Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Unit for Therapeutic Purposes

Abstract:

The present study aims to provide a solution that could relieve pain through electro-analgesia by design and implementation of a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit, which is electrotherapeutical process in which electrical current is used to excite and stimulate the nervous system of a living body. In this work, an electrical unit that comprises multiple modules is designed and implemented. There is a pulse generation module that uses NE555 oscillators to make continuous, asymmetric biphasic signals, a timing module that uses a microcontroller and a relay to control the length of therapy, a skin-electrode interface module that uses surface electrodes to send the signal to the subject’s skin and a unit case that was created using Design Spark Mechanical 2.0 software. The intended unit allows the user to control signal parameters (frequency, voltage intensity, pulse width and therapy time) and modulate them so that an optimal outcome is achieved for pain management. Twelve cases of acute and chronic pain were tested in medical facilities under doctors’ supervision. The suggested unit offers a frequency range of 2–119 Hz, a stimulation intensity of up to 111 V, a pulse width of 50–210 µs, and a session time of 1–30 min, which was sufficient for many patients. The results showed that the stimulation intensity has higher significance in the process of pain relief, and it varies depending on the condition of each individual patient. The intensity of the tested cases was (50 to 77) V, which is directly proportional to the severity of the pain. The higher intensity of pain required higher intensities of stimulation, and vice versa. Keywords: Design Spark Mechanical, Electrotherapy, Pain Relief, TENS

• Periodical: Engineering Headway (Volume 30)
• Pages: 43-53
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-hSi0HN
• Online since: January 2026
• Authors: Auns Qusai H. Al-Neami, Khawla H. Rasheed*, Hadeer M. Mohammed, Zina Ali Abed, Qussay Abdulateef Hammoodi
• Keywords: Design Spark Mechanical, Electrotherapy, Pain Relief, TENS

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