Cranial nerve stimulation to treat a vocal cord disorder
First Claim
1. A method of treating a patient having a vocal cord disorder selected from the group consisting of vocal cord paralysis and vocal cord trauma, comprising:
- coupling at least one electrode to at least one cranial nerve of the patient selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve;
applying an electrical signal to the at least one cranial nerve using the electrode to treat the vocal cord disorder, anddetecting a symptom of the vocal cord disorder, wherein applying the electrical signal is initiated in response to detecting said symptom.
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Abstract
Disclosed is a method of treating a patient having a vocal cord disorder, comprising coupling at least one electrode to at least one cranial nerve of the patient, wherein the cranial nerve is selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve, and applying an electrical signal to the cranial nerve using the electrode to treat the vocal cord disorder. The electrode may be coupled to a branch of the vagus nerve selected from the group consisting of a recurrent laryngeal nerve, the external branch of a superior laryngeal nerve, the internal branch of a superior laryngeal nerve, and a pharyngeal plexus. Also disclosed is a computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method, and a medical device and a vocal cord disorder treatment system that may be used in performance of the method.
130 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of treating a patient having a vocal cord disorder selected from the group consisting of vocal cord paralysis and vocal cord trauma, comprising:
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coupling at least one electrode to at least one cranial nerve of the patient selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve; applying an electrical signal to the at least one cranial nerve using the electrode to treat the vocal cord disorder, and detecting a symptom of the vocal cord disorder, wherein applying the electrical signal is initiated in response to detecting said symptom. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of treating a patient having a vocal cord disorder selected from the group consisting of vocal cord paralysis and vocal cord trauma, comprising:
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coupling at least one electrode to at least one cranial nerve of the patient selected from the group consisting of a vagus nerve, a trigeminal nerve, and a glossopharyngeal nerve; providing an electrical signal generator; coupling said signal generator to said at least one electrode; generating an electrical signal with the electrical signal generator; applying the electrical signal to the electrode to treat the vocal cord disorder, and detecting a symptom of the vocal cord disorder, wherein applying the electrical signal is initiated in response to detecting said symptom. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method of treating a patient having a vocal cord disorder selected from the group consisting of vocal cord paralysis and vocal cord trauma, comprising:
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coupling at least one electrode to at least one branch of a vagus nerve of the patient selected from the group consisting of a recurrent laryngeal nerve, the external branch of a superior laryngeal nerve, the internal branch of a superior laryngeal nerve, and a pharyngeal plexus; applying an electrical signal to said at least one branch of a vagus nerve using the electrode to treat the vocal cord disorder, and detecting a symptom of the vocal cord disorder, wherein applying the electrical signal is initiated in response to detecting said symptom. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification