Comparison of magnetic field distributions generated by various permanent magnets for transcranial static magnetic stimulation: A simulation study

Abstract

Recent experimental studies have shown that static magnetic field can be effective in modulating human brain functions. Following this discovery, a new noninvasive brain stimulation technique was developed: the transcranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS). Various types of permanent magnets have been used in previous experimental studies, with the aim of validating the effectiveness of tSMS; nevertheless, the spatial distributions of magnetic field generated by these permanent magnets have not been fully investigated. In this study, we compared the distributions of magnetic field on the human cortical surface generated by five different cylindrical magnets (of various dimensions), using the finite element method. Our simulation results demonstrated that the magnitude of magnetic flux density induced in the cortical grey matter of the human brain is proportional to the volume of permanent magnets used, while the magnetic field gradient is not necessarily proportional to the volume of the magnets. Additionally, we showed that the use of magnets with internal holes might not be advantageous. The differences in magnetic field properties induced by various types of permanent magnets suggested that their careful selection, based on magnetic field simulations, might be necessary to increase the effectiveness of tSMS.