Angel Vladimirov Peterchev

Angel V Peterchev

Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

I direct the Brain Stimulation Engineering Lab (BSEL) which focuses on the development, modeling, and application of devices and paradigms for transcranial brain stimulation. Transcranial brain stimulation involves non-invasive delivery of fields (e.g., electric and magnetic) to the brain that modulate neural activity. It is widely used as a tool for research and a therapeutic intervention in neurology and psychiatry, including several FDA-cleared indications. BSEL develops novel technology such as devices for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that leverage design techniques from power electronics and computational electromagnetics to enable more flexible stimulus control, focal stimulation, and quiet operation. We also deploy these devices in experimental studies to characterize and optimize the brain response to TMS. Another line of work is multi-scale computational models that couple simulations of the electromagnetic fields, single neuron responses, and neural population modulation induced by electric and magnetic brain stimulation. These models are calibrated and validated with experimental neural recordings through various collaborations. Apart from understanding of mechanisms, we develop modeling, algorithmic, and targeting tools for response estimation, dose individualization, and precise localization of transcranial brain stimulation using advanced techniques such as artificial neural networks and machine learning. Moreover, BSEL is involved in the integration of transcranial brain stimulation with robotics, neuronavigation, intracranial electrophysiology recordings, and imaging modalities such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), as well as the evaluation of the safety of device–device interactions, for example between transcranial stimulators and implants. Importantly, we collaborate widely with neuroscientists and clinicians within Duke and at other institutions to translate developments from the lab to research and clinical applications. For over 15 years, BSEL has been continuously supported with multiple NIH grants as well as funding by DARPA, NSF, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, Coulter Foundation, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, MEDx, Duke University Energy Initiative, and industry. Further, some of our technology has been commercialized, for example as ElevateTMS cTMS, or incorporated in free software packages, such as SimNIBS.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Associate Professor in Neurosurgery
  • Professor in Neurosurgery

Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D. University of California - Berkeley, 2005
  • M.S. University of California - Berkeley, 2002
  • B.A. Harvard University , 1999

Courses Taught

  • BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • ECE 392: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • ECE 431: Power Electronic Circuits for Energy Conversion
  • ECE 494: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • ECE 531: Power Electronic Circuits for Energy Conversion
  • ECE 899: Special Readings in Electrical Engineering
  • ENERGY 396: Connections in Energy: Interdisciplinary Team Projects
  • ENRGYEGR 431: Power Electronic Circuits for Energy Conversion
  • ENRGYEGR 531: Power Electronic Circuits for Energy Conversion

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Peterchev, AV; DʼOstilio, K; Rothwell, JC; Murphy, DL, Controllable pulse parameter transcranial magnetic stimulator with enhanced circuit topology and pulse shaping., J Neural Eng, vol 11 no. 5 (2014) [10.1088/1741-2560/11/5/056023] [abs].
  • Mueller, JK; Grigsby, EM; Prevosto, V; Petraglia, FW; Rao, H; Deng, Z-D; Peterchev, AV; Sommer, MA; Egner, T; Platt, ML; Grill, WM, Simultaneous transcranial magnetic stimulation and single-neuron recording in alert non-human primates., Nat Neurosci, vol 17 no. 8 (2014), pp. 1130-1136 [10.1038/nn.3751] [abs].
  • Peterchev, AV; Goetz, SM; Westin, GG; Luber, B; Lisanby, SH, Pulse width dependence of motor threshold and input-output curve characterized with controllable pulse parameter transcranial magnetic stimulation., Clin Neurophysiol, vol 124 no. 7 (2013), pp. 1364-1372 [10.1016/j.clinph.2013.01.011] [abs].
  • Goetz, SM; Truong, CN; Gerhofer, MG; Peterchev, AV; Herzog, H-G; Weyh, T, Analysis and optimization of pulse dynamics for magnetic stimulation., Plos One, vol 8 no. 3 (2013) [10.1371/journal.pone.0055771] [abs].
  • Peterchev, AV; Wagner, TA; Miranda, PC; Nitsche, MA; Paulus, W; Lisanby, SH; Pascual-Leone, A; Bikson, M, Fundamentals of transcranial electric and magnetic stimulation dose: definition, selection, and reporting practices., Brain Stimul, vol 5 no. 4 (2012), pp. 435-453 [10.1016/j.brs.2011.10.001] [abs].
  • Lee, WH; Deng, Z-D; Kim, T-S; Laine, AF; Lisanby, SH; Peterchev, AV, Regional electric field induced by electroconvulsive therapy in a realistic finite element head model: influence of white matter anisotropic conductivity., Neuroimage, vol 59 no. 3 (2012), pp. 2110-2123 [10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.10.029] [abs].
  • Peterchev, AV; Murphy, DL; Lisanby, SH, Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulator with controllable pulse parameters., J Neural Eng, vol 8 no. 3 (2011) [10.1088/1741-2560/8/3/036016] [abs].
  • Deng, Z-D; Lisanby, SH; Peterchev, AV, Electric field strength and focality in electroconvulsive therapy and magnetic seizure therapy: a finite element simulation study., J Neural Eng, vol 8 no. 1 (2011) [10.1088/1741-2560/8/1/016007] [abs].
  • Peterchev, AV; Rosa, MA; Deng, Z-D; Prudic, J; Lisanby, SH, Electroconvulsive therapy stimulus parameters: rethinking dosage., J Ect, vol 26 no. 3 (2010), pp. 159-174 [10.1097/YCT.0b013e3181e48165] [abs].
  • Peterchev, AV; Jalinous, R; Lisanby, SH, A transcranial magnetic stimulator inducing near-rectangular pulses with controllable pulse width (cTMS)., Ieee Transactions on Bio Medical Engineering, vol 55 no. 1 (2008), pp. 257-266 [10.1109/TBME.2007.900540] [abs].
  • Peterchev, AV; Sanders, SR, Quantization resolution and limit cycling in digitally controlled PWM converters, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol 18 no. 1 II (2003), pp. 301-308 [10.1109/TPEL.2002.807092] [abs].