Physiology and pathology of TASER® electronic control devices

TASER® ECDs (electronic control device) are small, battery powered, handheld devices. They deliver short duration, low energy pulses to stimulate motor neurons, causing transient paralysis. While the experience is painful, proper use of the device is rarely associated with significant side effects in spite of 1070 human worldwide exposures daily. In fact, there have been more than 780,000 training exposures and 630,000 field uses (total of over 1.4 million human uses) without any credible evidence of a resulting cardiac arrhythmia. In this article we describe the mechanisms by which the device operates, and review possible morbidities.