Apparatus for performing deep brain stimulation with an electric field

• US 9,630,019 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UCL Business PLC (University of London)
• Original Assignee: UCL Business PLC (University of London)
• Inventors: Valente, Virgilio, Demosthenous, Andreas, Bayford, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Schaetzle, Kennedy
• Application Number:
  US14/557,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20150209596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0534 Electrodes for deep brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/006 for magnetic stimulation of nerve tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/02 using magnetic fields produced by coils, including single turn loops or electromagnets A61N2/12 takes precedence

Abstract

One embodiment of the invention provides a method and apparatus for performing deep brain stimulation with an electromagnetic field. The includes an electrode assembly having multiple electrodes and a phased array system for driving the electrodes to generate the electromagnetic field. By controlling delays within the phased array system, the generated electromagnetic field can be steered to a desired region of the brain.

Claims

1. An apparatus for performing deep brain stimulation with an electromagnetic field, the apparatus including an electrode assembly having multiple electrodes and a phased array system for driving the electrodes to generate the electromagnetic field, wherein the phased array system generates a pulsed signal for supply to the multiple electrodes, wherein the timing of the pulsed signal is staggered between different electrodes to steer the electromagnetic field, and wherein the phased array system is controllable such that the apparatus can vary a phase shift between adjacent electrodes from zero up to a predetermined maximum.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multiple electrodes comprise a linear array of electrodes.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multiple electrodes comprise 8 or more electrodes.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said pulsed signal comprises a Gaussian pulse.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the centre frequency of said Gaussian pulse is in the range from 1GHz to 50GHz.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pulses are repeated with a frequency between 100 and 200 Hz.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said predetermined maximum is π

/2.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the phased array system includes a delay element for each electrode.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the phased array system includes at least one device for pulse re-shaping.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein electronics for the phased array system are adapted to be located at least partly in the skull of the subject during use.