Activity sensing for stimulator control
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a sensor configured to measure a distance between an electrode and a tissue of a patient to which the electrode delivers stimulation; and
at least one processor configured to;
control the sensor to measure the distance between the electrode and the tissue of the patient;
determine whether the measured distance has changed; and
responsive to determining that the measured distance has changed, adjust, as a function of the measured distance, a parameter of the stimulation to provide a substantially consistent stimulation intensity at the tissue, wherein adjusting the parameter of the stimulation comprises adjusting a parameter of one or more electrical pulses that are generated by a stimulation generator and that are delivered by the electrode to the tissue of the patient.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The disclosure describes a system that measures the distance between one or more electrodes and tissue of a patient, and controls one or more parameters of the stimulation delivered to the tissue by the electrodes based on the measured distance. The system controls the measurement of the distance between the electrodes and the tissue as a function of activity of the patient. The system uses, for example, a piezoelectric transducer to sense activity of the patient, and may determine whether or how frequently to measure the distance between electrodes and tissue based on the sensed physical activity. A piezoelectric transducer may be used both to sense activity and to measure the distance between the electrodes and the tissue.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a sensor configured to measure a distance between an electrode and a tissue of a patient to which the electrode delivers stimulation; and at least one processor configured to; control the sensor to measure the distance between the electrode and the tissue of the patient; determine whether the measured distance has changed; and responsive to determining that the measured distance has changed, adjust, as a function of the measured distance, a parameter of the stimulation to provide a substantially consistent stimulation intensity at the tissue, wherein adjusting the parameter of the stimulation comprises adjusting a parameter of one or more electrical pulses that are generated by a stimulation generator and that are delivered by the electrode to the tissue of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system comprising:
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a sensor configured to measure a distance between an electrode and a tissue of a patient to which the electrode delivers stimulation; and at least one processor configured to; control the sensor to measure the distance upon determining a likelihood that the distance between the electrode and the tissue has changed; determine whether the measured distance has changed; and responsive to determining that the measured distance has changed, adjust, as a function of the measured distance, a parameter of the stimulation delivered by the electrode, wherein adjusting the parameter of the stimulation comprises adjusting a parameter of one or more electrical pulses that are generated by a stimulation generator and that are delivered by the electrode to the tissue of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method comprising:
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controlling, by at least one processor, measurement of a distance between an electrode and a tissue of a patient to which the electrode delivers stimulation; determining, by the at least one processor, whether the measured distance between the electrode and the tissue of the patient has changed; and responsive to determining that the measured distance has changed, adjusting, by the at least one processor and as a function of the measured distance, a parameter of the stimulation to provide a substantially consistent stimulation intensity at the tissue, wherein adjusting the parameter of the stimulation comprises adjusting a parameter of one or more electrical pulses that are generated by a stimulation generator and that are delivered by the electrode to the tissue of the patient.
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32. A method comprising:
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controlling, by at least one processor, measurement of a distance between an electrode and a tissue of a patient to which the electrode delivers stimulation upon determining a likelihood that the distance has changed; determining, by the at least one processor, whether the measured distance between the electrode and the tissue of the patient has changed; and responsive to determining that the measured distance has changed, adjusting, by the at least one processor and as a function of the measured distance, a parameter of the stimulation delivered by the electrode, wherein adjusting the parameter of the stimulation comprises adjusting a parameter of one or more electrical pulses that are generated by a stimulation generator and that are delivered by the electrode to the tissue of the patient.
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Specification