Apparatus and method for adjunct (add-on) treatment of coma and traumatic brain injury with neuromodulation using an external stimulator
First Claim
1. An adjunct (add-on) coma and traumatic brain injury therapy apparatus using neuromodulation of a cranial nerve, comprising;
- a) an implantable lead-receiver comprising circuitry, a secondary coil and at least one electrode adapted for stimulating a cranial nerve;
b) an external stimulator comprising a power source, circuitry to emit electrical signals, microprocessor and microcontroller encoded with at least two predetermined programs to control said electrical signals, and a primary coil;
c) said primary coil of said exteroal stimulator and said secondary coil of said implantable lead-receiver being adapted for forming an electrical connection by inductive coupling, whereby said external stimulator is adapted for controlling the stimulation of said cranial nerve.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of neuromodulation adjunct (add-on) therapy for coma and traumatic brain injury, comprises an implantable lead-receiver and an external stimulator. Neuromodulation is performed using a pulsed electrical stimulation. The external stimulator contains a power source, controlling circuitry, a primary coil, and predetermined programs. The primary coil of the external stimulator inductively transfers electrical signals to the lead-receiver, which is also in electrical contact with a vagus nerve. The external stimulator emits electrical pulses to stimulate the vagus nerve according to a predetermined program. The predetermined programs have different levels of control, which is password protected. The external stimulator may also be equipped with a telecommunications module to control the predetermined programs remotely.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An adjunct (add-on) coma and traumatic brain injury therapy apparatus using neuromodulation of a cranial nerve, comprising;
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a) an implantable lead-receiver comprising circuitry, a secondary coil and at least one electrode adapted for stimulating a cranial nerve;
b) an external stimulator comprising a power source, circuitry to emit electrical signals, microprocessor and microcontroller encoded with at least two predetermined programs to control said electrical signals, and a primary coil;
c) said primary coil of said exteroal stimulator and said secondary coil of said implantable lead-receiver being adapted for forming an electrical connection by inductive coupling, whereby said external stimulator is adapted for controlling the stimulation of said cranial nerve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of neuromodulating a cranial nerve for treatment of coma and traumatic brain injury, comprising;
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a) selecting a predetermined program from at least two predetermined programs to control the output of an external stimulator;
b) activating said external stimulator to emit electrical signals in accordance with said predetermined program; and
c) inductively coupling said external stimulator with an implantable stimulus receiver to stimulate a cranial nerve. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A method for adjunct (add-on) therapy for coma and traumatic brain injury using neuromodulation of a cranial nerve, comprising;
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a) providing an implantable lead-receiver comprising circuitry, a secondary coil and at least one electrode to stimulate a cranial nerve;
b) providing an external stimulator comprising circuitry to emit electrical signals, at least two predetermined programs to control said electrical signals, a primary coil coil and a power supply;
c) activating one of said at least two programs of said external stimulator;
d) inductively transferring said electrical signals from said primary coil of external stimulator to said secondary coil of lead-receiver;
whereby said electrical signals stimulate said cranial nerve according to at least one of said at least two predetermined programs. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
a) said electrical signals comprise at least one variable component selected from the group consisting of the current amplitude, pulse width, frequency, and on-off timing sequence; - and
b) said at least two predetermined programs controls said variable component of said electrical signals.
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31. The method of claim 21, further comprising manually disengaging said at least two predetermined programs.
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32. The method of claim 21, wherein said method comprises means for locking out at least one of the predetermined programs using password protection.
Specification