METHOD FOR SELECTING ELECTRODES FOR DEEP BRAIN OR CORTICAL STIMULATION AND PULSE GENERATOR FOR DEEP BRAIN OR CORTICAL STIMULATION

• US 20090005833A1
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Cameron, Tracy L., Hoare, Rohan
• Granted Patent: US 8,359,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/45
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0531 Brain cortex electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0534 Electrodes for deep brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/361 Phantom sensations, e.g. tinnitus

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system for electrically stimulating neural tissue of a patient and for determining neurotransmitter release in response to stimulation, the system comprises: pulse generating circuitry for generating electrical pulses; at least one electrical lead for conducting electrical pulses generated by the pulse generating circuitry to neural tissue, the at least one electrical lead comprising a plurality of electrodes; at least one electrochemical sensor for sensing an extracellular level of one or several neurotransmitters; circuitry for sampling a signal from the at least one electrochemical sensor; a controller for automatically applying stimulation to neural tissue using a plurality of electrode combinations, the controller generating data related to neurotransmitter release for each of the plurality of electrode combinations; and a display for displaying neurotransmitter release for electrode combinations to a clinician.

Claims

1. A system for electrically stimulating neural tissue of a patient and for determining neurotransmitter release in response to stimulation, the system comprising:

pulse generating circuitry for generating electrical pulses;

at least one electrical lead for conducting electrical pulses generated by the pulse generating circuitry to neural tissue, the at least one electrical lead comprising a plurality of electrodes;

at least one electrochemical sensor for sensing an extracellular level of one or several neurotransmitters;

circuitry for sampling a signal from the at least one electrochemical sensor;

a controller for automatically applying stimulation to neural tissue using a plurality of electrode combinations, the controller generating data related to neurotransmitter release for each of the plurality of electrode combinations; and

a display for displaying neurotransmitter release for electrode combinations to a clinician.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the system measures an extracellular amount of dopamine.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the system measures an extracellular amount of serotonin.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the system measures an extracellular amount of glutamate.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the system further comprising:

circuitry for applying a fast-scan cyclic voltammetry waveform to the at least one electrochemical sensor.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

wireless communication circuitry for communicating neurotransmitter data from a device implanted within a patient to an external programmer device.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the external programmer device allows a clinician to control stimulation parameters of the system.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one stimulation lead comprises an elongated annular lead body, wherein each electrode of the plurality of electrodes is adapted to apply stimulation pulses in a directional manner over only a portion of the circumference of the lead body.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the system is operable to display neurotransmitter data in a graphical display that depicts data in one or more graphical controls arranged in a manner that corresponds an electrode configuration of the at least one stimulation lead.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the controller automatically applies stimulation pulses only for cathode and anode pairs that are adjacent to each other.

11. A method of optimizing electrode selection comprising:

implanting at least one electrical lead for conducting electrical pulses generated by a pulse generating circuitry to a first neural tissue, the at least one electrical lead comprising a plurality of electrodes;

implanting at least one electrochemical sensor for sensing a level of one or several neurotransmitters in a second neural tissue;

applying stimulation to the first neural tissue using a plurality of electrode combinations,

sensing the level of one or several neurotransmitters in the second neural tissue using the at least one electrochemical sensor for each of the plurality of electrode combinations; and

selecting the electrode or combination of electrodes that provide a desired neurotransmitter level.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first and second neural tissue are different.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the first and second neural tissue are the same.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sensor is incorporated into the electrical lead.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the first neural tissue is thalamus or subthalamic nucleus (STN).

16. The method of claim 11 wherein second neural tissue is the caudate-putamen or substantia nigra.

17. A method of optimizing stimulation parameters comprising:

implanting at least one electrical lead for conducting electrical pulses generated by a pulse generating circuitry to a first neural tissue, the at least one electrical lead comprising a plurality of electrodes;

implanting at least one electrochemical sensor for sensing a level of one or several neurotransmitters in neural tissue;

applying stimulation to the neural tissue using a plurality of stimulation parameters,

sensing the level of one or several neurotransmitters in a second neural tissue using the at least one electrochemical sensor for each of the plurality of stimulation parameters; and

selecting the stimulation parameters that provide a desired neurotransmitter level.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the stimulation parameters are selected from the group consisting of pulse amplitude, pulse width, frequency parameters and a combination thereof.