4 ms·

I spent ~$600 a few years back to buy a thoroughly tested TES device (https://www.platoscience.com/en-us/pages/product https://www.platoscience.com/en-us/pages/

by 58x14 4y ago

I spent ~$600 a few years back to buy a thoroughly tested TES device (https://www.platoscience.com/en-us/pages/product https://www.platoscience.com/en-us/pages/product) and I only ended up using it a handful of times for novelty purposes. My prescribed medication (little orange footballs) regularly helps me overcome executive function inhibition, and I was hoping this tech could work as an alternative or supplement. There’s a lot of friction in setting up a session, because in order to have proper electrical conductivity, these devices typically require you to add some contact pads soaked in salt water. It becomes noticeably unpleasant for me after only a minute or two - a very particular hybrid sensation between heat and… tingling? Pinching? Combined with salt water dripping down my face, the initial appeal faded quickly. I’d like to try it again, but it’s been sitting in a drawer for years, so I wonder if the battery hasn’t degraded. I don’t think I’d like to replace any components on such a device…

sbayeta 4y ago
Just an idea, hope it's not stupid: Maybe you can get/prepare some kind if gel solution similar to what they use when doing an electrocardiogram? Maybe that would make the experience a little better.
- 58x14 4y ago
  A great suggestion, thank you. The issue with this approach is that I have longer hair and a gel may have more difficulty bridging contact between the device and my scalp, plus it likely requires more effort to clean up. I might look into this.
- mattkrause 4y ago
  Yup! That's what we do in my lab. SignaGel is a conductive gel. It'll mostly stay in place and stays wet a lot longer than the sponges, but it is a little gross. Get it from a medical supplier rather than Amazon, where the individual tubes are massively overpriced. You might also be interested in 10-20 paste, which is a sticky conductive putty. It's a bit more expensive, but it stays put. Instead of the bands, you can also try a neoprene "swimcap" style holder. Some of the tingling is unavoidable--the currents are driving fibers in the skin--but you can do a few things to reduce it. First, make sure there's good contact with the scalp: fully coat/saturate the electrodes and make sure they're pressed tight. The lower the impedance, the better. because the "dose" is specified in terms of current and you want to use as little voltage as possible to deliver that. Second, gradually ramp up the current instead of just switching it on/off. The sensation will diminish a bit over time anyway, so slowly increasing the current will make it more bearable. The difference between on/off and a 30 second ramp is really striking! We've used a topical anesthetic to block sensations, but it's a giant pain--it takes an hour to kick in and you need to tightly cover it too. Finally, be careful because you can burn the skin!

by 58x14 4y ago

sbayeta 4y ago

Just an idea, hope it's not stupid: Maybe you can get/prepare some kind if gel solution similar to what they use when doing an electrocardiogram? Maybe that would make the experience a little better.

58x14 4y ago
A great suggestion, thank you. The issue with this approach is that I have longer hair and a gel may have more difficulty bridging contact between the device and my scalp, plus it likely requires more effort to clean up. I might look into this.
mattkrause 4y ago
Yup! That's what we do in my lab. SignaGel is a conductive gel. It'll mostly stay in place and stays wet a lot longer than the sponges, but it is a little gross. Get it from a medical supplier rather than Amazon, where the individual tubes are massively overpriced. You might also be interested in 10-20 paste, which is a sticky conductive putty. It's a bit more expensive, but it stays put. Instead of the bands, you can also try a neoprene "swimcap" style holder. Some of the tingling is unavoidable--the currents are driving fibers in the skin--but you can do a few things to reduce it. First, make sure there's good contact with the scalp: fully coat/saturate the electrodes and make sure they're pressed tight. The lower the impedance, the better. because the "dose" is specified in terms of current and you want to use as little voltage as possible to deliver that. Second, gradually ramp up the current instead of just switching it on/off. The sensation will diminish a bit over time anyway, so slowly increasing the current will make it more bearable. The difference between on/off and a 30 second ramp is really striking! We've used a topical anesthetic to block sensations, but it's a giant pain--it takes an hour to kick in and you need to tightly cover it too. Finally, be careful because you can burn the skin!