Enhanced therapeutic stimulus system and methods of use
First Claim
1. A method for stimulating a suck central pattern generator and a trigeminal nerve in a brain of a human subject, such stimulation influencing brain response or brain development including repair of the brain, control of respiration, control of a non-nutritive suck pattern, mastication, and combinations thereof, the method comprising:
- contacting the human subject with an appliance to stimulate one or more nerve ending near the subject'"'"'s mouth, including the facial region proximal to at least one lip and a tongue; and
,actuating the appliance in response to a signal to generate a mechanical transfer of energy in at least one burst as an impulse sufficient to be recognized as a tactile stimulus by the subject'"'"'s suck central pattern generator;
wherein each burst comprises at least two square wave pulses of the same amplitude with the pulse period increasing with each successive pulse to form a decelerating pulse train sequence; and
,wherein the square wave pulses range in frequency between 1.5 Hz and 5 Hz.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a therapeutic system and methods of using the therapeutic system. In particular, the present invention relates to systems having hardware, software, and appliance components for assessing and entraining a neuromuscular pattern or behavior in a patient. The methods include configuring the hardware and software systems to receive data from an orofacial stimulation appliance and to generate a precise therapeutic pulse profile that is actuated as a tactile stimulus. In one embodiment, the system and methods also include collecting data using the orofacial stimulation appliance and delivering the tactile stimulus via the orofacial stimulation appliance to entrain an organized neuromuscular pattern or behavior.
16 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for stimulating a suck central pattern generator and a trigeminal nerve in a brain of a human subject, such stimulation influencing brain response or brain development including repair of the brain, control of respiration, control of a non-nutritive suck pattern, mastication, and combinations thereof, the method comprising:
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contacting the human subject with an appliance to stimulate one or more nerve ending near the subject'"'"'s mouth, including the facial region proximal to at least one lip and a tongue; and
,actuating the appliance in response to a signal to generate a mechanical transfer of energy in at least one burst as an impulse sufficient to be recognized as a tactile stimulus by the subject'"'"'s suck central pattern generator; wherein each burst comprises at least two square wave pulses of the same amplitude with the pulse period increasing with each successive pulse to form a decelerating pulse train sequence; and
,wherein the square wave pulses range in frequency between 1.5 Hz and 5 Hz. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for stimulating a central pattern generator and a trigeminal nerve in a brain of a human subject, such stimulation influencing brain response or brain development including repair of the brain, control of respiration, control of a non-nutritive suck pattern, mastication, and combinations thereof, the system comprising:
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an orofacial stimulator appliance that, when actuated in response to a signal, generates a mechanical transfer of energy in at least one burst as an impulse sufficient to be recognized as a tactile stimulus by the subject'"'"'s central pattern generator; wherein each burst comprises at least two square wave pulses of the same amplitude with the pulse period increasing with each successive pulse to form a decelerating pulse train sequence; and
,wherein the square wave pulses range in frequency between 1.5 Hz and 5 Hz and are contacted with the subject for at least two minutes each day, at least twice a day for a minimum of five successive days. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for stimulating a central pattern generator and a trigeminal nerve in an adult human brain of an adult subject, such stimulation influencing brain response or brain development including repair of the brain, control of respiration, control of a non-nutritive suck pattern, mastication, and combinations thereof, the method comprising:
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contacting the adult subject with an appliance to stimulate one or more nerve ending near the subject'"'"'s mouth, including the facial region proximal to at least one lip and a tongue; and
,actuating the appliance in response to a signal to generate a mechanical transfer of energy in at least one burst as an impulse sufficient to be recognized as a tactile stimulus by the subject'"'"'s central pattern generator; wherein each burst comprises at least two square wave pulses of the same amplitude with the pulse period increasing with each successive pulse to form a decelerating pulse train sequence; and
,wherein the square wave pulses range in frequency between 1.5 Hz and 5 Hz. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of using a square wave to stimulate the central pattern generator nerve, the method comprising:
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contacting a human subject with an appliance to stimulate one or more nerve ending near the subject'"'"'s mouth, including the facial region proximal to at least one lip and a tongue; and
,actuating the appliance in response to a signal to generate a mechanical transfer of energy in at least one burst as an impulse sufficient to be recognized as a tactile stimulus by the subject'"'"'s central pattern generator; wherein each burst comprises at least two square wave pulses of the same amplitude with the pulse period increasing with each successive pulse to form a decelerating pulse train sequence; wherein the square wave pulses range in frequency between 1.5 Hz and 5 Hz; and
,wherein at least six bursts in succession are contacted with the subject for at least two minutes, at least twice a day.
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Specification