Non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation to treat disorders
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of treating a breathing disorder in a patient, the method comprising:
- positioning a handheld device comprising a housing comprising an electrically conductive contacting surface, a power source, an electrode, and a conductive gel, wherein the electrode is coupled to the power source, wherein the housing is adjacent to a skin surface of the patient, wherein the conductive gel couples the electrode to the electrically conductive contacting surface;
generating, via the device, a signal comprising one or more electrical impulses; and
transmitting, via the device, the one or more electrical impulses to a vagus nerve in the patient, wherein the one or more electrical impulses comprises bursts of pulses with a silent inter-burst interval between each of the bursts, wherein each of the bursts and the silent inter-burst interval repeats from about 3 Hz to about 100 Hz, wherein each of the pulses has a duration from about 50 microseconds to about 1000 microseconds.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Devices, systems and methods are disclosed for treating bronchial constriction related to asthma, anaphylaxis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), exercise-induced bronchospasm and post-operative bronchospasm. The treatment comprises transmitting impulses of energy non-invasively to selected nerve fibers that activate neural pathways to reduce the release of acetycholine from airway-related vagal preganglionic neurons within the brain of the patient. The transmitted energy impulses, comprising magnetic and/or electrical energy, stimulate the selected nerve fibers to produce the bronchodilation.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method of treating a breathing disorder in a patient, the method comprising:
-
positioning a handheld device comprising a housing comprising an electrically conductive contacting surface, a power source, an electrode, and a conductive gel, wherein the electrode is coupled to the power source, wherein the housing is adjacent to a skin surface of the patient, wherein the conductive gel couples the electrode to the electrically conductive contacting surface; generating, via the device, a signal comprising one or more electrical impulses; and transmitting, via the device, the one or more electrical impulses to a vagus nerve in the patient, wherein the one or more electrical impulses comprises bursts of pulses with a silent inter-burst interval between each of the bursts, wherein each of the bursts and the silent inter-burst interval repeats from about 3 Hz to about 100 Hz, wherein each of the pulses has a duration from about 50 microseconds to about 1000 microseconds. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A handheld device for treating a breathing disorder in a patient, the device comprising:
a housing comprising an electrically conducting contact surface, an energy source, an electrode, and a conductive gel, wherein the electrode is coupled to the energy source, wherein the conductive gel couples the electrode to the electrically conducting contact surface, wherein the electrically conducting contact surface is configured to contact an outer skin surface of the patient, wherein the energy source is configured to transmit an electric current through the outer skin surface of the patient to a vagus nerve within the patient, wherein the electric current is sufficient to generate a signal comprising one or more electrical impulses comprising bursts of pulses with a silent inter-burst interval between each of the bursts, wherein each of the bursts and the silent inter-burst interval repeats from about 3 Hz to about 100 Hz, and wherein each of the pulses has a duration from about 50 microsecond to about 1000 microseconds. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification