Stimulating cranial nerve to treat disorders associated with the thyroid gland
First Claim
1. A method for stimulating a cranial nerve of a patient comprising:
- coupling at least one electrode to said cranial nerve selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve;
generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland; and
applying said electrical signal to said cranial nerve using said electrode,wherein said generating an electrical signal further comprises generating said electrical signal based upon an amount of at least one of a thyroid hormone, a thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood and a thyroid-stimulating biochemical function, wherein said disorder is at least one of a metabolic and an endocrine disorder.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system, and an apparatus for stimulating a cranial nerve of a patient to treat a disorder, such as a metabolic or an endocrine disorder associated with the thyroid gland with an implantable medical device are provided. The method comprises coupling an electrode to the cranial nerve selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve. The method further includes generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland. The electrical signal may be applied to the cranial nerve using the electrode to provide electrical nerve stimulation therapy to the patient. For treating a patient with a metabolic or an endocrine disorder associated with the thyroid gland, a neurostimulator may be adapted to apply an electrical stimulus to the vagus nerve and/or a branch of the vagus nerve associated with the thyroid gland. By balancing hormonal imbalance, the neurostimulator may provide electrical nerve stimulation therapy to the patient, thereby treating a target metabolic or an endocrine disorder associated with the thyroid gland.
163 Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A method for stimulating a cranial nerve of a patient comprising:
-
coupling at least one electrode to said cranial nerve selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve; generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland; and applying said electrical signal to said cranial nerve using said electrode, wherein said generating an electrical signal further comprises generating said electrical signal based upon an amount of at least one of a thyroid hormone, a thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood and a thyroid-stimulating biochemical function, wherein said disorder is at least one of a metabolic and an endocrine disorder.
-
-
2. A method for stimulating a cranial nerve of a patient comprising:
-
coupling at least one electrode to said cranial nerve selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve; generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland; and applying said electrical signal to said cranial nerve using said electrode, wherein said applying said electrical signal comprises generating a response selected from the group consisting of an afferent action potential, an efferent action potential, an afferent hyperpolarization, a sub threshold depolarization and an efferent hyperpolarization, and wherein said applying said electrical signal comprises generating an afferent action potential for treating said disorder associated with the thyroid gland of said patient.
-
-
3. A method for stimulating a cranial nerve of a patient comprising:
-
coupling at least one electrode to said cranial nerve selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve; generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland; and applying said electrical signal to said cranial nerve using said electrode, further comprising detecting a symptom of said disorder, wherein said applying said electrical signal is initiated in response to said detecting, wherein said detecting said symptom comprises using a thyroid function detector. - View Dependent Claims (4)
-
-
5. A method of treating a patient having at least one of a metabolic and an endocrine disorder, comprising:
-
coupling at least one electrode to at least one cranial nerve of said patient, wherein said cranial nerve is selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve; providing a programmable electrical signal generator coupled to said electrode; programming said programmable electrical signal generator to generate an electrical signal; detecting a symptom associated with said at least one of a metabolic and an endocrine disorder; and in response to detecting said symptom, generating said electrical signal to apply to said electrode to treat said at least one of a metabolic and an endocrine disorder, wherein said programming said programmable electrical signal generator to generate an electrical signal further comprises generating said electrical signal based upon an amount of at least one of a thyroid hormone, a thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood and a thyroid-stimulating biochemical function of the patient to treat said at least one of a metabolic and an endocrine disorder.
-
-
6. A method for stimulating a nerve branch associated with the thyroid gland of a patient comprising:
-
coupling at least one electrode to said nerve branch selected from the group consisting of a recurrent laryngeal nerve, an inferior thyroid nerve originating from the recurrent laryngeal nerve and an autonomic nerve of the autonomic nervous system; and generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland; and applying said electrical signal to said nerve branch using said electrode. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for stimulating a vagus nerve branch associated with the thyroid gland of a patient comprising:
-
coupling at least one electrode to said vagus nerve branch selected from the group consisting of a recurrent laryngeal nerve and an inferior thyroid nerve originating from the recurrent laryngeal nerve; and generating an electrical signal to treat a disorder associated with the thyroid gland; and applying said electrical signal to said vagus nerve branch using said electrode. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification