Application of electric fields to the lung as therapy for pulmonary edema
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- an electric field generator circuit configured to be coupled to a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein at least one of the first electrode or the second electrode is configured to be associated with a lung of a subject, and wherein the electric field generator circuit is configured to generate an electric field, for application to the lung, that is capable of modulating a level of fluid in the lung; and
a controller coupled to the electric field generator circuit and configured to control the electric field in the lung so as to use the electric field to modulate the level of fluid in the lung, wherein the controller is configured to apply the electric field to alveolar cells of the lung at an electric field level that is of sufficient magnitude to controllably effect removal by the alveolar cells of the fluid from the lung.
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Abstract
System and method of applying electric fields to a patient'"'"'s lung(s) to reduce pulmonary edema. The system includes a first electrode and a second electrode, at least one of which is associated with the lung. The electric field can be controlled so as to modulate a level of fluid in the lung.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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an electric field generator circuit configured to be coupled to a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein at least one of the first electrode or the second electrode is configured to be associated with a lung of a subject, and wherein the electric field generator circuit is configured to generate an electric field, for application to the lung, that is capable of modulating a level of fluid in the lung; and a controller coupled to the electric field generator circuit and configured to control the electric field in the lung so as to use the electric field to modulate the level of fluid in the lung, wherein the controller is configured to apply the electric field to alveolar cells of the lung at an electric field level that is of sufficient magnitude to controllably effect removal by the alveolar cells of the fluid from the lung. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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an electric field generator circuit configured to be coupled to a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein at least one of the first electrode or the second electrode is configured to be associated with a lung of a subject, and wherein the electric field generator circuit is configured to generate an electric field, for application to the lung, that is capable of modulating a level of fluid in the lung, the at least one of the first and second electrode being configured to provide the electric field located at or near at least one of a lung, a heart, a thoracic vein, a thoracic artery, or a thoracic lymph node, the electric field including an alternating electric field with a field strength of about 5 microvolts/cm to about 50 millivolts/cm and a frequency of about 1.0 MHz; a controller coupled to the electric field generator circuit and configured to control the electric field in the lung so as to modulate the level of fluid in the lung, wherein the controller is configured to control the electric field to controllably effect removal by alveolar cells of the fluid from the lung by modulating alveolar Na,K-ATPase activity, the controller being configured to control at least one of a magnitude, a pulsewidth, a frequency, a duration, a duty cycle, or a waveform morphology associated with the electric field to control the level of fluid in the lung, the controller being configured to control the electric field in the lung using information from at least one implantable sensor including at least one of an implantable heart sound sensor, an implantable impedance sensor, an implantable physical activity sensor, an implantable respiration sensor, an implantable blood pressure sensor, an implantable electrocardiogram sensor, an implantable oxygen saturation sensor, an implantable blood flow sensor, or an implantable temperature sensor; and a fluid monitoring circuit configured to monitor a level of fluid in the lung, and wherein the controller is configured to control the electric field using information about the monitored level of fluid in the lung to control the level of fluid in the lung; wherein the controller is coupled to a cardiac signal sensing circuit, configured to sense an intrinsic cardiac signal, and wherein the controller is configured to determine an absolute cardiac refractory period, and wherein the controller is configured to control the electric field generator circuit to deliver pulses substantially only during the absolute cardiac refractory period.
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11. A method comprising:
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applying an electric field to a subject using a first electrode and a second electrode, at least one of the first electrode or the second electrode being associated with a lung of the subject; generating an electric field, for application to the lung, that is capable of modulating a level of fluid in the lung; and controlling the electric field to modulate the level of fluid in the lung, wherein controlling the electric field includes modulating alveolar Na,K-ATPase activity to controllably effect removal by alveolar cells of the fluid from the lung. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification