Effect of High-Frequency Current on Nerve and Muscle Tissue

Pain sensation and neuromuscular stimulation during argon plasma coagulation in gastrointestinal endoscopy

“…In individual cases, NMS also has been reported for high-frequency radiofrequency current, which is caused by rectifying processes resulting in the transformation of alternating current of any frequency into direct current or alternating current of low frequency [22,23]. The generation of sparks at the active electrode is the main cause of low-frequency stimulating current.…”

Computer modeling of electrical and thermal performance during bipolar pulsed radiofrequency for pain relief

“…There is not a great deal of information about the threshold of electric field for nerve stimulation in the case of sinusoidal stimulus. If we were to consider that the minimum stimulus thresholds (field strength criterion) with uniform field excitation (single monophasic stimuli) ranges from 6.2 to 24.6 V/m (depending on the fiber diameter), 15 and that the threshold for electrosurgical frequencies (around 1 MHz) is around 100 times higher (in terms of stimulation current) than for low frequencies, 16 we could estimate a nerve stimulation threshold for an RF sinusoidal signal between 600 and 2400 V m −1 . With this data in mind, and ignoring the pulsed nature of the signal of PRF, our electric field results suggest that there could be a 2 mm wide zone of tissue around the electrodes (electrical field higher than 3 kV m −1 ) which would be electrically stimulated during bipolar PRF.…”

Long-term Clinical Outcome of Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy (TUMT) 1991-1999 at Karolinska Hospital, Sweden

“…Nevertheless, electro surgery is sometimes accompanied with stimulation of nerves and muscles, despite the high frequency [26]. This is thought to originate from local low frequency currents generated by demodulation or rectification processes in the tissue [27].…”