Build your own tDCS

In the recent 2nd International Brain Stimulation Conference, David Henao presented his work about a open source circuit to build your own tDCS device.

In this work we designed, fabricated, characterized and validated a transcranial direct current stimulation device (tDCS) using integrated low-cost components.

Stimulation signals are generated by a msp430g2553 microcontroller. Then, the signal is amplified and sent it to a current source which controls the current intensity for the output. Simultaneously, a feedback systems sense when output current surpases 2mA to break the circuit as a security measure. We also developed a graphical interface allowing to easily set the stimulation parameters.

The experimental tests showed that the current remained constant despite loads variation on the electrodes for different resistances and tissues. Hence, for a range of load resistance from 0 to 2.45 kOhm the device maintained a constant current between 0 and 2 mA.

Compared to other existing devices, the developed one has the advantage of having a lower cost, it is programmable with simple free and open source software and can achieve stimulation parameters as reported in the literature.

If you want to read more about this study, you can access the conference paper here

Henao D.L., Monsalve G., Navarrete M., Le Van Quyen M., Valderrama M. (2017) Development of a low-cost, open-source transcranial direct-current stimulation device (tDCS) for the modulation of brain rhythms. Brain Stimulation, Volume 10, Issue 2, 530. DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2017.01.542

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