Selective nerve stimulation using presynaptic terminal depletion block
First Claim
1. A system for selectively stimulating targeted axons in a neural target using at least one electrode operably adjacent to the neural target, where the neural target has a plurality of axons including the targeted axons that have activation thresholds for nerve activation at or below a first level and non-targeted axons that have activation thresholds for nerve activation at or below a second level, the second level being below the first level, the system comprising:
- a stimulator configured to deliver electrical energy to the neural target using the at least one electrode, wherein the electrical energy delivered to the neural target includes both nerve stimulation having nerve stimulation parameters and depletion block stimulation having depletion block stimulation parameters,the nerve stimulation parameters including an amplitude and a pulse width to depolarize all of a first set of axons in the plurality of axons and further including a nerve stimulation frequency, wherein the first set of axons include both the targeted axons and the non-targeted axons in the neural target, andthe depletion block stimulation parameters including a depletion pulse frequency extending from 100 Hz to 700 Hz and further including an amplitude and a pulse width to depolarize all of the second set of axons in the plurality of axons, the second set of axons being a subset of the first set of axons, the depletion pulse frequency being higher than the nerve stimulation frequency, wherein the second set of axons include non-targeted axons and do not include targeted axons,wherein the stimulator and the at least one electrode are configured to induce action potentials at the nerve stimulation frequency in the first set of axons using the nerve stimulation having the nerve stimulation parameters, and are configured to induce action potentials at the depletion pulse frequency only in the second set of axons using the depletion block stimulation having the depletion block stimulation parameters to deplete neurotransmitters and prevent the action potentials in the second set of axons from being communicated across a synaptic cleft; and
at least one controller configured to communicate with the stimulator and control the depletion block stimulation and the nerve stimulation such that a depletion nerve block is delivered to the non-targeted axons of the neural target while delivering nerve stimulation to the targeted axons.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An example of a system may include a stimulator and at least one controller. The stimulator may be configured to deliver nerve stimulation to capture a first set of axons in a nerve and to deliver depletion block stimulation to capture a second set of axons in the nerve, where the second set is a subset of the first. The depletion block stimulation may include a series of pulses at a depletion pulse frequency within a range between about 100 Hz to about 1 kHz, and the nerve stimulation may include a series of pulses at a stimulation pulse frequency within a range of about 0.25 Hz to about 50 Hz. At least a portion of the nerve stimulation and at least a portion of the depletion block stimulation may be delivered to be effective in providing a nerve block while delivering nerve stimulation.
56 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for selectively stimulating targeted axons in a neural target using at least one electrode operably adjacent to the neural target, where the neural target has a plurality of axons including the targeted axons that have activation thresholds for nerve activation at or below a first level and non-targeted axons that have activation thresholds for nerve activation at or below a second level, the second level being below the first level, the system comprising:
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a stimulator configured to deliver electrical energy to the neural target using the at least one electrode, wherein the electrical energy delivered to the neural target includes both nerve stimulation having nerve stimulation parameters and depletion block stimulation having depletion block stimulation parameters, the nerve stimulation parameters including an amplitude and a pulse width to depolarize all of a first set of axons in the plurality of axons and further including a nerve stimulation frequency, wherein the first set of axons include both the targeted axons and the non-targeted axons in the neural target, and the depletion block stimulation parameters including a depletion pulse frequency extending from 100 Hz to 700 Hz and further including an amplitude and a pulse width to depolarize all of the second set of axons in the plurality of axons, the second set of axons being a subset of the first set of axons, the depletion pulse frequency being higher than the nerve stimulation frequency, wherein the second set of axons include non-targeted axons and do not include targeted axons, wherein the stimulator and the at least one electrode are configured to induce action potentials at the nerve stimulation frequency in the first set of axons using the nerve stimulation having the nerve stimulation parameters, and are configured to induce action potentials at the depletion pulse frequency only in the second set of axons using the depletion block stimulation having the depletion block stimulation parameters to deplete neurotransmitters and prevent the action potentials in the second set of axons from being communicated across a synaptic cleft; and at least one controller configured to communicate with the stimulator and control the depletion block stimulation and the nerve stimulation such that a depletion nerve block is delivered to the non-targeted axons of the neural target while delivering nerve stimulation to the targeted axons. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for selectively stimulating targeted axons in a neural target by delivering electrical energy to the neural target using at least one electrode operably adjacent to the neural target, where the neural target has a plurality of axons including the targeted axons that have activation thresholds for nerve activation at or below a first level and non-targeted axons that have activation thresholds for nerve activation at or below a second level, the second level being below the first level, the method comprising:
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inducing action potentials at a nerve stimulation frequency in the a first set of axons in the neural target by delivering nerve stimulation having nerve stimulation parameters, the nerve stimulation parameters including the nerve stimulation frequency, an amplitude and a pulse width to depolarize all of the first set of axons in the plurality of axons, wherein the first set of axons include both the targeted axons and the non-targeted axons in the neural target; and inducing action potentials at a depletion pulse frequency only in a second set of axons in the neural target by delivering depletion block stimulation having depletion block stimulation parameters, the depletion block stimulation parameters including the depletion pulse frequency extending from 100 Hz to 700 Hz and further having an amplitude and a pulse width to depolarize only the second set of axons in the plurality of axons, the second set of axons being a subset of the first set of axons, the depletion pulse frequency being higher than the nerve stimulation frequency, wherein the second set of axons include non-targeted axons and do not include targeted axons wherein delivering the depletion block stimulation depletes neurotransmitters and prevents the action potentials in the second set of axons from being communicated across a synaptic cleft, such that a depletion nerve block is delivered to the non-targeted axons while delivering nerve stimulation to the targeted axons. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification