Gradual recruitment of muscle/neural excitable tissue using high-rate electrical stimulation parameters
First Claim
1. A method of eliciting stochastic firing of excitable tissue cells using a neurostimulator, the neurostimulator having multiple electrode contacts through which electrical stimulation may be applied to the excitable tissue cells, the method comprising:
- generating a pulsatile stimulation waveform having a pulse rate of at least 2000 Hz, and pulse widths of 100 μ
S or less;
amplitude modulating the pulsatile stimulation waveform with control information; and
applying the amplitude-modulated pulsatile stimulation waveform to selected ones of the multiple electrode contacts.
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Abstract
A neurostimulator system (170) stimulates excitable muscle or neural tissue through multiple electrodes (E1, E2, . . . En) fast enough to induce stochastic neural firing, thereby acting to restore “spontaneous” neural activity. The type of stimulation provided by the neurostimulator involves the use of a high rate, e.g., greater than about 2000 Hz, pulsitile stimulation signal generated by a high rate pulse generator (172). The stream of pulses generated by the high rate pulse generator is amplitude modulated in an output driver circuit (176) with control information, provided by a modulation control element (178). Such amplitude-modulated pulsitile stimulation exploits the subtle electro physiological differences between cells comprising excitable tissue in order to desynchronize action potentials within the population of excitable tissue. Such desynchronization induces a wider distribution of population thresholds, as well as a wider electrical dynamic range, thereby better mimicking biological recruitment characteristics.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of eliciting stochastic firing of excitable tissue cells using a neurostimulator, the neurostimulator having multiple electrode contacts through which electrical stimulation may be applied to the excitable tissue cells, the method comprising:
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generating a pulsatile stimulation waveform having a pulse rate of at least 2000 Hz, and pulse widths of 100 μ
S or less;
amplitude modulating the pulsatile stimulation waveform with control information; and
applying the amplitude-modulated pulsatile stimulation waveform to selected ones of the multiple electrode contacts. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A neurostimulator for stimulating muscle or neural excitable tissue, the neurostimulator having multiple electrode contacts through which electrical stimulation may be applied to muscle or neural tissue, the neurostimulator comprising:
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means for generating a pulsatile stimulation waveform having a pulse rate sufficiently fast and a pulse width sufficiently narrow to induce stochastic neural firing within muscle or nerve excitable tissue;
means for amplitude modulating the pulsatile stimulation waveform with control information representative of a mean neural firing rate for the muscle or nerve excitable tissue to achieve a desired function; and
means for applying the amplitude-modulated pulsatile stimulation waveform to selected ones of the multiple electrode contacts, whereby excitable tissue is stochastically stimulated. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification