons; 621903 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.665617
Event: Defense and Security Symposium, 2006, Orlando (Kissimmee), Florida, United States

Abstract

Experimental studies on single cells have shown that application of pulsed voltages, with submicrosecond pulse duration and an electric field on the order of 10 kV/cm, causes sudden alterations in the intracellular free calcium concentration, followed by immobilization of the cell. In order to examine electrical stimulation and incapacitation with such ultrashort pulses, experiments on anesthetized rats have been performed. The effect of single, 450 nanosecond monopolar pulses have been compared with that of single pulses with multi-microsecond duration (TASER pulses). Two conditions were explored: 1. the ability to elicit a muscle twitch, and, 2. the ability to suppress voluntary movement by using nanosecond pulses. The second condition is relevant for neuromuscular incapacitation. The preliminary results indicate that for stimulation microsecond pulses are advantageous over nanosecond pulses, whereas for incapacitation, the opposite seems to apply. The stimulation effects seem to scale with electrical charge, whereas the disruption effects don't follow a simple scaling law. The increase in intensity (time of incapacitation) for a given pulse duration, is increasing with electrical energy, but is more efficient for nanosecond than for microsecond pulses. This indicates different cellular mechanisms for incapacitation, most likely subcellular processes, which have been shown to become increasingly important when the pulse duration is shortened into the nanosecond range. If further studies can confirm these initial results, consequences of reduced pulse duration are a reduction in weight and volume of the pulse delivery system, and likely, because of the lower required energy for neuromuscular incapacitation, reduced safety risks.

Citation Download Citation

Andrei Pakhomov, Juergen F. Kolb, Ravindra P. Joshi, Karl H. Schoenbach, Thomas Dayton, James Comeaux, John Ashmore, and Charles Beason "Neuromuscular disruption with ultrashort electrical pulses", Proc. SPIE 6219, Enabling Technologies and Design of Nonlethal Weapons, 621903 (25 May 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.665617

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