The circuit generates voltage pulses at an adjustable rate of between 0. Hz and 4 Hz. The highest pulse energy supplied by the circuit is limited to a value of about 0. MJ. Not medically approved to any standard, this circuit should not be used by people suffering from heart ailments or epilepsy.
The circuit generates voltage pulses at an adjustable rate of between 0. Hz and 4 Hz. The highest pulse energy supplied by the circuit is limited to a value of about 0. MJ. Not medically approved to any standard, this circuit should not be used by people suffering from heart ailments or epilepsy.
The circuit generates voltage pulses at an adjustable rate of between 0. Hz and 4 Hz. The highest pulse energy supplied by the circuit is limited to a value of about 0. MJ. Not medically approved to any standard, this circuit should not be used by people suffering from heart ailments or epilepsy.
Used with care, this circuit can provide a small degree of stim- ulation for muscles. Two elec- trodes are fixed on the skin cov- ering the muscle area. The dis- tance between the electrodes has to be between 1 cm and about 5 cm. The circuit gener- ates voltage pulses at an adjustable rate of between 0.6 Hz and 4 Hz. The output voltage level is also adjustable between 0 V and 250 V. The highest pulse energy supplied by the circuit is limited to a value of about 0.4 mJ, which is generally believed to be safe. The TLC555, IC1, is wired in astable multivibrator (AMV) mode. Its output signal fre- quency is adjustable with preset P1. Transistor T1 and preset P2 form an adjustable voltage source which charges capacitor C4 (via resistor R3) to the volt- age level set with P2. Using the capacitor energy expression [0.5*C*U 2 ], it is found that C4 contains a fairly accurately defined amount of energy which is smaller than or equal to 0.4 mJ. By charging C3 via R3, a simple and safe means is avail- able of limiting the maximum power to be transferred to the muscle. As regards the on-time of the pulses, the output resis- tance of the TLC555 in combi- nation with the value of C3 cause transistor T2 to conducts just 0.5 ms. During that time, T1 connects the low-voltage wind- ing of Tr1 in parallel with C4, enabling the energy stored in the capacitor to be transferred to the electrodes, and from there, to the muscle tissue. LED D3, finally, indicates the pulse activity. The printed circuit board shown here is unfortunately not available ready-made from the Publishers. WARNING. Not medically approved to any standard, this circuit should not be used by people suffering from heart ail- ments or epilepsy. The circuit is generally safe for use on arm and leg muscles, but not for heart stimulation. In case of doubt, see your GP. (984037-1) low-impact muscle stimulator 0 6 4 IC1 DIS THR OUT 555 TR CV 2 7 6 4 R 3 5 8 1 TLC C1 100n C3 470n C5 10 16V C2 10 16V C4 10 16V BT1 9V P1 100k P2 10k R2 1 0 k R1 1 0 k R3 4k7 D2 1N4001 D1 1N4001 T2 BC337 T1 BC547B D3 TR1 6V 230V 1VA5 984037 - 11 S1 (0.4 mJ) (0,4 mJ) 9 8 4 0 3 7 - 1 ( C ) E L E K T O R C1 C2 C 3 C4 C5 D1 D 2 D3 H1H2 H3 H4 I C 1 OUT P1 P2 R 1 R 2 R 3 S1 T1 T2 TR1 - + 984037-1 9 8 4 0 3 7 - 1 ( C ) E L E K T O R COMPONENTS LIST Resistors: R1,R2 = 10k R3 = 4k7 P1 = 100k preset H P2 = 10k preset H Capacitors: C1 = 100nF MKT (Siemens) C2,C4,C5 = 10F 16V radial C3 = 470nF MKT (Siemens) Semiconductors: D1,D2 = 1N4001 D3 = LED, high efficiency, red T1 = BC547B T2 = BC337 IC1 = TLC555CP (must be CMOS type) Miscellaneous: Bt1 = 9V PP3 block, with clip- on leads S1 = on/off switch Tr1 = mains transformer, 6V, 1.5VA, Monacor/Monarch* type VTR1106 * No UK distributor, item avail- able from C-I Electronics or Stippler Electronics.