Computational approach for electrical analysis of biological tissue using the equivalent circuit model

Abstract

The equivalent circuit method is a computational approach for electrical analysis in which the properties of the medium are modeled using circuit elements such as conductances and capacitances. Its main application is in the electric field calculation in biological tissues stimulated by electrical potentials applied with metal electrodes in contact with the material. This method allows modeling easily inhomogeneous materials that have dielectric dispersion, anisotropy, and nonlinear electrical behavior. These characteristics are typical of biological tissues. This chapter presents the mathematical foundations of the equivalent circuit method and illustrates its main features with a typical example of biological stimulation for the purpose of cell membrane electroporation.