PMC6190876_01
Study design.
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F1
The investigator sets the cathode facing the ischemic injury (C3 or C4 according to the 10-20 system) and the anode facing the contralateral supra-orbital area (Figure 1).
tDCS device and tDCS electrode positioning. In case of left MCA stroke, in order to hyperpolarize the ischemic penumbra, the cathode (in blue) faces the ischemic injury (C3, 10-20 system) and the anode (in red) faces the contralateral supra-orbitary area.
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F2
The device delivers 1.5 mA (with 30 s for ramping up and ramping down) of cathodal direct current through the two sponge coated electrodes (electrodes size: 5 x 7 cm2; Figure 2).
Timelines of active tDCS (left) and sham tDCS (right), and treatment protocol.
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F3
In the sham condition, the device delivers 98 s of current including 30 s for ramping at the beginning and end of each session, in order to keep the blinding procedure (Figure 3).
Timeline of procedures. IA, intra-arterial; IV, intravenous.
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F4
The experimenter notes every significant event: time of stroke onset, time of hospital arrival, time of first MRI, time of IV thrombolysis, and/or endovascular recanalization, time of each tDCS session (Figure 4).