Method and means for electrical stimulation of cutaneous sensory receptors

• US 20060085056A1
• Filed: 10/19/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meagan Medical, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Meagan Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: Schouenborg, Jens Olaf Roe
• Granted Patent: US 8,086,322 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/148
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 39/002 Using electric currents electrotherapy A61N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0456 Specially adapted for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [TENS]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0468 Specially adapted for promoting wound healing
• 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 1/0502 Skin piercing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36021 for treatment of pain

Abstract

Electrode plate comprising a stiff or flexible electrically non-conductive plate element having a front face and a rear face and a pattern of needle-like (NL) electrodes for electrical stimulation of cutaneous thin Aδ/C fibers and conductive plate (CP) electrodes for electrical stimulation cutaneous large Aβ fibers disposed on the front face.

Claims

1. An electrode plate comprising:

a stiff or flexible electrically non-conductive plate element having a front face and a rear face; and

a pattern of needle-like (NL) electrodes for electrical stimulation of cutaneous thin Aδ

/C fibers and conductive plate (CP) electrodes for electrical stimulation cutaneous large Aβ

fibers disposed on the front face.

2. The electrode plate of claim 1, wherein the CP electrodes are arranged in close proximity to the NL electrodes in a manner so to make an average distance of two to four of the CP electrodes most closely disposed around one of the NL electrode to that NL electrode substantially shorter than the corresponding distance of two to four of the most closely disposed neighboring NL electrodes.

3. The electrode plate of claim 1, comprising venting bores communicating the front face with the rear face.

4. The electrode plate of claim 1, comprising an electrically conductive or non-conductive adhesive disposed on portions of the front face for attaching the electrode plate to the skin.

5. The electrode plate of claim 1, wherein the NL electrodes include an electrically conducting base and an oblong electrode element extending perpendicularly from the base.

6. The electrode plate of claim 5, wherein the NL electrode element has a free end which is pointed.

7. The electrode plate of claims 1, further comprising electrical conductors each coupled to one or to several of the NL electrodes and to one or to several of the CP electrodes, for connecting single ones of NL and CP electrodes or groups of the NL and CP electrodes to a stimulator unit.

8. The electrode plate of claim 7, wherein the conductors are attached to the front face of the electrode plate.

9. The electrode plate of claim 8, wherein the conductors are attached to the electrode plate by screen printing.

10. The electrode plate of claim 1, further comprising raised portions on the front face and the NL electrodes are mounted on the raised portions of the front face.

11. The electrode plate of claim 10, wherein the raised portions are designed to carry single NL electrodes or rows of NL electrodes.

12. The electrode of claim 10, wherein flexibility of the plate is provided by intermediate sections of the electrode plate disposed between sections of the plate carrying NL and CP electrodes.

13. The electrode plate of claim 12, wherein the intermediate sections are at least one of compressible and extendable.

14. The electrode plate of claim 13, wherein the intermediate sections are at least one of resiliently compressible and extendable.

15. The electrode plate of claim 12, further comprising electrically conductive adhesive disposed on sections of the plate carrying CP electrodes.

16. The electrode plate of claim 15, wherein the electrically conductive adhesive is disposed in electrical contact with CP electrodes.

17. An assembly for administration of electrical stimulation to the skin of a person comprising:

the electrode plate of claim 1, and

a multi-channel stimulator unit capable of separately addressing the NL and CP electrodes for consecutive stimulation.

18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the CP electrodes are controlled by the stimulator unit to additionally function as reference electrodes for the NL electrodes.

19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein the CP electrodes are coupled as anodes in their function as reference electrodes.

20. The assembly of claim 18, wherein the stimulator is programmed so as to use a majority or all of the CP electrodes, except the active one(s) as reference electrodes.

21. The assembly of claim 17, wherein one of the CP electrodes and a neighboring one of the NL electrodes are phase-locked.

22. The assembly of claim 21, wherein consecutive stimulation is in a random pattern.

23. The assembly of claim 21, wherein consecutive stimulation is in an orderly pattern.

24. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the stimulator is capable of providing the CP electrodes for stimulating Aβ

fibers with pulse trains (bursts) having a burst frequency of from 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz;

an internal frequency of from 50 Hz-400 Hz;

a burst length per CP electrode of up to 100 ms;

a pulse duration of from 0.05 ms to 0.3 ms;

a current amplitude of up to 50 mA, for stimulation of Aβ

fibers.

25. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the stimulator is capable of providing the NL electrodes with single pulses of from 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz;

a pulse duration of from 0.5 to 10.0 ms;

a current amplitude of up to 2 mA.

26. A method of stimulating sensory nerves comprising:

providing a means for controlled consecutive epidermal and transcutaneous administration of electrical stimuli, wherein the means comprises a stimulation face provided with a pattern of CP and NL electrodes;

mounting the stimulation face on a skin area to be treated in an abutting relationship to make the electrodes for transcutaneous administration penentrate through the epidermis and the electrodes for epidermal administration to abut the skin;

optionally enhancing electrically conducting contact of the electrodes with the skin by a conducting means applied to the skin or provided with the means;

stimulating sensory nerves by providing repeated consecutive electrical stimuli via the electrodes to the skin area.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the penetration depth of the NL electrodes is from 0.1 to 10 mm or more.

28. The method of claim 26, comprising pressing the means against the skin by applying a force to its face opposite to the stimulation face, thereby temporarily flattening the means and allowing portions of the skin surface to contact an adhesive means provided in depressions of the stimulation face.