SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING INTERMITTENT INTERRUPTIONS IN ELECTRICAL STIMULATION THERAPY OF A PATIENT
First Claim
1. A method of identifying a cause of intermittent interruption in stimulation therapy provided by a neurostimulation system implanted in a patient, the stimulation system comprising an implantable pulse generator and at least one stimulation lead, comprising:
- communicating a signal by an external controller device to the implantable pulse generator to initiate a diagnostic mode;
generating a plurality of stimulation pulses by the implantable pulse generator for application to tissue of the patient through one or more electrodes of the stimulation lead during the diagnostic mode;
measuring impedance values for stimulation pulses applied to tissue of the patient through one or more electrodes of the stimulation lead during the diagnostic mode;
directing the patient to perform one or more physical movements while the implantable pulse generator is operating in the diagnostic mode;
processing the impedance values to identify time-domain limited variations in the impedance measurements from an expected value range; and
displaying on the external controller device identification of one or more electrodes exhibiting intermittent electrical breaks or shorts in accordance with the processed impedance measurements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a method of identifying a cause of intermittent interruption in stimulation therapy, comprises: communicating a signal by an external controller device to an implantable pulse generator to initiate a diagnostic mode; generating a stimulation pulses by the implantable pulse generator for application to tissue of the patient through one or more electrodes of a stimulation lead during the diagnostic mode; measuring impedance values for stimulation pulses applied to tissue of the patient through the stimulation lead during the diagnostic mode; directing the patient to perform one or more physical movements while the implantable pulse generator is operating in the diagnostic mode; processing the impedance values to identify time-domain limited variations in the impedance measurements from an expected value range; and displaying on the external controller device identification of one or more electrodes exhibiting intermittent electrical breaks or shorts in accordance with the processed impedance measurements.
19 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of identifying a cause of intermittent interruption in stimulation therapy provided by a neurostimulation system implanted in a patient, the stimulation system comprising an implantable pulse generator and at least one stimulation lead, comprising:
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communicating a signal by an external controller device to the implantable pulse generator to initiate a diagnostic mode; generating a plurality of stimulation pulses by the implantable pulse generator for application to tissue of the patient through one or more electrodes of the stimulation lead during the diagnostic mode; measuring impedance values for stimulation pulses applied to tissue of the patient through one or more electrodes of the stimulation lead during the diagnostic mode; directing the patient to perform one or more physical movements while the implantable pulse generator is operating in the diagnostic mode; processing the impedance values to identify time-domain limited variations in the impedance measurements from an expected value range; and displaying on the external controller device identification of one or more electrodes exhibiting intermittent electrical breaks or shorts in accordance with the processed impedance measurements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A neurostimulation system, comprising:
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an implantable pulse generator for generating stimulation pulses; at least one implantable stimulation lead for applying stimulation pulses to tissue of a patient; and an external controller for controlling operations of the implantable pulse generator, the external controller comprising a processor and memory storing software code, the software code comprising; (i) first code for communicating a signal to the implantable pulse generator to cause the implantable pulse generator to enter a diagnostic mode, wherein the pulse generator generates a plurality of stimulation pulses for application to tissue of the patient through one or more electrodes of the stimulation lead and measures impedance values for stimulation pulses applied through the one or more electrodes during the diagnostic mode; (ii) second code for receiving impedance data from the diagnostic mode from the implantable pulse generator; (iii) third code for processing the impedance data to identify time-domain limited variations in the impedance data from an expected value range; and (iv) fourth code for displaying identification of one or more electrodes exhibiting intermittent electrical breaks or shorts in accordance with the processed impedance measurements. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification