Pseudospontaneous neural stimulation system and method
First Claim
1. A method for generating pseudospontaneous activity in an auditory nerve, comprising:
- generating a pseudospontaneous driving electrical signal; and
applying the pseudospontaneous driving electrical signal to the auditory nerve to generate pseudospontaneous activity in the auditory nerve.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A signal processing apparatus and method for neural stimulation is provided that can generate stochastic independent activity across an excited nerve or neural population. High rate pulse trains, for example, can produce random spike patterns in auditory nerve fibers that are statistically similar to those produced by spontaneous activity in the normal ear. This activity is called "pseudospontaneous activity". Varying rates of pseudospontaneous activity can be created by varying the intensity of a fixed amplitude, high rate pulse train stimulus, e.g., 5000 pps. The pseudospontaneous activity can eliminate a major difference between acoustic- and electrical-derived hearing percepts. The pseudospontaneous activity can further desynchronize the nerve fiber population as a treatment for tinnitus.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for generating pseudospontaneous activity in an auditory nerve, comprising:
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generating a pseudospontaneous driving electrical signal; and applying the pseudospontaneous driving electrical signal to the auditory nerve to generate pseudospontaneous activity in the auditory nerve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A neural prosthetic apparatus for treatment of a patient with tinnitus, comprising:
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a stimulation device that outputs one or more electrical signals that include transitions between first and second amplitudes occurring at a frequency greater than approximately 2 kHz; an arrangement of at least one electrical contact adapted to be affixed within the cochlea of the patient; and electrical coupling means for electrically coupling the at least one electrical contact to the stimulation device, and wherein the neural prosthetic apparatus effectively alleviates the tinnitus of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for treating a patient with tinnitus, comprising:
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outputting one or more pseudospontaneous driving signals; and delivering the one or more pseudospontaneous driving signals to an auditory nerve, wherein the one or more pseudospontaneous driving signals generate pseudospontaneous activity to effectively alleviate the tinnitus of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A neural prosthetic apparatus for treatment of a patient with tinnitus, comprising:
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a pseudospontaneous signal generator that generates an electrical signal; an arrangement of at least one electrical contact adapted to be affixed in the middle ear of the patient; and a stimulation device coupled to the generator that applies the electrical signal to the at least one electrical contact, the electrical signal capable of generating pseudospontaneous activity in the auditory nerve, and wherein the neural prosthetic apparatus effectively alleviates the tinnitus of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus that generates pseudospontaneous activity in at least one auditory nerve, comprising:
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a device that generates a pseudospontaneous driving signal; and a stimulation device coupled to the device, the stimulation device capable of delivering the pseudospontaneous driving signal to the at least one auditory nerve, wherein the pseudospontaneous driving signal induces pseudospontaneous activity in the at least one auditory nerve. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification