Apparatus and method for micro-electric medical stimulation of cells of living animal tissue
First Claim
1. A treatment method of increasing the metabolic activity of preselected cells in living animal tissue including the steps of:
- A. situating a pair of spaced-apart electrodes in contact with healthy animal tissue on opposite sides of an area containing cells to be treated; and
B. externally inducing a percutaneous flow of electrical current between said electrodes through said area by impressing an external bipolar voltage wave form across said electrodes at a frequency of between 0.1 and 1.0 Hz.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A medical electrical apparatus impresses a bipolar, low frequency voltage wave form through spaced-apart electrodes, across a damaged area of living animal tissue to cause a low, bipolar, current to flow through the damaged area to increase the metabolic activity of viable cells in that area and hence to accelerate healing. The current flow is monitored and used to control the magnitude of the voltage wave to cause the magnitude of current flow to be within the desired parameters. The frequency, wave form and voltage of the impressed voltage wave and the current flow are all below a level which can damage typical living cells.
107 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A treatment method of increasing the metabolic activity of preselected cells in living animal tissue including the steps of:
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A. situating a pair of spaced-apart electrodes in contact with healthy animal tissue on opposite sides of an area containing cells to be treated; and B. externally inducing a percutaneous flow of electrical current between said electrodes through said area by impressing an external bipolar voltage wave form across said electrodes at a frequency of between 0.1 and 1.0 Hz. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A treatment method of increasing the metabolic activity of preselected cells adjacent to damaged cells in living animal tissue and of reducing the concentration of free radicals adjacent the damaged cells resulting from the damage to those cells, said method including the steps of:
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A. situating a pair of spaced-apart electrodes in contact with the living tissue on opposite sides of cells to be treated and in spaced, relatively close adjacent relation to such damaged cells; B. inducing a percutaneous bipolar flow of current between said electrodes by impressing a bipolar voltage wave form across the electrodes; and C. monitoring the power level between the electrodes to assure that a power level of the current and voltage is at all times insufficient to damage said cells.
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10. An electrical medical treatment instrument for increasing metabolic activity of preselected cells of living tissue, said instrument including:
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A. a source of direct electrical energy; B. a pair of output terminals; C. means for generating from said energy source a voltage wave of predetermined shape and magnitude and impressing it across said output terminals, said voltage wave being such as to never generate a power level sufficient to damage the preselected cells being treated, and being of a frequency and form which will not insult living tissue when impressed across adjacent areas of said tissue; D. a pair of electrodes adapted to be positioned in spaced relation to each other, in contact with said tissue on opposite sides of, and spaced from, said cells to be treated, and each being electrically connected to one of said output terminals to induce percutaneous electron flow in said tissue; and E. means to limit the flow of current in said tissue to less than that which can damage the cells being treated.
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11. An electrical medical instrument for increasing metabolic activity of preselected cells of living tissue by producing an electrical treatment signal adapted for application to the tissue to thereby induce percutaneous electric current flow through the cells to be treated, including:
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A. means for producing a plurality of periodic electrical treatment signals at a treatment signal frequency, each for a treatment signal time period, the treatment signal being characterized by first and second electrical parameters; B. means for receiving information representative of a selected value of the first electrical parameter of the treatment signal; C. means for monitoring the first electrical parameter of the treatment signal; and D. means responsive to the means for receiving information and the means for monitoring the first electrical parameter for causing the second parameter of the treatment signal to increase during each treatment signal time period until the first parameter of the treatment signal attains the selected value, and for maintaining the first parameter of the treatment signal at the selected value for a remainder of each such period. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An electrical medical instrument for increasing metabolic activity of preselected cells of living tissue by producing an electrical treatment signal adapted for application to the tissue to thereby induce percutaneous electric current flow through the cells to be treated, including:
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A. means for producing a plurality of periodic electrical bipolar treatment signals at a treatment signal frequency, each for a treatment signal time period, the treatment signal being characterized by first and second electrical parameters; B. means for receiving information representative of a selected value of the first electrical parameter of the treatment signal; C. means for monitoring the first electrical parameter of the treatment signal; D. means responsive to the means for receiving information and the means for monitoring the first electrical parameter for causing the second parameter of the treatment signal to increase during each treatment signal time period until the first parameter of the treatment signal attains the selected value, and for maintaining the first parameter of the treatment signal at the selected value for a remainder of each such period; E. means for preselecting a range of electrical parameters for acceptable operation of the medical instrument; and F. means for aborting the periodic electrical treatment signals and returning the second parameter of electric treatment signal to zero upon the magnitude of any of the preselected parameters being outside of its preselected range.
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Specification