Non-invasive functional imaging of peripheral nervous system activation in humans and animals
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of imaging comprising:
- applying sensory stimulation to one or more subjects;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in each of the subjects, the functional imaging data being acquired while the sensory stimulation is applied; and
deriving functional activation maps from the functional imaging data.
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Abstract
A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), and in particular the trigeminal ganglion (TG), to determine activation in response to sensory input. The sensory input may, for example, be application of heat and/or mechanical stimuli to the face to produce pain.
124 Citations
62 Claims
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1. A method of imaging comprising:
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applying sensory stimulation to one or more subjects;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in each of the subjects, the functional imaging data being acquired while the sensory stimulation is applied; and
deriving functional activation maps from the functional imaging data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) response analysis comprising:
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acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in a subject;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce a first functional activation map;
applying sensory stimulation to a subject, the sensory stimulation including noxious heat and mechanical stimulation;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject while the stimulation is applied to the subject;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce one or more second functional activation maps; and
using the first and second functional activation maps to detect changes in BOLD response resulting from the noxious heat and mechanical stimulation. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of evaluating the efficacy of a candidate therapy comprising:
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applying sensory stimulation to a subject prior to administering a candidate therapy;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce pre-therapy functional activation maps;
applying the sensory stimulation to the subject after the candidate therapy has been administered;
again acquiring the imaging data including the functional imaging data of the portion of the peripheral nervous system;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce post-therapy functional activation maps; and
comparing the pre-therapy functional activation maps and the post-therapy functional activation maps to evaluate the efficacy of the candidate therapy on the peripheral nervous system. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method for objective evaluation of damage to the peripheral nervous system comprising:
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applying sensory stimulation to a subject prior to surgery being performed on the subject;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject prior to the surgery, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce pre-surgery functional activation maps;
applying the sensory stimulation to the subject after the surgery has been performed on the subject;
again acquiring the imaging data including the functional imaging data of the same portion of the peripheral nervous system;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce post-surgery functional activation maps; and
comparing the pre-surgery functional activation maps and the post-surgery functional activation maps to evaluate the state of the portion of the peripheral nervous system following the surgery.
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28. A method for objective evaluation of a therapeutic intervention to the peripheral nervous system comprising:
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applying sensory stimulation to a subject prior to a therapeutic intervention being performed on the subject;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject prior to the therapeutic intervention, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce pre-intervention functional activation maps;
applying the sensory stimulation to the subject after the therapeutic intervention has been performed on the subject;
again acquiring the imaging data including the functional imaging data of the diseased portion;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce post-intervention functional activation maps; and
comparing the pre-intervention functional activation maps to the post-intervention functional activation maps to evaluate the efficacy of the therapeutic intervention.
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29. A system comprising:
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a scanner operative to acquire functional imaging data of the peripheral nervous system while a sensory stimulus is applied to one or more subjects; and
a data analyzer operative to produce, from the functional imaging data, functional activation maps from information received responsive to the stimulus. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. An article comprising:
a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;
analyzing functional image data of the peripheral nervous system acquired for one or more subjects while sensory stimulation is applied to such one or more subjects, to produce functional activation maps. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. An article for Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal analysis comprising:
- a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in a subject;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce a first functional activation map;
applying sensory stimulation to a subject, the sensory stimulation including noxious heat and mechanical stimulation;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce one or more second functional activation maps; and
using the first and second functional activation maps to detect changes in BOLD response resulting from the noxious heat and mechanical stimulation. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55)
- a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;
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56. An article comprising:
a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;
applying sensory stimulation to a subject prior to administering a therapy;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce pre-therapy functional activation maps;
applying the sensory stimulation to the subject after the therapy has been administered;
again acquiring the imaging data including the functional imaging data of the portion of the peripheral nervous system;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce post-therapy functional activation maps; and
comparing the pre-therapy functional activation maps and the post-therapy functional activation maps to evaluate the effects of the therapy on the peripheral nervous system. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58)
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59. An article for objective evaluation of the peripheral nervous system comprising:
a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;
applying sensory stimulation to a subject prior to surgery being performed on the subject;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject prior to the surgery, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce pre-surgery functional activation maps;
applying the sensory stimulation to the subject after the surgery has been performed on the subject;
again acquiring the imaging data including the functional imaging data of the same portion of the peripheral nervous system;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce post-surgery functional activation maps; and
comparing the pre-surgery functional activation maps and the post-surgery functional activation maps to evaluate the state of the portion of the peripheral nervous system following the surgery.
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60. An article for objective evaluation of a therapeutic intervention to the peripheral nerve comprising:
a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;
applying sensory stimulation to a subject prior to a therapeutic intervention being performed on the subject;
acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in the subject prior to the therapeutic intervention, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce pre-intervention functional activation maps;
applying the sensory stimulation to the subject after the therapeutic intervention has been performed on the subject;
again acquiring the imaging data including the functional imaging data of the portion of the peripheral nervous system;
analyzing the functional imaging data to produce post-intervention functional activation maps; and
comparing the pre-intervention functional activation maps and the post-intervention functional activation maps to evaluate the efficacy of the therapeutic intervention.
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61. An apparatus comprising:
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means for applying sensory stimulation to one or more subjects;
means for acquiring imaging data including functional imaging data of a portion of the peripheral nervous system in each of the subjects, the functional imaging data being acquired while sensory stimulation is applied; and
means for analyzing the functional imaging data to generate functional activation maps.
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62. An article comprising:
a machine-readable storage medium including, for each of a plurality of subjects, stored results of the step of analyzing functional image data of the peripheral nervous system acquired from each of the subjects while sensory stimulation was applied to such subjects to produce functional activation maps.
Specification