  We study the problem of initiation of excitation waves in the FitzHugh-Nagumo
model. Our approach follows earlier works and is based on the idea of
approximating the boundary between basins of attraction of propagating waves
and of the resting state as the stable manifold of a critical solution. Here,
we obtain analytical expressions for the essential ingredients of the theory by
singular perturbation using two small parameters, the separation of time scales
of the activator and inhibitor, and the threshold in the activator's kinetics.
This results in a closed analytical expression for the strength-duration curve.
