Method for direct modulation of the spinothalamic tract
First Claim
1. A method for treating a patient suffering from chronic pain, the method comprising:
- epidurally applying electrical modulation energy to a spinothalamic tract of the patient, thereby treating the chronic pain, wherein the electrical modulation energy is applied to a region of the spinothalamic tract of the patient rostral to a spinal segment that receives neural information from a painful region of the patient.
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Abstract
A method for treating a patient suffering from chronic neuropathic pain, comprises epidurally applying electrical stimulation energy to a spinothalamic tract of the patient, thereby treating the chronic neuropathic pain. The method may further comprise increasing the activation threshold of a side-effect exhibiting neural structure relative to the activation threshold of the spinothalamic tract of the patient, wherein the electrical stimulation energy is applied to the spinothalamic tract of the patient while the activation threshold of the neural structure relative to the spinothalamic tract is increased, thereby treating the chronic neuropathic pain without stimulating the neural structure.
15 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for treating a patient suffering from chronic pain, the method comprising:
epidurally applying electrical modulation energy to a spinothalamic tract of the patient, thereby treating the chronic pain, wherein the electrical modulation energy is applied to a region of the spinothalamic tract of the patient rostral to a spinal segment that receives neural information from a painful region of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for treating a patient suffering from chronic pain, the method comprising:
epidurally applying electrical modulation energy to a spinothalamic tract of the patient, thereby treating the chronic pain, wherein the electrical modulation energy is applied to the spinothalamic tract by at least one electrode implanted within the ventral-lateral quadrant of an epidural space of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A method for treating a patient suffering from chronic pain, the method comprising:
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epidurally applying electrical modulation energy to a spinothalamic tract of the patient, thereby treating the chronic pain; and increasing the activation threshold of a side-effect exhibiting neural structure relative to the activation threshold of the spinothalamic tract of the patient, wherein the electrical modulation energy is applied to the spinothalamic tract of the patient while the activation threshold of the neural structure relative to the activation threshold spinothalamic tract is increased, thereby treating the chronic pain without stimulating the neural structure. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification