POSITION

Describes a coil position for a TMS simulation

Initialization

  • Python

    from simnibs import sim_struct
s = sim_struct.SESSION()
tms_list = s.add_tmslist()
pos = tms_list.add_position()

  • MATLAB

    s = sim_struct('SESSION');
s.poslist{1} = sim_struct('TMSLIST');
s.poslist{1}.pos;

Attributes

  • centre: list/array of floats or string/character array (Python/MATLAB)

    • Description: Center of the coil. Can either be a set of coordinates in the head model or the name of an EEG 10-10 electrode position

    • Example Python/MATLAB

      Center the coil in Cz

      pos.centre = 'Cz'

      Center the coil using the coordinates

      pos.centre = [-1.2, -15.8, 116.0]

  • pos_ydir: list/array of floats or string/character array (Python/MATLAB)

    • Description: Position along the coil’s y-axis. Can either be a set of coordinates in the head model or the name of an EEG 10-10 electrode position. The coil y-axis is a prolongation of the handle (see here for how SimNIBS defines the coil axes).

    • Example: Python/MATLAB

      Set-up a coil centered in C3 and pointing posteriorly

      pos.centre = 'C3'
pos.pos_ydir = 'CP3'

  • distance: float, optional

    • Description: Distance from the coil to the scalp, in mm.

    • Default: 4mm

    • Note: Ignored if matsimnibs is set.

  • didt: float, optional

    • Description: Rate of change of current in the coil, in A/s. In some stimulators, this value is given in the screen short after a pulse is give.

    • Default: 1e6 A/s

  • matsimnibs: 4x4 list/array of floats (Python/MATLAB)

    • Description: Affine transformation matrix defining coil position and directions. The matrix has the form

    \[\begin{split}\left[\begin{array}{cccc} p^x_1 & p^y_1 & p^z_1 & p^c_1\\ p^x_2 & p^y_2 & p^z_2 & p^c_3\\ p^x_3 & p^y_3 & p^z_3 & p^c_2\\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \end{array}\right].\end{split}\]

Where \(\mathbf{p}^x\), \(\mathbf{p}^y\) and \(\mathbf{p}^z\) are the x, y and z coil axes (see here for how SimNIBS defines the coil axes). Those should be mutually orthogonal and span a right-handed coordinate system. \(\mathbf{p}^c\) is the center of the coil. More about coordinates in SimNIBS.

  • note: Be careful when setting up simulations this way. If the directions are set wrongly, the coil might end up inside the head.

Examples

  • Set up a simulation with a coil centered in C3, pointing posteriorly (towards CP3), with a distance of 5mm from the cortex and a \(dI/dt = 20 \times 10^6\) A/s.

    Python/MATLAB

    pos.centre = 'C3'
pos.pos_ydir = 'CP3'
pos.distance = 5
pos.didt = 20e6

  • Run a simulation with the coil placed at (-1.2, -15.8, 120.0), pointing anteriorly and facing downwards.

    By default, in the head models +y indicates the anterior direction. Therefore, the coil y axis is to be aligned with the model’s. Also by default, +z indicates the superior direction. Therefore, given the definitions, the coil z axis need to point towards the -z direction. Finally, for the coordinates to be right-handed \(\mathbf{p}^x = \mathbf{p}^y \times \mathbf{p}^z\).

    • Python

      pos.matsimnibs = [
  [-1, 0, 0, -1.2],
  [0, 1, 0, -15.8],
  [0, 0, -1, 120.0],
  [0, 0, 0, 1]]

    • MATLAB

      pos.matsimnibs = [...
  -1 0 0 -1.2;...
  0 1 0 -15.8;...
  0 0 -1 120.0;...
  0 0 0 1];