Numerical analysis of electric field distribution induced inside a realistic brain model considering conductivity heterogeneity

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.