Magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system, circuit and use thereof, and method of using the apparatus

• US 8,172,742 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2006
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yunfeng Zheng
• Original Assignee: Yunfeng Zheng
• Inventors: Zheng, Yunfeng, Wang, Jiang, Xu, Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): LACYK, JOHN P
• Application Number:
  US11/917,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20080200749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,157 Days
• Field of Search: 600 9- 15
• US Class Current: 600/13
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/006 for magnetic stimulation of nerve tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/02 using magnetic fields produced by coils, including single turn loops or electromagnets A61N2/12 takes precedence

Abstract

A magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system and circuit thereof, and use of the apparatus and method of using the apparatus are shown. Controlling circuit design and outputting wave form signal to a drive power supply circuit enables the drive power supply circuit to output current of corresponding wave form to coils, and by means of the design of the shape, number of turns, size, interval of the coils, generates within a certain region inside the coils a desired time-variant magnetic field which is then applied to the brain of an animal or a human being so that the central nervous system can receive a wide area synergy magnetic stimulation with a precise wave form, high frequency or a combination of a plurality of frequency components, thus achieving the treatment of nervous and psychiatric diseases or brain function improvement in combination with behavior guidance, thought guidance, or psychological guidance.

Claims

1. A magnetic stimulation circuit for central nervous system, comprising:

a control circuit, a drive power supply circuit and coils that are sequentially connected, wherein the drive power supply circuit comprises a drive circuit, a main circuit, and a detection circuit for detecting the voltage and current values in the main circuit, both the drive circuit and the detection circuit are connected to the control circuit and the main circuit respectively, and the coils are connected to the main circuit,

wherein the main circuit comprises at least one insulated gate bipolar transistor and the control circuit generates a PWM signal which is used by the drive circuit to drive the insulated gate bipolar transistor in the main circuit to output a time-variant current to the coils which then generate a desired time-variant magnetic field in an objective region, wherein the objective region is an entire brain, the magnetic induction of the time-variant magnetic field has a peak value smaller than 0.1 T, the magnetic induction of the time-variant magnetic field has a gradient smaller than 100 Gs/cm and the time-variant magnetic field comprises intra-train frequency and inter-train frequency.

2. The magnetic stimulation circuit for central nervous system of claim 1, wherein the main circuit comprises a converting circuit for controlling currents in the coils to flow in the same or opposite direction.

3. The magnetic stimulation circuit for central nervous system of claim 1, wherein the main circuit comprises at least one full-controlled power semiconductor device selected from a group consisting of a GRT, a power MOSFET and a GTO, and the control circuit generates a PWM signal which is used by the drive circuit to drive the full-controlled power semiconductor device in the main circuit to output a time-variant current to the coils which then generate a desired time-variant magnetic field.

4. The magnetic stimulation circuit for central nervous system of claim 2, wherein the control circuit comprises a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip functioning as a main control chip, the drive circuit comprises an optical coupler which is adapted to transfer a control signal sent from the control circuit to the main circuit, and the control circuit controls the drive circuit and the main circuit for the coils to generate a desired magnetic field, and the converting circuit comprises at least one relay.

5. An apparatus comprising

a main circuit having at least one insulated gate bipolar transistor and a control circuit configured to generate a PWM signal which is used by a drive circuit to drive the insulated gate bipolar transistor in order to generate a desired time-variant magnetic field in an objective region, wherein magnetic induction of the time-variant magnetic field has a peak value smaller than 0.1 T, the magnetic induction of the time-variant magnetic field has a gradient smaller than 100 Gs/cm and the time-variant magnetic field comprises intra-train frequency and inter-train frequency.

6. The magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 5, further comprising coils having at least a coaxial, parallel, and symmetrically disposed identical coil pair, wherein the apparatus is configured to provide currents to the coil pair that are synchronous in time and identical in intensity, and wherein the main circuit comprises a converting circuit for controlling the currents in the coil pair to flow in the same or opposite direction.

7. The magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 5, wherein the main circuit comprises at least one full-controlled power semiconductor device selected from a group consisting of a GRT, a power MOSFET and a GTO, and the control circuit generates a PWM signal which is used by the drive circuit to drive the full-controlled power semiconductor device in the main circuit to output a time-variant current to generate a desired time-variant magnetic field.

8. The magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 6, wherein the control circuit comprises a DSP chip functioning as a main control chip, the drive circuit comprises an optical coupler which is adapted to transfer a control signal sent from the control circuit to the main circuit, and the control circuit controls the drive circuit and the main circuit for the coils to generate a desired magnetic field, and the converting circuit comprises at least one relay.

9. A method for using a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system, said method comprising:

setting appropriate parameters for stimulating the brain of a subject, wherein the appropriate parameters comprise intra-train frequency and inter-train frequency in the case of pulse train magnetic stimulation;

generating a corresponding time-variant magnetic field according to the set appropriate parameters in an objective region, wherein the objective region is the brain of the subject, wherein the magnetic induction of the time-variant magnetic field has a peak value smaller than 0.1 T, and the magnetic induction of the time-variant magnetic field has a gradient smaller than 100 Gs/cm; and

treating central nervous system disease or psychiatric disease or improving brain function using the generated corresponding time-variant magnetic field.

10. The use of a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 9, wherein the appropriate parameters comprise at least parameters of wave form, frequency and peak value intensity of current relating to the coil in the apparatus, and wave form, frequency and peak value intensity of corresponding induced magnetic field.

11. The use of a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 9, wherein the treatment of central nervous system disease or psychiatric disease provides improved curative effect by introducing behavior guidance, thought guidance, or psychological guidance prior to, in the middle of, or after the magnetic stimulation.

12. The use of a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 9, wherein magnetic stimulation having appropriate parameters is applied to the entire brain for an appropriate period, and in the middle of or after the magnetic stimulation, behavior guidance or thought guidance or psychological guidance is performed on those who are receiving or those who have received the magnetic stimulation.

13. The use of a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 9, wherein, those who are to receive magnetic stimulation are subject to behavior guidance, thought guidance, or psychological guidance prior to the magnetic stimulation, magnetic stimulation having appropriate parameters is then applied to the entire brain for an appropriate period, and after the magnetic stimulation, those who have received the magnetic stimulation are subject to behavior guidance, thought guidance, or psychological guidance.

14. The use of a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 9, wherein the disease is one of the following:

depression, anxiety disorder, insomnia, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug or alcohol dependence and addiction, psychic dependence on abnormal behavior, attention deficit, affective or mood disorder, schizophrenia, Parkinson'"'"'s disease, neurodegenerative disease, dementia and nerve injury.

15. The use of a magnetic stimulation apparatus for central nervous system of claim 9, wherein the brain function is learning and memory ability, cognitive ability, or anti psychological stress ability.