System, an apparatus, and a method for treating a sexual dysfunctional female patient

• US 8,874,215 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2009
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kirk Promotion Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Kirk Promotion Ltd.
• Inventors: Forsell, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Manuel, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wieland, Robert N
• Application Number:
  US13/123,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20110230930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: 607/39, 607/40, 607/41, 607/29, 607/138, 601/6, 600/38
• US Class Current: 607/39
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12 for ligaturing or otherwise compressing tubular parts of the body, e.g. blood vessels, umbilical cord specially adapted for vas deferens or fallopian tubes A61F6/20; materials for ligaturing blood vessels A61L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4368 Sexual arousal evaluation
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2007/005 female
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 7/12 Devices for heating or cooling internal body cavities
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 19/34 For clitoral stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0524 Vaginal electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36007 of urogenital or gastrointestinal organs, e.g. for incontinence control
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36107 Sexual dysfunction stimulating genital organs A61N1/36007

Abstract

There is disclosed an apparatus for treating a sexual dysfunctional female patient, comprising a stimulation device adapted to stimulate an erectile blood flow passageway to increase the amount of blood in the female erectile tissue and thereby obtaining engorgement with blood of the female erectile tissue by affecting said erectile blood flow passageway. Moreover there is disclosed a system and an operation method for treating a sexual dysfunctional female patient.

Claims

1. An apparatus for treating a sexual dysfunctional in a female patient, comprising a stimulation device adapted to indirect stimulate an erectile blood flow passageway to increase the amount of blood in the female erectile tissue and thereby obtaining engorgement with blood of the female erectile tissue by affecting said erectile blood flow passageway, wherein said stimulation device is adapted to stimulate a muscle related to arterial blood flow reaching the female erectile tissue, and wherein said stimulation device is adapted to stimulate said muscle enough to relax said muscle, to cause relaxation of said muscle to increase the arterial blood flow, thereby obtaining said engorgement with blood of the female erectile tissue.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising two or more stimulation devices, adapted to be post-operatively adjustable in a non-invasive manner.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an implantable control unit adapted to control and adjust electrical parameters of the stimulation device, wherein the control unit is programmable from outside of the female patient'"'"'s body.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control device controls the stimulation device to intermittently stimulate the areas with the pulses, wherein said pulses form pulse trains, wherein the control device controls the stimulation device to vary at least one of;

the amplitudes of the pulses of the pulse trains,

the off time periods between the individual pulses of each pulse train,

the width of each pulse of the pulse trains,

the frequency of the pulses of the pulse trains,

the off time periods between the pulse trains,

the length of each pulse train,

the frequency of the pulse trains, and

the number of pulses of each pulse train.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation device comprises at least one of at least one;

electrical electrode to stimulate the female erectile tissue to achieve engorgement of said female erectile tissue, and a plurality of electrical electrodes, to achieve engorgement of said female erectile.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm adapted to generate an alarm signal in response to the lapse of a predetermined time period during which the stimulation device has been operating.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow of blood is increased by enlarging the cross-sectional area of the blood flow passageway.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stimulation device comprises a heating member.

9. The apparatus according to anyone of claims 1, wherein the stimulation device comprises a structure holding the electrical elements in the fixed orientation.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said structure is separate from said stimulation device.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an implantable restriction device that engages the female erectile tissue or at least one venous blood vessel that drains the female erectile tissue and that is able to restrict the venous blood flow leaving the female erectile tissue.

12. An operation method using a system according to claim 11, comprising the step of;

creating an opening in the skin or vaginal wall of the female patient, the method further comprising at least one of the following two alternative steps;

performing an open surgery procedure with an increased opening size, and

performing an endoscopic surgical procedure comprising;

inserting a tube or needle into the patient'"'"'s body,

filling the body through the tube or needle with a gas and thereby expanding a cavity within the female patients body,

inserting at least two laparoscopic trocars into said cavity,

inserting at least one camera trough at least one laparoscopic trocar,

inserting at least one dissecting tool through at least one laparoscopic trocar,

the method further comprising;

dissecting at least one area of a muscle related to the female erectile tissue,

placing the stimulation device within said area, adapted to postoperatively stimulate the muscle related to said erectile tissue on patient command,

placing electrical electrodes in relation to said muscle,

placing a power source within the body or an integrated unit comprising the stimulation device and a power source in the same integrated unit, and

controlling said stimulation device post-operatively and non-invasively from outside the body.

13. A system, comprising the apparatus according to claim 1, for manually and non-invasively controlling the apparatus with at least one of;

at least one switch implantable in the patient, a wireless remote control, and an implantable hydraulic reservoir hydraulically connected to the apparatus adapted to be regulated by manually pressing the hydraulic reservoir.

14. The system according to claim 13, adapted to be energized by at least one of;

a comprised implantable internal energy source for powering implantable energy consuming parts of the apparatus and the system components,

a comprised internal energy receiver, adapted to be energized non-invasively and wirelessly,

an energy transmission device from outside the patients body, adapted to send wireless energy to at least one of;

an implantable internal energy source comprised in the system, chargeable by the energy transferred from the energy transmission device in the wireless mode, and

at least one implantable energy consuming component of the apparatus, with wireless energy.

15. The system according to claim 13, further comprising a sensor and/or a measuring device sensing or measuring at least one of;

at least one physical parameter of the patient, and

at least one functional parameter related to the apparatus, comprising at least one of;

a functional parameter correlated to the transfer of energy for charging the internal energy source, according to claim 14, and any other functional parameter related to the apparatus, wherein the apparatus further comprising a feedback device for sending feedback information from inside the patient'"'"'s body to at least one of;

an implantable internal control unit then comprised and the outside of the patients body, the feedback information being related to the at least one physical parameter of the patient and/or the at least one functional parameter related to the apparatus.

16. The system according to claim 13, further comprising an external data communicator and an implantable internal data communicator communicating with the external data communicator, wherein the internal communicator feeds data related to the apparatus or the patient to the external data communicator and/or the external data communicator feeds data to the internal data communicator.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stimulation device further is adapted to stimulate a second muscle related to said blood flow leaving the female erectile tissue, wherein said stimulation device is adapted to stimulate said second muscle, to cause contraction of said second muscle to restrict said erectile blood flow passageway.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stimulation device is powered.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a control device, wherein the control device controls the stimulation device to shift over time the stimulation from one area of one wall portion of the erectile blood flow passageway to another, wherein the control device controls the stimulation device to intermittently and individually stimulate different areas of the erectile blood flow passageway with pulses.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said control device controls the stimulation device to at least one of;

cyclically propagate the stimulation to areas along the wall in the same or opposite direction of the flow in the patient'"'"'s erectile blood flow passageway and to propagate the stimulation of the areas in accordance with a determined stimulation pattern.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the control device controls the stimulation device to at least one of;

vary the intensity of the stimulation and cyclically vary the intensity of the stimulation, of the erectile blood flow passageway.

22. An operation method using an apparatus according to claim 1 comprising the step of;

creating an opening in the skin or vaginal wall of the female patient, the method further comprising at least one of the following two alternative steps;

performing an open surgery procedure with an increased opening size, and

performing an endoscopic surgical procedure comprising;

inserting a tube or needle into the patient'"'"'s body,

filling the body through the tube or needle with a gas and thereby expanding a cavity within the female patients body,

inserting at least two laparoscopic trocars into said cavity,

inserting at least one camera trough at least one laparoscopic trocar,

inserting at least one dissecting tool through at least one laparoscopic trocar,

the method further comprising;

dissecting at least one area of a muscle related to the female erectile tissue,

placing the stimulation device within said area, adapted to postoperatively stimulate the muscle related to said erectile tissue on patient command,

placing electrical electrodes in relation to said muscle,

placing a power source within the body or an integrated unit comprising the stimulation device and a power source in the same integrated unit, and

controlling said stimulation device post-operatively and non-invasively from outside the body.