System and method for cooling the cortex to treat neocordical seizures

• US 20030028229A1
• Filed: 05/04/2001
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Washington University In St Louis
• Original Assignee: Washington University In St Louis
• Inventors: Rothman, Steven M.
• Granted Patent: US 6,978,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/96
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2007/0076 remote from the spot to be heated or cooled
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2007/126 for invasive application, e.g. for introducing into blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 7/12 Devices for heating or cooling internal body cavities

Abstract

A manually activated Peltier device was placed in direct contact with a cortical slice. Seizures terminated within seconds of the onset of cooling, sometimes preceding a detectable drop in temperature measured near the top of the slice. Activation of the Peltier did not stop seizures when slices were no longer in direct physical contact with the device, indicating that this was not a field effect. When cooling was shut off and temperature returned to 33° C., the bursting sometimes returned, but a longer term suppressive effect on seizure activity could be observed. In two experiments, a custom computer program automatically detected seizure discharges and triggered a TTL pulse to activate the Peltier. In these experiments the Peltier automatically terminated the slice bursting in less than four seconds. When the Peltier device was placed in contact with the normal, exposed cortex of a newborn pig, we found that the cortical temperature rapidly decreased from 36° C. to as low as 26° C., at a depth of 1.7 mm below the cooling unit. Therefore, local cooling may rapidly terminate focal paroxysmal discharges and might be adapted for clinical practice.

Claims

1. A method for treating a patient having epilepsy which manifests in the form of an intractable focal seizure, said method comprising the steps of:

locating a focal site that is the source of said intractable focal seizure, said focal site being located on a brain'"'"'s neocortical surface;

establishing direct physical contact between said focal site and a cooling means; and

activating said cooling means and cooling said focal site to abort the intractable focal seizure.

2. A method according to claim 1, where said focal site is determined by a cortical mapping process.

3. A method according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein the mapping process is accomplished by establishing physical contact between a focal site and a cooling means and activating said cooling means to cool said focal site and confirm or eliminate said site as a seizure origin site.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein said activation of the cooling device is manual.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein said cooling means comprises a Peltier chip.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein said focal site is rapidly cooled to a temperature between about 20°

C. to about 30°

C. (see Art. 3, Pg 3, Ln

     10)

7. A method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein said focal site temperature is decreased between about 6°

C. to about 1620 C.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein said activating step is performed at a frequency and duration so that said intractable focal seizure is reduced.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein said activation of the cooling device is determined by a seizure detection or anticipation algorithm.

10. A method for treating a patient having epilepsy which manifests in the form of an intractable focal seizure, said method comprising the steps of:

locating a focal site that is the source of said intractable focal seizure, said focal site being located on a brain'"'"'s neocortical surface;

establishing direct physical contact between said focal site and a cooling means; and

activating said cooling means and cooling said focal site to rapidly abort the intractable focal seizure.

11. A system for treating a patient having epilepsy which manifests in the form of an intractable focal seizure, wherein a focal site that is the source of said intractable focal seizure has been located, said focal site being located on a brain'"'"'s neocortical surface, said system comprising:

cooling means;

means for establishing direct physical contact between said focal site and said cooling means; and

means for activating said cooling means and cooling said focal site to abort the intractable focal seizure.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the cooling means comprises a Peltier chip.