Patent ID: 8606360

Claim:
A computer system comprising: a processor that is configured to execute: a finite element model (FEM) module to determine a FEM that models an implanted electrode and a spinal cord in which the electrode is implanted; a Fourier FEM solver module to calculate a potential distribution in the spinal cord using information obtained by the execution of the FEM module and a capacitive component of at least one of the electrode and the spinal cord, wherein, with the execution of the Fourier FEM solver module, the processor is configured to: separate a stimulus waveform into frequency components; obtain a solution of a Poisson equation at at least one frequency component with a stiffness matrix (σ+iω), wherein the stiffness matrix is representative of the capacitive component of the at least one of the electrode and the spinal cord; and use the solution to reassemble the stimulus waveform; and a volume of activation (VOA) module to provide a predicted VOA using the potential distribution and a neuron model.