Non-invasive acquisition of large nerve action potentials (NAPs) with closely spaced surface electrodes and reduced stimulus artifacts
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
- a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator for applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient;
a detector and a pair of detector electrodes connected to the detector for acquiring a trace signal from the patient, wherein the trace signal includes the nerve action potential (NAP); and
shorting apparatus for shorting the pair of stimulator electrodes after application of the electrical stimulus to the patient in order to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in the trace signal.
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Abstract
The present invention addresses the foregoing problems associated with the prior art by providing a novel method and apparatus for, non-invasively detecting large nerve action potentials (NAPs) while effectively minimizing or substantially eliminating stimulus artifacts, even where the stimulation site and the detection site are in close physical proximity to one another, e.g., within about 2 cm of one another.
132 Citations
71 Claims
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1. Apparatus for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator for applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient;
a detector and a pair of detector electrodes connected to the detector for acquiring a trace signal from the patient, wherein the trace signal includes the nerve action potential (NAP); and
shorting apparatus for shorting the pair of stimulator electrodes after application of the electrical stimulus to the patient in order to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in the trace signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 62)
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9. A method for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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applying an electrical stimulus to the patient using a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient; and
acquiring a trace signal from the patient which includes the nerve action potential (NAP);
wherein the pair of stimulator electrodes are shorted after the electrical stimulus has been applied to the patient in order to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in the trace signal. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 63)
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17. Apparatus for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator for applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient;
a detector and a pair of detector electrodes connected to the detector for acquiring a trace signal from the patient, wherein the trace signal includes the nerve action potential (NAP);
wherein the stimulator is configured to produce a biphasic electrical stimulus consisting of a positive pulse followed by a negative pulse;
and further wherein the stimulator is configured to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in the trace signal by regulating the time duration of the negative pulse. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 64)
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26. A method for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient, wherein the electrical stimulus comprises a biphasic electrical stimulus comprising a positive pulse followed by a negative pulse; and
acquiring a trace signal from the patient which includes the nerve action potential (NAP);
wherein the time duration of the negative pulse is regulated so as to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in the trace signal. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 65)
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34. Apparatus for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator for applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient, wherein the stimulator is configured to produce a biphasic electrical stimulus consisting of a positive pulse followed by a negative pulse;
a detector and a pair of detector electrodes connected to the detector for acquiring a trace signal from the patient, wherein the trace signal includes the nerve action potential; and
a determining component for determining the amplitude of a stimulus artifact present in the trace signal;
wherein the stimulator is configured to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in the trace signal by regulating the time duration of the negative pulse based on the amplitude of a stimulus artifact present in a prior trace signal as determined by the determining component. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 66)
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47. A method for acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient, wherein the electrical stimulus comprises a biphasic electrical stimulus comprising of a positive pulse followed by a negative pulse;
acquiring a trace signal from the patient which includes the nerve action potential (NAP);
determining the amplitude of a stimulus artifact present in the trace signal; and
regulating the time duration of the negative pulse in a subsequent biphasic electrical stimulus so as to minimize the presence of stimulus artifacts in a current trace signal based on the amplitude of a stimulus artifact present in a prior trace signal. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 67)
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54. Apparatus for measuring the stimulus artifact present when acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator for applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient;
a detector and a pair of detector electrodes connected to the detector for acquiring a trace signal from the patient, wherein the trace signal includes the nerve action potential (NAP); and
a measuring component for measuring the voltage present between the pair of stimulator electrodes after application of the electrical stimulus to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 68)
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57. A method for measuring the stimulus artifact present when acquiring a nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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applying an electrical stimulus to the patient using a pair of stimulator electrodes, so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient; and
acquiring a trace signal from the patient which includes the nerve action potential (NAP);
wherein the voltage between the pair of stimulator electrodes is measured after the beginning of application of the electrical stimulus to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 69)
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60. Apparatus for acquiring a large nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a stimulator and a pair of stimulator electrodes connected to the stimulator for applying an electrical stimulus to the patient so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient; and
a detector and a pair of detector electrodes connected to the detector for acquiring a trace signal from a patient, wherein the trace signal includes the nerve action potential (NAP);
wherein at least one of the pair of detector electrodes is a surface electrode and is positioned less than 3 cm from the stimulator electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (70)
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61. A method for acquiring large nerve action potential (NAP) from a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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applying an electrical stimulus to the patient using a pair of stimulator electrodes so as to evoke a nerve action potential (NAP) in the patient; and
acquiring a trace signal from the patient which includes the nerve action potential (NAP), wherein the trace signal is acquired from the patient using a pair of detector electrodes;
wherein at least one of the pair of the detector electrodes is a surface electrode and is placed less than 3 cm from the stimulator electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (71)
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Specification