Estimation of in vivo brain-to-skull conductivity ratio in humans

The electrical conductivity value of the human skull is important for biophysics research of the brain. In the present study, the human brain-to-skull conductivity ratio was estimated through in vivo experiments utilizing intra-cranial electrical stimulation in two epilepsy patients. A realistic geometry inhomogeneous head model including the implanted silastic grids was constructed with the aid of the finite element method, and used to estimate the conductivity ratio. Averaging over 49 sets of measurements, the mean value and standard deviation of the brain-to-skull conductivity ratio were found to be 18.7 and 2.1, respectively.