How are the electrodes arranged within a CEW?

• A. Coiled wire
• B. Single plate
• C. Mesh grid
• D. Two plates of conducting metal with a gap

Answer: (D)

Two conducting metal surfaces facing each other with a small gap create the necessary path for energy to move from one electrode to the other when a high-voltage pulse is applied. This arrangement establishes a strong electric field across the gap, so the target tissue between the electrodes experiences the electric stimulus. A single plate wouldn’t provide the opposite path for current, a coiled wire isn’t a defined two-electrode setup, and a mesh grid would diffuse the energy rather than deliver it in a focused way. The two-plate, gap-separated configuration is what enables a CEW to transfer energy effectively to the target.