Mapping transcranial signals to transcranial stimulation required to reproduce a brain state

• US 10,357,654 B1
• Filed: 10/28/2016
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HRL Laboratories LLC (The Boeing Co.)
• Original Assignee: HRL Laboratories LLC (The Boeing Co.)
• Inventors: Pilly, Praveen K., Howard, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Porter, Allen
• Application Number:
  US15/338,118
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0042 for the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/245 specially adapted for magnetoencephalographic [MEG] signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/372 Analysis of electroencephalograms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4064 Evaluating the brain A61B5/031, A61B5/369, A61B5/14553 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4836 Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods A61B5/0036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0456 Specially adapted for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [TENS]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0476 Array electrodes (including any electrode arrangement with more than one electrode for at least one of the polarities)
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0484 Garment electrodes worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36025 for treating a mental or cerebral condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/006 for magnetic stimulation of nerve tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/02 using magnetic fields produced by coils, including single turn loops or electromagnets A61N2/12 takes precedence

Abstract

Described is a system for computing a transcranial stimulation montage. The system obtains externally sensed brain activity representing a current brain state of a subject. Using the externally sensed brain activity, a desired brain activity change in each relevant voxel of the brain of the subject is translated into a necessary electrical field. A model the desired brain activity in relevant voxels of the brain of the subject is created. Using the model, an electrical stimulation montage is computed that can be applied by transcranial stimulation electrodes to a subject to transform the current brain state into a desired brain state.

Claims

1. A system for computing a transcranial stimulation montage, the system comprising:

one or more processors and a memory, the memory being a non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable instructions encoded thereon, such that upon execution of the instructions, the one or more processors perform operations of;

mapping externally sensed brain activity data representing a first brain state to voxels of brain volume;

mapping externally sensed brain activity data representing a second brain state to voxels of brain volume;

translating a brain activity change from the second brain state to the first brain state in each relevant voxel of the brain into a necessary electrical field based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data,

wherein the DTI imaging data provides an average white matter tract orientation in each relevant voxel, and wherein the translated brain activity change in each relevant voxel is translated into the necessary electrical field by aligning to the average white matter tract orientation in each relevant voxel;

computing an electrical stimulation montage from the translated brain activity change; and

controlling application of the electrical stimulation montage by transcranial stimulation electrodes to transform the second brain state into the first brain state, the electrical stimulation montage including the necessary electrical field.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the amount of current that is applied along an axis of neurons in the particular voxel is proportional to the amount of brain activity change.

3. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein G is a gain factor that is held constant during application of the electrical stimulation montage and Δ

S is the brain activity change, and the amount of current that is applied along an axis of neurons in the particular voxel is

4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further perform operations of:

measuring changes in brain activity after application of the electrical stimulation montage; and

using the set of measured changes in brain activity, adjusting a gain factor G for induced currents to affect brain activity change in each voxel.

5. The system as set forth in claim 4, wherein gain factors G in each voxel are scaled by the cosine of an angle between a dominant white matter tract orientation and an induced electric field.

6. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further perform an operation of creating a model of the brain activity representing the first brain state in relevant voxels of the brain.

7. A computer program product for computing a transcranial stimulation montage, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable instructions encoded thereon, such that upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors, the one or more processors perform operations of;

mapping externally sensed brain activity data representing a first brain state to voxels of brain volume;

mapping externally sensed brain activity data representing a second brain state to voxels of brain volume;

translating a brain activity change from the second brain state to the first brain state in each relevant voxel of the brain into a necessary electrical field using based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data,

wherein the DTI imaging data provides an average white matter tract orientation in each relevant voxel, and wherein the translated brain activity change in each relevant voxel is translated into the necessary electrical field by aligning to the average white matter tract orientation in each relevant voxel;

computing an electrical stimulation montage from the translated brain activity change; and

controlling application of the electrical stimulation montage by transcranial stimulation electrodes to transform the second brain state into the first brain state, the electrical stimulation montage including the necessary electrical field.

8. The computer program product as set forth in claim 7, wherein the amount of current that is applied along an axis of neurons in the particular voxel is proportional to the amount of brain activity change.

9. The computer program product as set forth in claim 8, wherein G is a gain factor that is held constant during application of the electrical stimulation montage and Δ

S is the brain activity change, and the amount of current that is applied along an axis of neurons in the particular voxel is

10. The computer program product as set forth in claim 7, further comprising instructions for causing the one or more processors to further perform operations of:

measuring changes in brain activity after application of the electrical stimulation montage; and

using the set of measured changes in brain activity, adjusting a gain factor G for induced currents to affect brain activity change in each voxel.

11. The computer program product as set forth in claim 10, wherein gain factors G in each voxel are scaled by the cosine of an angle between a dominant white matter tract orientation and an induced electric field.

12. The computer program product as set forth in claim 7, further comprising instructions for causing the one or more processors to further perform an operation of creating a model of the brain activity representing the first brain state in relevant voxels of the brain.

13. A computer implemented method for computing a transcranial stimulation montage, the method comprising an act of:

causing one or more processers to execute instructions encoded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such that upon execution, the one or more processors perform operations of;

mapping externally sensed brain activity data representing a first brain state to voxels of brain volume;

mapping externally sensed brain activity data representing a second brain state to voxels of brain volume;

translating a brain activity change from the second brain state to the first brain state in each relevant voxel of the brain into a necessary electrical field based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data,

wherein the DTI imaging data provides an average white matter tract orientation in each relevant voxel, and wherein the translated brain activity change in each relevant voxel is translated into the necessary electrical field by aligning to the average white matter tract orientation in each relevant voxel;

computing an electrical stimulation montage from the translated brain activity change; and

controlling application of the electrical stimulation montage by transcranial stimulation electrodes to transform the second brain state into the first brain state, the electrical stimulation montage including the necessary electrical field.

14. The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the amount of current that is applied along an axis of neurons in the particular voxel is proportional to the amount of brain activity change.

15. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein G is a gain factor that is held constant during application of the electrical stimulation montage and Δ

S is the brain activity change, and the amount of current that is applied along an axis of neurons in the particular voxel is

16. The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the one or more processors further perform operations of:

measuring changes in brain activity after application of the electrical stimulation montage; and

using the set of measured changes in brain activity, adjusting a gain factor G for induced currents to affect brain activity change in each voxel.

17. The method as set forth in claim 16, wherein gain factors G in each voxel are scaled by the cosine of an angle between a dominant white matter tract orientation and an induced electric field.

18. The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the one or more processors further perform an operation of creating a model of the brain activity representing the first brain state in relevant voxels of the brain.