SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING COMPLEX BIOELECTRIC STIMULATION SIGNALS WHILE CONSERVING POWER
First Claim
1. A system for generating an electrical signal for use in biomedical applications, comprising:
- means for generating a control signal having at least two states alternating in a pattern as a function of time, the pattern comprising a succession of “
on” and
“
off”
pulses which recur in a regularly repeating pattern with time;
a pulse oscillator which is enabled during the “
on”
pulses of the control signal and generates a pulsed signal, but is disabled and consumes negligibly little power during the “
off”
pulses of the control signal;
processing means for processing the pulsed signal, the processing means also performing at least one of controlling a signal intensity, inverting a portion of the pulsed signal, and suppressing at least one of direct current (D.C.) and frequency components of the pulsed signal, thereby creating an output signal; and
conductive means for conducting and applying the output signal to a biological material for promoting a therapeutic effect in the biological material.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for generating an electrical signal for use in biomedical applications may have power efficient features, support battery powered operation and, support a reduced risk of shock hazard. The system may include a controller for generating one or more control signals operable to control pulse generating and waveform processing circuits. The control signals may include at least two states alternating in a chosen pattern as a function of time. During at least one of the control signal states, an oscillator for generating a pulsed signal may be operable. During at least another of the control signal states, the oscillator can be disabled and completely shut off in order to conserve considerable power. The generated pulses may be processed to provide desired intensity and frequency components. The processed signals may be applied to biological material.
176 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system for generating an electrical signal for use in biomedical applications, comprising:
-
means for generating a control signal having at least two states alternating in a pattern as a function of time, the pattern comprising a succession of “
on” and
“
off”
pulses which recur in a regularly repeating pattern with time;a pulse oscillator which is enabled during the “
on”
pulses of the control signal and generates a pulsed signal, but is disabled and consumes negligibly little power during the “
off”
pulses of the control signal;processing means for processing the pulsed signal, the processing means also performing at least one of controlling a signal intensity, inverting a portion of the pulsed signal, and suppressing at least one of direct current (D.C.) and frequency components of the pulsed signal, thereby creating an output signal; and conductive means for conducting and applying the output signal to a biological material for promoting a therapeutic effect in the biological material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for generating bioelectric stimulation signals comprising:
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a controller that produces a control signal having at least two states; an oscillator coupled to the controller that generates a pulsed signal in response to a first one of the states of the control signal, and that is turned off and consumes negligibly little power in response to a second one of the states of the control signal; a processor coupled to receive the pulsed signal, and configured to suppress at least one of a direct current (D.C.) component and a frequency component of the pulsed signal, to produce an output signal; and a conductive device coupled to the processor to transfer the output signal to a biological material to promote a therapeutic effect in the biological material. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A system for generating an electrical signal for use in biomedical applications, comprising:
-
a controller configured to generate a control signal having at least two states alternating in a pattern as a function of time, the pattern comprising a succession of “
on” and
“
off”
pulses which recur in a regularly repeating pattern with time;
the control signal further having one or more auxiliary signals to control at least one of a polarity, an intensity, a timing of pulses, or a charge balance of an output signal;a pulse oscillator which is enabled during the “
on”
pulses of the control signal and generates a pulsed signal, but is disabled and consumes negligibly little power during the “
off”
pulses of the control signal;a circuit coupled to receive the pulsed signal and configured to at least one of control a signal intensity of the pulsed signal, invert a portion of the pulsed signal, and suppress at least one of a direct current (D.C.) component and a frequency component of the pulsed signal, to produce the output signal having a pattern of intensity and polarity as functions of time which emulates one of the following mathematical functions;
a constant value;
a sine function;
a sum of sine functions creating a beat frequency;
a constant value which is intermittent with time forming a square or rectangular wave;
an arithmetic combination, such as the sum, product or ratio, of two or more of the functions or function types;
or randomness; anda conductor configured to apply the output signal to a biological material to promote a therapeutic effect in the biological material. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A system for generating an electrical signal for use in biomedical applications, comprising:
-
a controller configured to generate a control signal having at least two states alternating in a pattern as a function of time, the pattern comprising a succession of “
on” and
“
off”
pulses which recur in a regularly repeating pattern with time;a pulse oscillator that produces an oscillating pulse which is enabled during the “
on”
pulses of the control signal and generates a pulsed signal, but is disabled and consumes negligibly little power during the “
off”
pulses of the control signal;a circuit coupled to receive the pulsed signal and configured to control at least one of a signal intensity of the pulsed signal, invert a portion of the pulsed signal, and suppress at least one of a direct current (D.C.) component and a frequency component of the pulsed signal, to produce an output signal; and a conductor coupled to transfer the output signal to a biological material to promote a therapeutic effect in the biological material, the therapeutic effect comprising at least one of an increase in cell proliferation, cell differentiation, rate of organism growth, secretion of a desired product, or speed with which a tissue structure is developed;
treatment of a wound, a bone fracture, osteoporosis, acute pain, swelling, or an inflammatory disorder, a repetitive stress injury, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis;
accelerated healing of at least one wound;
an improvement or restoration of nerve function;
or relief of a psychological condition. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for generating bioelectric stimulation signals comprising:
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generating one or more control signals by a controller; generating one or more pulse sequences by a pulse generator in response to the control signals; halting an operation of the pulse generator from time-to-time in response to the control signals such that the pulse generator consumes negligibly little power when halted; and processing the pulse sequences to control at least one of an intensity, a polarity, a control charge balance, or an undesirable frequency component. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification