Angelo Faccia

2papers

2 Papers

19.5CEMay 28
A Lumped RC Equivalent Circuit Model of Head Tissues in sub-MHz Frequency Regimes

Angelo Faccia, Ermanno Citraro, Francesco P. Andriulli

Accurate modeling of electric potential and current distribution in head tissues is crucial for the design and evaluation of neuro-sensing and neuro-stimulation systems operating in the sub megahertz frequency range. Numerical methods are widely employed in electromagnetic simulations, however their computational cost can limit their applicability to rapid prototyping, real-time simulations, and circuit-level integration. In this work, we introduce a lumped RC equivalent circuit model that reproduces the electrical behavior of a canonical three-layer spherical head geometry over a frequency range up to 50 kHz. The model accounts for frequency-dependent tissue conductivity and permittivity to capture dispersive effects, employing complex conductivity in the electro-quasi-static (EQS) regime. The circuit topology uses a minimal set of impedance elements in order to represent the essential mechanisms of electric signal propagation. Validation was performed using a dipolar brain source configuration for scalp voltage peak estimation, showing close agreement with semi-analytical solutions across different skull thicknesses and dipole eccentricities. In addition, the impact of tissue dispersion and displacement current inclusion on the model accuracy was quantitatively assessed, highlighting their contribution to the overall fidelity of the proposed approach.

18.3CEMay 28
A Lumped-Element Electrical Model of the Human Head for Brain-Oriented Applications

Angelo Faccia, Ermanno Citraro, Francesco P. Andriulli

In this work, we present a compact surrogate circuit for electro-quasi-static (EQS) head modeling. A three-shell geometry (brain, skull, scalp) is considered, and each layer is modeled through radial and tangential pathways, implemented as RC branches. Frequency-dependent tissue conductivity and permittivity are mapped into dispersive resistive and capacitive elements. The model is validated against a semi-analytical spherical-harmonics reference solution over multiple geometrical configurations and operating frequencies, demonstrating good agreement. Neglecting dispersion and capacitive pathways can lead to an overestimation of scalp potentials over the considered frequency range, highlighting the need for dispersive RC circuit modeling.