Method and apparatus for affecting neurologic function and/or treating Neurologic dysfunction through timed neural stimulation
First Claim
1. A method for treating a neural condition, comprising:
- implanting an electrode within a patient'"'"'s skull;
detecting an indication corresponding to a naturally occurring series of discharges transmitted by a neural population within the patient'"'"'s skull;
transmitting a series of electrical signals from the electrode to the neural population;
for at least some of the electrical signals, controlling each electrical signal to have a target temporal relationship to a corresponding one of the discharges; and
updating a schedule according to which the electrical signals are transmitted based on the detected indications.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of selectively inhibiting or driving neural discharge or activity in or from a specific brain area One embodiment of a system and/or method directed toward affecting neurologic function may apply conditioning stimuli to a set of target neural populations. The conditioning stimuli are intentionally timed to occur within an inhibitory time domain or a facilitatory time domain relative to intrinsic neural activity associated with a target neural population. The application of a conditioning stimulus within an inhibitory or facilitatory time domain relative to the occurrence of an intrinsic neural discharge may respectively diminish or enhance an outcome associated with the neural discharge. In one embodiment, conditioning stimuli may be produced by a pulse generator coupled to an electrode that is implanted relative to the location of a target neural population. In one embodiment, a conditioning stimulus may be temporally applied relative to the occurrence of an adjunct reference stimulus or signal, which may have an origin that is external or internal to a patient.
160 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for treating a neural condition, comprising:
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implanting an electrode within a patient'"'"'s skull; detecting an indication corresponding to a naturally occurring series of discharges transmitted by a neural population within the patient'"'"'s skull; transmitting a series of electrical signals from the electrode to the neural population; for at least some of the electrical signals, controlling each electrical signal to have a target temporal relationship to a corresponding one of the discharges; and updating a schedule according to which the electrical signals are transmitted based on the detected indications. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for treating a neural condition, comprising:
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providing a reference stimulus to a patient; and transmitting an electromagnetic signal to a target neural population of the patient, wherein the electromagnetic signal has a target temporal relationship to the reference stimulus. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for treating a neural condition, comprising:
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a transmitter configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to a target neural population of a patient; and a controller operatively coupled to the transmitter, the controller being configured to control transmission of the signal from the transmitter to have a target temporal relationship relative to a reference stimulus delivered to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification