NON-REGULAR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION PATTERNS FOR TREATING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

• US 20130218239A1
• Filed: 10/11/2012
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Duke University
• Original Assignee: Duke University
• Inventors: GRILL, WARREN M., Brocker, David T., Birdno, Merrill J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,798,755 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/72
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0534 Electrodes for deep brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36067 Movement disorders, e.g. tremor or Parkinson disease stimulating motor muscle A61N1/36003
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36178 Burst or pulse train parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36189 using modulation techniques
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36196 Frequency modulation

Abstract

Systems and methods for stimulation of neurological tissue and generation stimulation trains with temporal patterns of stimulation, in which the interval between electrical pulses (the inter-pulse intervals) changes or varies over time. The features of the stimulation trains may be selected and arranged algorithmically to by clinical trial. These stimulation trains are generated to target a specific neurological disorder, by arranging sets of features which reduce symptoms of that neurological disorder into a pattern which is effective at reducing those symptoms while maintaining or reducing power consumption versus regular stimulation signals. Compared to conventional continuous, high rate pulse trains having regular (i.e., constant) inter-pulse intervals, the non-regular (i.e., not constant) pulse patterns or trains that embody features of the invention provide increased efficacy and/or a lower than average frequency.

Claims

1. A temporal pattern of stimulation for application to targeted neurological tissue comprising a repeating succession of non-regular pulse trains, each pulse train comprising a plurality of evenly spaced pulses and at least one pulse feature.

2. The stimulation pattern of claim 1 wherein said at least one pulse feature is at least one of pulse burst, pulse pause, gradual increment in inter-pulse interval, and gradual decrement in inter-pulse interval.

3. The stimulation pattern of claim 2 wherein each stimulation pulse has an instantaneous pulse frequency associated with it and a pulse burst further comprises an occurrence of at least a first stimulation pulse and a second stimulation pulse wherein the instantaneous pulse frequencies for that are double the average instantaneous pulse frequency over a predetermined period of time preceding the first stimulation pulse.

4. The stimulation pattern of claim 2 wherein a pulse pause further comprises a predetermined period of time without a stimulation pulse.

5. The stimulation pattern of claim 1 wherein each stimulation pulse has an instantaneous pulse frequency associated with it and the at least one pulse feature is a uniform period wherein the instantaneous pulse frequencies over the uniform period are drawn from a log-uniform distribution with a minimum frequency of 90 Hz, a maximum frequency of 380 Hz, and a geometric mean frequency of 185 Hz.

6. A method of generating a series of stimulation signals for the treatment of a neurological disorder comprising:

selecting a neurological disorder with one or more symptoms to be treated by said stimulation signals;

identifying pulse features of said stimulation signals that suppress one or more symptoms of said neurological disorder when applied to specific areas of a neurological tissue;

selecting one or more patterns of non-regular stimulation signals comprised of said pulse features; and

generating a pulse train of stimulation signals including the one or more selected patterns.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said signal generation is accomplished by selecting and arranging said pulse features to be important to neural code in the specific areas of the neural tissue.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said at least one pulse feature is at least one of pulse burst, pulse pause, gradual increment in inter-pulse interval, and gradual decrement in inter-pulse interval.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein each stimulation pulse has an instantaneous pulse frequency associated with it and a pulse burst further comprises an occurrence of at least a first stimulation pulse and a second stimulation pulse wherein the instantaneous pulse frequencies for that are double the average instantaneous pulse frequency over a predetermined period of time preceding the first stimulation pulse.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein a pulse pause further comprises a predetermined period of time without a stimulation pulse.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein each stimulation pulse has an instantaneous pulse frequency associated with it and the at least one pulse feature is a uniform period wherein the instantaneous pulse frequencies over the uniform period are drawn from a log-uniform distribution with a minimum frequency of 90 Hz, a maximum frequency of 380 Hz, and a geometric mean frequency of 185 Hz.

12. A method for stimulation of a targeted neurological tissue region comprising:

applying a non-regular pulse train, each pulse train comprising a plurality of evenly spaced pulses and at least one pulse feature; and

repeating the pulse train in succession.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said at least one pulse feature is at least one of pulse burst, pulse pause, gradual increment in inter-pulse interval, and gradual decrement in inter-pulse interval.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein each stimulation pulse has an instantaneous pulse frequency associated with it and a pulse burst further comprises an occurrence of at least a first stimulation pulse and a second stimulation pulse wherein the instantaneous pulse frequencies for that are double the average instantaneous pulse frequency over the a predetermined period of time preceding the first stimulation pulse.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein a pulse pause further comprises a predetermined period of time without a stimulation pulse.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein each stimulation pulse has an instantaneous pulse frequency associated with it and the at least one pulse feature is a uniform period wherein the instantaneous pulse frequencies over the uniform period are drawn from a log-uniform distribution with a minimum frequency of 90 Hz, a maximum frequency of 380 Hz, and a geometric mean frequency of 185 Hz.