Abstract
IN an earlier communication1, I reported a finding indicating that the power dissipated in the subcutaneous tissues, where the receptors lie, is the parameter most relevant to the determination of threshold electric shocks. This led to the assertion that it would be more reasonable and safer to control wattage rather than voltage or current when using electro-convulsive therapy. As a result of correspondence with Dr. G. R. Hawkes, of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, I am persuaded that this assertion is misleading. A more accurate conclusion would have been that, although the standard practice of controlling voltage is less safe than controlling the wattage, it would probably be safer still to control current under the conditions obtaining in a mental hospital.
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Green, R. T., Nature, 194, 1303 (1962).
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GREEN, R. Parameters of Electric Shock relevant to Electro-convulsion Therapy. Nature 199, 307 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/199307a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/199307a0
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