CONTROL AND COORDINATION OF TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION ELECTROMAGNETS FOR MODULATION OF DEEP BRAIN TARGETS
First Claim
1. An arrangement of two or more therapeutic magnetic coils in series, in which the positive and negative poles are passed through a bridge rectifier, whereby the electrical currents in each of the coils are substantially in single directions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Described herein are devices and method for control and coordination of TMS electromagnets for modulation of deep brain targets. For example, described herein are methods and devices for stimulating neural structures within the brain using multi-coil arrays. Also described herein are devices and methods that relate generally to the focusing of magnetic fields generated by electromagnets used for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Devices and methods relating generally to the focusing of magnetic fields generated by electromagnets used for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation are also described, as well as devices and methods that relate generally to moving and positioning electromagnets generating magnetic fields used for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Finally, also described are devices and methods that relate generally to control of moving, positioning, and activating electromagnets generating magnetic fields used for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
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Citations
93 Claims
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1. An arrangement of two or more therapeutic magnetic coils in series, in which the positive and negative poles are passed through a bridge rectifier, whereby the electrical currents in each of the coils are substantially in single directions.
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2. An arrangement of two or more therapeutic magnetic coils, in which the phase of the electrical current passing through the coils has been matched to the polarity and position of the coils such that matched coil polarity orientation and matched B-field direction yields summation.
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3. An arrangement of two or more therapeutic magnetic coils, in which the phase of the electrical current passing through the coils has been matched to the polarity and position of the coils such that opposite coil polarity orientation and opposite B-field direction yields summation.
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4. An arrangement of two or more therapeutic magnetic coils, in which the phase of the electrical current passing through the coils has been matched to the polarity and position of the coils such that matched phase and opposite direction yields cancellation.
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5. An arrangement of two or more therapeutic magnetic coils, in which the phase of the electrical current passing through the coils has been matched to the polarity and position of the coils such that opposite phase and matched direction yields cancellation.
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6. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system for stimulating a subject'"'"'s neuronal tissue, the system including:
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a primary electromagnet configured to apply Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the subject; and an attractor magnet, wherein the attractor magnet is configured to be isolated from the primary electromagnet and to apply an electromagnetic field that is opposite in polarity in a phase-complementary manner at any given time with the primary electromagnet magnet. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system for stimulating a subject'"'"'s neuronal tissue, the system including:
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a primary electromagnet configured to apply Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the subject; and a magnetic concentrator comprising a shaped region of high magnetic permeability, wherein the concentrator is configured to modify the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation applied by the primary electromagnet, further wherein the magnetic concentrator is configured to be positioned on or within the subject separately from the primary electromagnet. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation method for stimulating a neuronal target tissue, the method comprising:
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selecting the neuronal target; positioning a primary electromagnet to apply electromagnetic energy to the target; positioning an attractor magnet opposite the primary electromagnet; emitting an electromagnetic field from the primary electromagnet; and emitting an electromagnetic field from the attractor magnet that is opposite in polarity in a phase-complementary manner at any given time with the electromagnetic field emitted from the primary electromagnet magnet, so that the magnetic field applied to the neuronal target from the primary electromagnet is focused by the electromagnet field from the attractor magnet. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation method for stimulating a neuronal target tissue, the method comprising:
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selecting the neuronal target; positioning a primary electromagnet to apply electromagnetic energy to the target; positioning a magnetic concentrator on or within the subject to enhance the electromagnetic energy applied to the target from the primary electromagnet; and emitting an electromagnetic field from the primary electromagnet so that the emitted electromagnetic field is altered by the magnetic concentrator. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation method for stimulating a neuronal target tissue, the method comprising:
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selecting the neuronal target; positioning a primary electromagnet to apply electromagnetic energy to the target; positioning a magnetic concentrator on or within the subject to shield a region of the subject from the electromagnetic energy applied to the target by the primary electromagnet; and emitting an electromagnetic field from the primary electromagnet so that the emitted electromagnetic field is altered by the magnetic concentrator.
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32. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system for stimulating a neuronal target, the system comprising:
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a frame assembly configured to be placed adjacent to a subject'"'"'s head; at least one Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet supported by the frame; a roll actuator configured to move the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet in roll; a pitch actuator configured to move the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet in pitch; and a yaw actuator configured to move the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet in yaw. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system for stimulating a subject'"'"'s neuronal system, the system comprising:
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a frame assembly; an array of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnets supported by the frame; and a plurality of actuators, wherein the actuators are configured to move the array of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnets in roll, pitch and yaw. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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41. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system for stimulating a neuronal target, the system comprising:
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a frame assembly; a plurality of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnets supported by the frame; a plurality of actuators; and a controller communicating with the plurality of actuators, wherein the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnets is configured to be moved in roll, pitch and yaw by the actuators, so that each Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet or a subset of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnets may be moved relative to the other Transcranial Stimulation electromagnets.
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42. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation method for stimulating a neuronal target tissue, the method comprising:
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positioning a frame including at least one Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet around a subject'"'"'s head; and moving the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet in roll, pitch and/or yaw. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation method for stimulating a neuronal target tissue, the method comprising:
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positioning a frame including a plurality of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet around a subject'"'"'s head; and moving one or a subset of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnets in roll, pitch and/or yaw relative to the other Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation electromagnet(s). - View Dependent Claims (50)
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51. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) system comprising:
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a gantry configured to at least partially encircle a patient'"'"'s head; and a TMS actuator module connected to the gantry, wherein the TMS actuator module comprises a TMS electromagnet and an actuator for moving the TMS electromagnet in or out relative to the gantry; wherein the TMS actuator module is further configured to move the TMS electromagnet to adjust the distance between the TMS electromagnet and the surface of the patient'"'"'s head. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) system comprising:
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a gantry; a gantry rotator actuator configured to rotate the gantry around a subject'"'"'s head; a TMS actuator module on the gantry, wherein the TMS actuator module comprises a TMS electromagnet, and a gantry/magnet actuator configured to move the TMS electromagnet along the gantry; and a controller configured to determine the position of the TMS electromagnet relative to the patient'"'"'s head and to coordinate the motion of the gantry rotator actuator and the actuator of the TMS actuator module to adjust the distance between the TMS electromagnet and the surface of the patient'"'"'s head. - View Dependent Claims (63)
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64. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) method, the method comprising:
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moving a TMS actuator module along a gantry, wherein the TMS actuator module comprises a TMS electromagnet and an actuator configured to adjust the position of the TMS electromagnet relative to the gantry; and adjusting the distance between the TMS electromagnet and the patient'"'"'s head using the actuator. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) method, the method comprising:
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positioning a gantry relative to a subject'"'"'s head; moving a TMS actuator module along a gantry, wherein the TMS actuator module comprises a TMS electromagnet and an actuator configured to move the TMS electromagnet towards or away from a patient'"'"'s head relative to the gantry; determining the position of the TMS electromagnet relative to the patient'"'"'s head; adjusting the distance between the TMS electromagnet and the patient'"'"'s head using the actuator; and activating the TMS electromagnet to apply an electric field to a neuronal target. - View Dependent Claims (70)
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71. A Transcranial tracking system, the system comprising:
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a gantry configured to at least partially encircle a patient'"'"'s head; and an actuator module connected to the gantry, wherein the actuator module comprises an energy source and an actuator for moving the energy source in or out relative to the gantry; wherein the actuator module is further configured to move the energy source to adjust the distance between the energy source and the surface of the patient'"'"'s head. - View Dependent Claims (72)
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73. A Transcranial tracking system, the system comprising:
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a gantry configured to at least partially encircle a patient'"'"'s head; and an actuator module connected to the gantry, wherein the actuator module comprises a sensor and an actuator for moving the sensor in or out relative to the gantry; wherein the actuator module is further configured to move the sensor to adjust the distance between the energy source and the surface of the patient'"'"'s head.
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74. A patient-configurable Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) method that allows a patient to dynamically modify the TMS while a TMS procedure is being performed, the method comprising:
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applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to a first site in the patient'"'"'s brain, at a first magnetic field intensity and a first stimulation frequency; changing one or more of the site, intensity or the frequency of the TMS stimulation based on input from the patient, wherein the patient changes one or more of the site, intensity or frequency of the TMS stimulation based on the patient'"'"'s experience of the applied TMS stimulation; and applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the patient at the new site, intensity or frequency of TMS stimulation. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
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81. A patient-configurable Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) method that allows a patient to dynamically modify the TMS while a TMS procedure is being performed, the method comprising:
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positioning a plurality of TMS electromagnets to apply electromagnetic energy to a deep brain target site; applying TMS to the target site at a magnetic field intensity and a stimulation frequency; enabling the patient to change one or more of the position of the TMS electromagnet, the intensity of the TMS stimulation, or the frequency of the TMS stimulation based the patient'"'"'s experience of the applied TMS stimulation; and applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the patient at the changed position of the TMS electromagnet, intensity of the TMS stimulation, or frequency of TMS stimulation. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85)
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86. A system for applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), the system comprising:
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at least one TMS electromagnet configured to apply TMS to a site in a patient'"'"'s brain; a controller configured to control the TMS electromagnet to apply TMS to the site in a patient'"'"'s brain at a magnetic field intensity and a frequency of stimulation; and a patient feedback input connected to the controller, configured to allow the patient to adjust one or more of the site of application of the TMS in the patient'"'"'s brain, the magnetic field intensity of the applied TMS, or the frequency of the TMS stimulation during a TMS procedure on the patient. - View Dependent Claims (87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
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92. A system for applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), the system comprising:
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a plurality of TMS electromagnets configured to apply TMS to a deep brain target site in a patient'"'"'s brain; a controller configured to control the plurality of TMS electromagnets to apply TMS to the target site in the patient'"'"'s brain at a magnetic field intensity and a frequency of stimulation; and at least one patient feedback input configured to allow the patient to adjust one or more of the site of application of the TMS in the patient'"'"'s brain, the magnetic field intensity of the applied TMS, or the frequency of the TMS stimulation during a TMS procedure on the patient. - View Dependent Claims (93)
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Specification