Evaluating stimulation therapies and patient satisfaction

• US 20060241722A1
• Filed: 04/26/2005
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Thacker, James R., Woods, Carla M., Bradley, Kerry, Kothandaraman, Sridhar, King, John D. H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,317 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/46
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36071 Pain
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A tissue stimulation system is provided that evaluates and/or scores stimulation sets based on both patient feedback and frequency of use. Stimulation sets and any associated scores and/or usage may be stored in a retrievable database. Upon subsequent stimulation sessions, a patient may select stimulation sets that have a high score and/or usage in order to effectively meet therapeutic objectives. Methods of determining patient satisfaction, which involve evaluating patient pain before and after stimulation pulses are applied, are also provided herein.

Claims

1. A tissue stimulation system comprising:

a pulse generating device for generating electrical stimulation pulses, wherein the electrical stimulation pulses are defined by a stimulation set;

at least one implanted electrode for delivering the electrical stimulation pulses generated by the pulse generating device;

a database which stores one or more stimulation sets and an associated frequency of use for each of the stimulation sets;

means for selecting a stimulation set from the database; and

a programmer capable of communicating with the pulse generating device in order to program the pulse generating device to generate electrical stimulation pulses in accordance with the selected stimulation set.

2. The stimulation system of claim 1, wherein the database further stores associated patient feedback with the stimulation sets.

3. The stimulation system of claim 2, wherein the patient feedback is generated using an interactive display screen.

4. The stimulation system of claim 2, wherein the patient feedback is generated using a visual analog scale.

5. The stimulation system of claim 2, wherein the patient feedback is verbal patient comments.

6. The stimulation system of claim 2, wherein the patient feedback is obtained through objective criteria selected from the group consisting of perspiration, muscle tension, respiration rate, heart rate, and combinations thereof.

7. The stimulation system of claim 1, wherein the database further stores a level of patient satisfaction before and after the stimulation pulses are applied to the patient.

8. The stimulation system of claim 1, wherein the database further stores one or more of patient information, clinic information, and tissue stimulation device information.

9. The stimulation system of claim 1, wherein a score is calculated based on both frequency of use and patient feedback.

10. A method of evaluating stimulation sets comprising:

applying electrical stimulation pulses to a patient, wherein the electrical stimulation pulses are generated by a pulse generating device and are defined by at least one stimulation set;

determining a frequency of use for each applied stimulation set;

retrievably storing the frequency and the associated stimulation sets in a database.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a score is calculated based on both frequency of use and patient feedback.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising updating the score based on patient feedback.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the patient feedback is generated using an interactive display screen.

14. The method of claim 11, the patient feedback is generated using a visual analog scale.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising using the database to select stimulation sets for future stimulation sessions.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising updating the database based on frequency of use.

17. A method of determining patient satisfaction with a stimulation set, the method comprising:

determining a patient'"'"'s level of pain before applying electrical stimulation pulses to a patient;

applying electrical stimulation pulses to the patient, wherein the electrical stimulation pulses are generated by a pulse generating device and are defined by at least one stimulation set;

evaluating the applied stimulation sets, wherein the evaluation includes determining the patient'"'"'s level of pain after applying the electrical stimulation pulses and determining a frequency of use for each applied stimulation set; and

retrievably storing the evaluation and the associated stimulation sets in a database.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein one or both levels of pain are determined using a visual analog scale.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising generating a score for the stimulation set based on the following equation:

score=(10−

VAS)+(use percentage/10),

wherein VAS is a value from 1 to 10 indicating a level of pain experienced while the electrical stimulation pulses are applied according to the stimulation set, and

wherein the use percentage is a value representing frequency of use for the stimulation set.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the score is stored in the database with the associated stimulation set.