Treatment of pain by brain stimulation
First Claim
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1. A method of treating patients with pain, comprising:
- implanting at least one system control unit including at least one infusion outlet in at least one of the skull and the brain of the patient, wherein the at least one unit controls the delivery of at least one stimulating drug through the at least one outlet to at least one area of the brain affecting pain;
applying the at least one stimulating drug to the at least one area of the brain in order to at least in part alleviate the pain of the patient being treated;
wherein the area of the brain is selected from at least one of the ventrobasal (VB) area of the thalamus, the ventral posteromedial (VPM) nucleus, the ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPL), the ventrolateral nucleus (VL), the posterior complex of the thalamus (PO), the motor cortex, the sensory cortex, the cingulate gyrus, the medial lemniscus, the internal capsule, the periventricular grey (PVG) matter, and the periaqueductal grey (PAG) matter.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for introducing one or more stimulating drugs and/or applying electrical stimulation to the brain to alleviate pain use at least one implantable system control unit (SCU), producing electrical pulses delivered via electrodes implanted in the brain and/or producing drug infusion pulses, wherein the stimulation is delivered to targeted areas in the brain. In some embodiments, one or more sensed conditions are used to adjust stimulation parameters.
230 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of treating patients with pain, comprising:
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implanting at least one system control unit including at least one infusion outlet in at least one of the skull and the brain of the patient, wherein the at least one unit controls the delivery of at least one stimulating drug through the at least one outlet to at least one area of the brain affecting pain; applying the at least one stimulating drug to the at least one area of the brain in order to at least in part alleviate the pain of the patient being treated; wherein the area of the brain is selected from at least one of the ventrobasal (VB) area of the thalamus, the ventral posteromedial (VPM) nucleus, the ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPL), the ventrolateral nucleus (VL), the posterior complex of the thalamus (PO), the motor cortex, the sensory cortex, the cingulate gyrus, the medial lemniscus, the internal capsule, the periventricular grey (PVG) matter, and the periaqueductal grey (PAG) matter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of treating patients with pain, comprising;
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implanting at least one system control unit in at least one of the skull and the brain of the patient, wherein the at least one unit controls the delivery of at least one stimulus to at least one area of the brain affecting pain; applying the at least one stimulus to the at least one area of the brain in order to at least in part alleviate the pain of the patient being treated; and sensing at least one condition and using the at least one sensed condition to automatically determine the stimulus to apply; wherein the system control unit is connected to at least one infusion outlet and at least two electrodes, and wherein the method further comprises delivering at least one stimulating drug through the at least one outlet and delivering electrical stimulation via the at least two electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of treating patients with pain, comprising:
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implanting at least one system control unit in at least one of the skull and the brain of the patient, wherein the at least one unit controls the delivery of at least one stimulus to at least one area of the brain affecting pain; applying the at least one stimulus to the at least one area of the brain in order to at least in part alleviate the pain of the patient being treated; and sensing at least one condition and using the at least one sensed condition to automatically determine the stimulus to apply; wherein the stimulation increases excitement of at least one area of the brain affecting pain that exhibits chronic decreased activity. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of treating patients with pain, comprising:
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implanting at least one system control unit in at least one of the skull and the brain of the patient, wherein the at least one unit controls the delivery of at least one stimulus to at least one area of the brain affecting pain; applying the at least one stimulus to the at least one area of the brain in order to at least in part alleviate the pain of the patient being treated; and sensing at least one condition and using the at least one sensed condition to automatically determine the stimulus to apply; wherein the stimulation decreases excitement of at least one area of the brain affecting pain that exhibits chronic increased activity. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for treating patients with pain, comprising:
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at least one system control unit configured for implantation entirely within at least one of a brain and a skull; at least one of a) a pump coupled to an infusion outlet and b) at least two stimulating electrodes; means for operably connecting the at least one system control unit to at least one of the infusion outlet and the electrodes; means for providing operating power to the at least one system control unit; means for providing stimulation parameters to the at least one system control unit; and means for generating stimulation pulses in accordance with the stimulation parameters; wherein the pump and infusion outlet and the electrodes are configured to deliver the stimulation pulses through at least one of the infusion outlet and the electrodes to at least one area of the brain affecting pain. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification