NINM Safety Parameter Explorer: a safety-reference tool for non-invasive neuromodulation

Authors:
Preprint
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Introduction: Safety parameters for non-invasive neuromodulation (NINM) remain scattered across consensus documents that differ in format, units, and scope, so pre-session parameter screening stays error-prone and difficult to audit. Objectives: To describe the NINM Safety Parameter Explorer, a browser-based tool that consolidates safety thresholds for six NINM modalities (e.g., TMS, tDCS, peripheral magnetic stimulation, TENS, transcranial ultrasound, and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation) into a single rule engine in which every numeric boundary carries an explicit, auditable provenance classification as literature-derived, literature-anchored, or operational default. Methods and Materials: We encoded the tool’s rule corpus from published international consensus guidelines and peer-reviewed literature (82 modality threshold rules: 29 literature-derived, 36 literature-anchored, 17 operational defaults; complemented by 5 target-site caps for 87 total evaluative rules, alongside 15 informational reference values), then evaluated it in a simulated, automated internal verification suite of 38 example protocols spanning all six modalities and three expected verdicts, with automated static integrity assertions, regression guards, and behavioural and accessibility unit checks, all under a single pinned software version (v1.1.0-beta). Results: All 38 examples agreed with their declared verdicts (19 safe, 8 caution, 11 unsafe), and all static guards and supporting checks passed. Conclusion: The Explorer shows complete internal self-consistency between its rule corpus, engine, and interface, and its per-rule provenance labelling renders safety reasoning transparent and auditable for research and educational use. The tool is an in-silico protocol planning aid; it is not a medical device and is not intended for clinical decision-making or use in humans.
Funding Information
  • FAPESP (2023/16997-6)
  • CAPES (88887.939716/2024)

This publication has 32 references indexed in Scilit: