Systems and methods for use in treating sensory impairment

• US 10,391,331 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2012
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biolyst, LLC
• Original Assignee: Biolyst, LLC
• Inventors: Kelm, Timothy, Walter, Philip S., Weigel, Robert B., Reed, Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson, Gary
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kabir, Zahed
• Application Number:
  US14/008,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20140081358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,708 Days
• Field of Search: 607 89, 607 92, 600 13, 600 18, 600300, 128898
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0057 by applying motion other than vibrations, e.g. rolling, rubbing, applying a torque, tribometry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4005 for evaluating the sensory system A61B5/12, A61B5/4058 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/441 Skin evaluation, e.g. for skin disorder diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4824 Touch or pain perception evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0622 Optical stimulation for exciting neural tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/067 using laser light
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

Methods and systems for use in treating one or more patient'"'"'s sensory impairment, e.g., associated with peripheral neuropathy. An exemplary system may be configured to generate treatment information for treating sensory impairment in at least one body portion using photonic energy from a therapeutic laser based on data indicative of damage.

Claims

1. A method of generating treatment information for and delivering photonic energy to one or more body portions of a patient comprising:

providing data indicative of damage at different damage regions of at least one body portion of the one or more body portions, wherein the different damage regions are consecutively located along the at least one body portion of the one or more body portions;

generating, using a computer processor, treatment information for treating at least one of sensory impairment and vascular impairment in the at least one body portion based on the data indicative of damage, wherein the treatment information comprises at least one treatment definition, wherein the at least one treatment definition comprises a plurality of treatment regions of the patient to be exposed to photonic energy to treat the at least one body portion and a time period of exposure to photonic energy for each of the plurality of treatment regions, wherein the time period of exposure for more distal regions of the plurality of treatment regions are greater than less distal regions of the plurality of treatment regions if the data indicative of damage indicates that sensory impairment has been reduced proximally after one or more treatments of the one or more body portions according to the at least one treatment definition, wherein the plurality of treatment regions comprises;

tissue in proximity to one or more nerve roots, and

tissue of the at least one body portion, wherein the tissue of the at least one body portion is located in a different location of the patient than the tissue in proximity to the one or more nerve roots;

providing a therapeutic laser apparatus to deliver photonic energy to the plurality of treatment regions; and

delivering photonic energy from a therapeutic laser apparatus to the plurality of treatment regions according to the at least one treatment definition to treat at least one of sensory impairment and vascular impairment in the at least one body portion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one treatment definition further comprises a treatment power of the photonic energy for the at least one body portion.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises subjective data collected from the patient indicative of damage at different damage regions of the at least one body portion.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises objective measurement data indicative of damage at different damage regions of the at least one body portion, wherein the objective measurement data is collected using objective testing on the at least one body portion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises data acquired during one or more previous treatments of the at least one body portion.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more body portions comprise one or more extremities of the patient, wherein the tissue of the at least one body portion comprises tissue of at least one extremity of the one or more extremities of the patient, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises data indicative of damage at different damage regions of the at least one extremity of the one or more extremities, wherein the different damage regions of the at least one extremity are consecutively located along the at least one extremity from the patient'"'"'s torso to a distal end of the at least one extremity, and wherein generating treatment information comprises generating, using the computer processor, treatment information for treating at least one of sensory impairment and vascular impairment in the at least one extremity using photonic energy based on the data indicative of damage.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one extremity comprises one Or more of a buttock, a leg, a thigh, a calf, a foot, an arm, a wrist, and a hand.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

controlling, using the computer processor, delivery of photonic energy to the patient to treat the at least one body portion based on the treatment information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein generating treatment information comprises generating a treatment plan, wherein generating a treatment plan comprises:

determining a number of photonic energy treatments based on the data indicative of damage; and

determining a time period per photonic energy treatment based on the data indicative of damage.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises displaying treatment information to a therapist delivering photonic energy using the therapeutic laser.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein displaying treatment information to a therapist comprises:

displaying at least a portion of a human body with the plurality of treatment regions identified on the at least a portion of the human body, and

displaying a time period of exposure to photonic energy for each of the plurality of treatment regions.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

providing subjective data indicative of restoration symptoms at the different damage regions of the at least one body portion of the one or more body portions, wherein the restoration symptoms are indicative of improvement of the patient'"'"'s nerve activity; and

generating, using the computer processor, treatment information for treating the restoration symptoms based on the subjective data indicative of restoration symptoms.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the therapeutic laser apparatus comprises a Class IV therapeutic laser.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the tissue in proximity to one or more nerve roots comprises tissue proximate the spinal cord.

15. A computer program for use in conjunction with a computer processor to generate treatment information for one or more body portions of a patient and to controlling delivery of photonic energy to the patient using a therapeutic laser apparatus, wherein the computer program is operable when used with the computer processor to:

receive data indicative of damage at different damage regions of at least one body portion of the one or more body portions, wherein the different damage regions are consecutively located along the at least one body portion of the one or more body portions;

generate, using a computer processor, treatment information for treating at least one of sensory impairment and vascular impairment in the at least one body portion based on the data indicative of damage, wherein the treatment information comprises at least one treatment definition, wherein the at least one treatment definition comprises a plurality of treatment regions of the patient to be exposed to photonic energy to treat the at least one body portion and a time period of exposure to photonic energy for each of the plurality of treatment regions, wherein the time period of exposure for more distal, regions of the plurality of treatment regions are greater than less distal regions of the plurality of treatment regions if the data indicative of damage indicates that sensory ailment has been reduced proximally after one or more treatments of the one or more body portions according to the at least one treatment definition, wherein the plurality of treatment regions comprises;

tissue in proximity to one or more nerve roots, and

tissue of the at least one body portion, wherein the tissue of the at least one body portion is located in a different location of the patient than the tissue in proximity to the one or more nerve roots; and

controlling, using the computer processor, delivery of photonic energy to the patient using a therapeutic laser apparatus to treat the at least one body portion according to the at least one treatment definition to treat at least one of sensor impairment and vascular impairment in the at least one body portion.

16. The program of claim 15, wherein the at least one treatment definition further comprises a treatment power of the photonic energy for the at least one body portion.

17. The program of claim 15, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises subjective data collected from the patient indicative of damage at different damage regions of the at least one body portion.

18. The program of claim 15, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises objective measurement data indicative of damage at different damage regions of the at least one body portion, wherein the objective measurement data is collected using objective testing on the at least one body portion.

19. The program of claim 15, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises data acquired during one or more previous treatments of the at least one body portion.

20. The program of claim 15, wherein the one or more body portions comprise one or more extremities of the patient, wherein the tissue of the at least one body portion comprises tissue of at least one extremity of the one or more extremities of the patient, wherein the data indicative of damage comprises data indicative of damage at different damage regions of the at least one extremity of the one or more extremities, wherein the different damage regions of the at least one extremity are consecutively located along the at least one extremity from the patient'"'"'s torso to a distal end of the at least one extremity, and wherein generating treatment information comprises generating, using the computer processor, treatment information for treating at least one of sensory impairment and vascular impairment in the at least one extremity using photonic energy based on the data indicative of damage.

21. The program of claim 20, wherein the at least one extremity comprises one or more of a buttock, a leg, a thigh, a calf, a foot, an arm, a wrist, and a hand.

22. The program of claim 15, wherein generating treatment information comprises generating a treatment plan, wherein generating a treatment plan comprises:

determining a number of photonic energy treatments based on the data indicative of damage; and

determining a time period per photonic energy treatment based or the data indicative of damage.

23. The program of claim 15, wherein the program is further operable to execute displaying treatment information to a therapist delivering photonic energy using the therapeutic laser.

24. The program of claim 23, wherein displaying treatment information to a therapist comprises:

displaying at least a portion of a human body with the plurality of treatment regions identified on the at least a portion of the human body, and

displaying a time period of exposure to photonic energy for each of the plurality of treatment regions.

25. The program of claim 15, wherein the program is further operable to execute:

providing subjective data indicative of restoration symptoms at the different damage regions of the at least one body portion of the one or more body portions, wherein the restoration symptoms are indicative of improvement of the patient'"'"'s nerve activity; and

generating, using the computer processor, treatment information for treating the restoration symptoms based on the subjective data indicative of restoration symptoms.