TISSUE STIMULATION METHOD AND APPARATUS

• US 20100030298A1
• Filed: 09/21/2007
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Bakken Research Center B.V. (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Martens, Hubert Cecile Francois, Decre, Michel Marcel Jose, Cantatore, Eugenio
• Granted Patent: US 9,387,318 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/45
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0472 Structure-related aspects
• 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 1/05 for implantation or insertion into the body, e.g. heart electrode A61N1/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0529 Electrodes for brain stimulation

Abstract

A stimulation apparatus includes a stimulation lead (102), a multiplexer (114), a stimulation signal generator (116), and a signal detector (120). The stimulation lead (102) includes a plurality of stimulation electrodes (112) disposed in an array about a distal portion of the lead body (110). The arrangement of the electrodes (112) facilitates the controlled steering of stimulating electrical field (118) in three dimensions. Four dimensional field steering may also be provided.

Claims

1. A tissue stimulation apparatus comprising:

a stimulation lead (102) having a longitudinal axis (106), wherein the lead is insertable in a tissue to be stimulated (111) in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis;

a plurality of electrodes (112) carried by the lead and disposed about the longitudinal axis in a two-dimensional array, wherein a stimulating field generated by an electrode is steerable in at least three dimensions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein stimulating field is steerable in a temporal dimension.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the electrodes exhibit an n-fold symmetry, n is an integer greater than or equal to three, and the two dimensional array includes a close-packed array.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to six.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the two dimensional array includes a regular array.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the two dimensional array includes an irregular array.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 including a fiducial marker (122) carried by the lead, wherein the fiducial marker identifies a rotational orientation of the lead.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the fiducial marker is visible in a diagnostic imaging examination of an interior portion of the object conducted when the lead is implanted in the tissue.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the fiducial marker includes a rotationally asymmetric portion adapted to engage a stereotactic head frame.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 including means (114, 116) for electrically stimulating the electrodes according to a spatially and temporally varying electrical stimulation scheme.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the stimulation scheme is longitudinally asymmetric.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 including means (114, 116) for selectively exciting the electrodes according to a unipolar and a bipolar electrical stimulation pattern.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 including a flexible circuit substrate (1002) and wherein an electrode is carried by the substrate.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 including a flexible monolithic electrical circuit (1003) carried by the lead an in operative electrical communication with an electrode.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lead includes a substantially circular exterior cross-section and the tissue is neural tissue.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the array includes first and second longitudinally displaced columns (113), the first and second columns include a longitudinal pitch, and the first and second columns are offset by a distance which is less than the pitch.

17. A tissue stimulation method comprising:

inserting a stimulation lead (102) in a tissue of interest, wherein the lead (102) includes a plurality of electrodes (112) disposed angularly about a longitudinal axis (106);

applying an electrical stimulus to a first stimulating electrode (112_C) so as to generate a stimulating electric field (118);

varying an electrical stimulus applied to at least first and second shielding electrodes (112_A) so as to vary a distribution of the stimulating electric field in three spatial dimensions.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the lead includes a hexagonally-shaped electrode.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the lead includes a plurality of hexagonally-shaped electrodes disposed in a close-packed two dimensional array.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the electrodes are disposed in a two dimensional array including at least first and second adjacent, longitudinally displaced rows (115), the first and second rows include an angular spacing, and the first and second rows are angularly offset by a non-zero fraction of the angular array spacing.

21. The method of claim 17 including varying the electrical stimulus applied to at least one of the first and second shielding electrodes so as vary a temporal distribution of the stimulating electric field.

22. The method of claim 17 including varying an electrical stimulus applied to the electrodes to generate a stimulating electric field which rotates about the longitudinal axis, wherein the stimulating electric field exhibits rotational symmetry.

23. The method of claim 17 wherein the lead carries a fiducial marker (122) which identifies a rotational orientation of the lead and wherein the method includes using a medical imaging scanner to determine a location of the fiducial marker.

24. The method of claim 17 wherein a proximal portion of the lead carries a fiducial marker which provides at one of a tactile and visual indication of a rotational orientation of the lead and wherein the method includes using the fiducial marker to position the lead in relation to the tissue.

25. The method of claim 17 including using an electrode to sense a biological signal.

26. The method of claim 17 wherein the tissue is brain tissue.

27. The method of claim 17 wherein the method includes determining a rotational orientation of the lead in relation to the tissue of interest and using the determined orientation to select the first stimulating electrode.

28. A tissue stimulation apparatus comprising:

a stimulation lead (102) having a longitudinal axis (106), wherein the lead includes a substantially rotationally symmetric exterior cross section.

a plurality of stimulation electrodes (112) carried by the lead and disposed about the longitudinal axis in a two-dimensional close-packed array.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the electrodes are hexagonal in shape.

30. The apparatus of claim 28 including fiducial marker means for indicating a rotational orientation of the lead.

31. The apparatus of claim 28 including means for determining a location of an electrode in relation to a tissue of interest and selectively applying an electrical stimulus to the electrode based on the determined location.