ABSTRACT
Pulsed electromagnetically induced current (PEMIC) has been shown to stimulate the healing of delayed and non-union fractures (1–8). In addition, many cell and tissue systems have been affected by PEMIC having specific waveform parameters (9–18). It is important to consider the origins of the choice of these waveform parameters in order to relate them to a study of the mechanism of PEMIC bioeffects. This author was profoundly influenced by the early work of Becker (19) who proposed that electric fields play a substantial role in regeneration. Yasuda, Brighton, and Bassett (20–22) suggested that the pathway through which bone adaptively responds to mechanical input may be electrical. Pilla took the findings of these authors and used an electrochemical approach to predict a set of bioeffective electrical waveform parameters based on electrochemical kinetic interactions at the cell’s surfaces (23–30). This approach ultimately led to the creation of PEMIC waveforms now in widespread clinical use for orthopaedic applications. It is the purpose of this chapter to review how electrochemistry has played a role in the electromagnetic modulation of cell and tissue behavior.
