An electronical stimulator for quantitative sensory testing and evoked potential analysis of tactile Aβ nerve fibers

•The project determined the ability of a new tactile stimulator to evaluate the touch sensory pathways.•Mechanical detection thresholds measured in 23 healthy subjects were similar for the stimulator and Semmes-Weinstein filaments.•Tactile stimulations generated by the stimulator and applied to the hand or foot allow recording of touch-evoked potentials. We aimed to determine the ability of an innovative device, the Cutaneous Mechanical Stimulator (CMS), to evaluate touch sensory pathways in Human. Two experiments were conducted in 23 healthy volunteers aged 20–30 years. In the first, mechanical detection thresholds (MDTs) were assessed using Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments and the CMS. In the second experiment, touch-evoked potentials (TEPs) elicited by tactile stimulation of the CMS on the left hand dorsum and left foot dorsum were recorded. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded at each cutaneous stimulation site in blocks of 20 tactile stimulations delivered by the CMS. The data were segmented into 1000-ms epochs. MDTs measured by monofilaments and by the CMS were equivalent. Analyses of TEPs showed N2 and P2 components. The latencies of the N2 components on the hand dorsum and foot dorsum resulted in an estimated average conduction velocity of about 40 m.s−1, within the range of Aβ fibers. These findings showed that the CMS could assess touch sensory pathways in young adults. The CMS can offer new research perspectives, as this device allows easy assessment of the MDT and enables estimation of fiber conduction velocities after tactile stimulation by the device synchronized with EEG recordings.