Nerve stimulation and blocking for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders
First Claim
1. A method of treating conditions associated with low vagal tone comprising:
- Positioning at least one electrode on a vagal nerve below the innervation of the heart; and
Treating conditions associated with low vagal tone by applying an electrical signal to the vagus nerve intermittently in a 24 hour period, wherein the electrical signal is applied during awake hours, and is selected to enhance pancreobilliary output, is not timed to trigger muscle contraction, and does not have sufficient energy to drive peristaltic contractions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
At least one of a plurality of gastrointestinal disorders is treated by stimulating an enteric nervous system of a patient to enhance a functional tone of the enteric nervous system. A treatment includes electrically stimulating a vagus nerve of the patient at a stimulation site proximal to at least one site of vagal innervation of a gastrointestinal organ. The electrical stimulation includes applying a stimulation signal at the stimulation site. An optional proximal electrical blocking signal is applied to the vagus nerve at a proximal blocking site proximal to the stimulation site. The proximal blocking signal is selected to at least partially block nerve impulses at the proximal blocking site.
228 Citations
5 Claims
-
1. A method of treating conditions associated with low vagal tone comprising:
-
Positioning at least one electrode on a vagal nerve below the innervation of the heart; and Treating conditions associated with low vagal tone by applying an electrical signal to the vagus nerve intermittently in a 24 hour period, wherein the electrical signal is applied during awake hours, and is selected to enhance pancreobilliary output, is not timed to trigger muscle contraction, and does not have sufficient energy to drive peristaltic contractions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
Specification