Method and apparatus for stimulating the sphenopalatine ganglion to modify properties of the BBB and cerebral blood flow
First Claim
Patent Images
1. Apparatus for modifying a property of a brain of a patient, comprising;
- one or more electrodes, adapted to be applied to a site selected from the group of sites consisting of;
a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG; and
a stimulator, configured to drive the one or more electrodes to apply, on a long-term basis, a current to the site capable of inducing an increase in cerebral blood flow of the patient.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for modifying a property of a brain of a patient is provided, including one or more electrodes (7), adapted to be applied to a site selected from a group of sites consisting of: a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) (6) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG. A control unit (8) is adapted to drive the one or more electrodes to apply a current to the site capable of inducing (a) an increase in permeability of a blood-brain barrier (BBB) of the patient, (b) a change in cerebral blood flow of the patient, and/or (c) an inhibition of parasympathetic activity of the SPG.
186 Citations
56 Claims
-
1. Apparatus for modifying a property of a brain of a patient, comprising;
-
one or more electrodes, adapted to be applied to a site selected from the group of sites consisting of;
a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG; anda stimulator, configured to drive the one or more electrodes to apply, on a long-term basis, a current to the site capable of inducing an increase in cerebral blood flow of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. Apparatus for modifying a property of a brain of a patient, comprising;
-
one or more electrodes, adapted to be applied to a site selected from the group of sites consisting of;
a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG; anda stimulator, configured to be implanted in a body of the patient, and to drive the one or more electrodes to apply a current to the site capable of inducing an increase in cerebral blood flow of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A method for modifying a property of a brain of a patient, comprising;
-
selecting a site from the group of sites consisting of;
a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG; andon a long-term basis, applying a current to the site capable of inducing an increase in cerebral blood flow of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
-
-
36. A method for modifying a property of a brain of a patient, comprising:
-
selecting a site from the group of sites consisting of;
a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG;implanting one or more electrodes in a body of the patient; implanting a stimulator in the body of the patient; and driving the electrodes from the stimulator to apply a current to the site capable of inducing an increase in cerebral blood flow of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
-
-
47. Apparatus for modifying a property of a brain of a patient, comprising:
-
one or more electrodes, adapted to be applied to a site selected from the group of sites consisting of;
a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG; andcircuitry, which comprises; an implantable unit, configured to be implanted in a body of the patient, the implantable unit comprising an implantable unit coupler; and an external unit, comprising an external unit coupler configured to be wirelessly coupled to the implantable unit coupler, the external unit configured to convey a control signal from the external unit coupler to the implantable unit coupler, which signal drives the implantable unit to drive the electrodes to apply a current to the site capable of inducing an increase in cerebral blood flow of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
-
Specification