APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STIMULATION OF BIOLOGICAL TISSUE

• US 20080046053A1
• Filed: 06/18/2007
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Highland Instruments, Inc.,
• Original Assignee: Highland Instruments, Inc.,
• Inventors: Eden, Uri, Wagner, Timothy
• Granted Patent: US 8,929,979 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/116
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0816 using echo-encephalography
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2007/0002 Head or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 7/00 Heating or cooling appliances for medical or therapeutic treatment of the human body heating or cooling means in connection with bedsteads or mattresses A47C21/00 ; massage, therapeutic baths A61H; hyperthermia using electric or magnetic fields or ultrasound A61N; electric heating elements H05B
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 1/005 Moveable platform, e.g. vibrating or oscillating platform for standing, sitting, laying, leaning
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/20 continuous direct currents
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/32 alternating or intermittent currents applying electric fields by inductive or capacitive coupling A61N1/40; microwave apparatus A61N5/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36003 of motor muscles, e.g. for walking assistance
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36014 External stimulators, e.g. with patch electrodes external pacemakers A61N1/3625
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36017 with leads or electrodes penetrating the skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36025 for treating a mental or cerebral condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3629 in combination with non-electric therapy
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/40 Applying electric fields by inductive or capacitive coupling microwave apparatus A61N5/00; Applying radio-frequency signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/002 in combination with another treatment
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0026 Stimulation of nerve tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0622 Optical stimulation for exciting neural tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/02 Localised ultrasound hyperthermia hyperthermia in general A61F7/00

Abstract

An apparatus for generating focused currents in biological tissue is provided. The apparatus comprises an electric source capable of generating an electric field across a region of tissue and means for altering the permittivity of the tissue relative to the electric field, whereby a displacement current is generated. The means for altering the permittivity may be a chemical source, optical source, mechanical source, thermal source, or electromagnetic source.

Claims

1. An apparatus for generating currents in biological tissue comprising:

an electric source capable of generating an electric field across a region of tissue; and

a means for altering the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric field, whereby the alteration of the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric field generates a displacement current in said tissue.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is selected from a chemical source, optical source, mechanical source, thermal source, or electromagnetic source.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is mechanical and is an ultrasound source.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is pulsed.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is time varying.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is a sequence of time varying pulses.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is time invariant.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is a pulsed signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is time a varying signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is a signal consisting of a sequence of time varying pulses.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tissue is neural tissue.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one electrode configured to be applied to tissue.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one electrode configured to be applied to tissue adjacent or external to said tissue.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric source is implanted in said tissue.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric source is implanted in tissue adjacent, external, or internal from said tissue.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is implanted inside said tissue.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein means for altering the permittivity is implanted in tissue adjacent, external, or internal from said tissue.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric source is applied non-invasively.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for altering permittivity is applied non-invasively.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric source is a time varying inductive magnetic field generated from an external source.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is applied broadly to large regions of neural tissue and said means is focused on specific regions of neural tissue for therapeutic purposes.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is applied broadly to large regions of neural tissue and said means is applied broadly to large regions of neural tissue for therapeutic purposes.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means are focused on specific regions of neural tissue for therapeutic purposes.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is focused on specific regions of neural tissue and said means is applied broadly to large regions of neural tissue for therapeutic purposes.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field has a frequency component or multiple components within the range from about DC to 100,000,000 Hz.

26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is applied broadly and said means for altering permittivity is focused and can be applied to neural tissue to assist in the treatment of ailments selected from Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer'"'"'s Disease, Dystonia, Tics, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Drug Craving, Food Craving, Alcohol Craving, Nicotine Craving, Stuttering, Tinnitus, Spasticity, Parkinson'"'"'s Disease, Parkinsonianism, Obsessions, Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Acute Mania, Catonia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Autism, Chronic Pain Syndrome, Phantom Limb Pain, Epilepsy, Stroke, Auditory Hallucinations, Movement Disorders, Neurodegenerative Disorders, Pain Disorders, Metabolic Disorders, Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders, Traumatic Nerve Injury, and Sensory Disorders.

27. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means for altering permittivity are focused and can applied to neural tissue to assist in the treatment of ailments selected from Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer'"'"'s Disease, Dystonia, Tics, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Drug Craving, Food Craving, Alcohol Craving, Nicotine Craving, Stuttering, Tinnitus, Spasticity, Parkinson'"'"'s Disease, Parkinsonianism, Obsessions, Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Acute Mania, Catonia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Autism, Chronic Pain Syndrome, Phantom Limb Pain, Epilepsy, Stroke, Auditory Hallucinations, Movement Disorders, Neurodegenerative Disorders, Pain Disorders, Metabolic Disorders, Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders, Traumatic Nerve Injury, and Sensory Disorders.

28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is focused and said means for altering permittivity is applied broadly and can be applied to neural tissue to assist in the treatment of ailments selected from Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer'"'"'s Disease, Dystonia, Tics, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Drug Craving, Food Craving, Alcohol Craving, Nicotine Craving, Stuttering, Tinnitus, Spasticity, Parkinson'"'"'s Disease, Parkinsonianism, Obsessions, Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Acute Mania, Catonia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Autism, Chronic Pain Syndrome, Phantom Limb Pain, Epilepsy, Stroke, Auditory Hallucinations, Movement Disorders, Neurodegenerative Disorders, Pain Disorders, Metabolic Disorders, Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders, Traumatic Nerve Injury, and Sensory Disorders.

29. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means for altering permittivity are applied broadly and can be applied to neural tissue to assist in the treatment of ailments selected from Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer'"'"'s Disease, Dystonia, Tics, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Drug Craving, Food Craving, Alcohol Craving, Nicotine Craving, Stuttering, Tinnitus, Spasticity, Parkinson'"'"'s Disease, Parkinsonianism, Obsessions, Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Acute Mania, Catonia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Autism, Chronic Pain Syndrome, Phantom Limb Pain, Epilepsy, Stroke, Auditory Hallucinations, Movement Disorders, Neurodegenerative Disorders, Pain Disorders, Metabolic Disorders, Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders, Traumatic Nerve Injury, and Sensory Disorders.

30. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is applied broadly and said means for altering permittivity is focused on a structure or multiple structures within the brain or nervous system selected from dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, any component of the basal ganglia, nucleus accumbens, gastric nuclei, brainstem, thalamus, inferior colliculus, superior colliculus, periaqueductal gray, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, occipital lobe, Brodmann areas 1-48, primary sensory cortex, primary visual cortex, primary auditory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cochlea, cranial nerves, cerebellum, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, sub-cortical structures, peripheral nerves and spinal cord.

31. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means for altering permittivity are focused on a structure or multiple structures within the brain or nervous system selected from dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, any component of the basal ganglia, nucleus accumbens, gastric nuclei, brainstem, thalamus, inferior colliculus, superior colliculus, periaqueductal gray, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, occipital lobe, Brodmann areas 1-48, primary sensory cortex, primary visual cortex, primary auditory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cochlea, cranial nerves, cerebellum, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, sub-cortical structures, peripheral nerves and spinal cord.

32. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is focused and said means for altering permittivity is applied broadly on a structure or multiple structures within the brain or nervous system selected from dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, any component of the basal ganglia, nucleus accumbens, gastric nuclei, brainstem, thalamus, inferior colliculus, superior colliculus, periaqueductal gray, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, occipital lobe, Brodmann areas 1-48, primary sensory cortex, primary visual cortex, primary auditory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cochlea, cranial nerves, cerebellum, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, sub-cortical structures, peripheral nerves and spinal cord.

33. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means for altering permittivity are applied broadly on a structure or multiple structures within the nervous system selected from dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, any component of the basal ganglia, nucleus accumbens, gastric nuclei, brainstem, thalamus, inferior colliculus, superior colliculus, periaqueductal gray, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, occipital lobe, Brodmann areas 1-48, primary sensory cortex, primary visual cortex, primary auditory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cochlea, cranial nerves, cerebellum, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, sub-cortical structures, peripheral nerves and spinal cord.

34. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is applied broadly and said means for altering permittivity is focused on neural tissue to enact procedures selected from sensory augmentation, sensory alteration, anesthesia induction and maintenance, brain mapping, epileptic mapping, pre-surgical planning, neural atrophy reduction, neuroprosthetic interaction or control with nervous system, stroke and traumatic injury neurorehabilitation, bladder control, assisting breathing, cardiac pacing, muscle stimulation, and treatment of pain syndromes, such as those caused by migraine, neuropathies, and low-back pain;

or internal visceral diseases, such as chronic pancreatitis or cancer.

35. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means for altering permittivity are focused on neural tissue to enact procedures selected from sensory augmentation, sensory alteration, anesthesia induction and maintenance, brain mapping, epileptic mapping, pre-surgical planning, neural atrophy reduction, neuroprosthetic interaction or control with nervous system, stroke and traumatic injury neurorehabilitation, bladder control, assisting breathing, cardiac pacing, muscle stimulation, and treatment of pain syndromes, such as those caused by migraine, neuropathies, and low-back pain;

or internal visceral diseases, such as chronic pancreatitis or cancer.

36. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field is focused and said means for altering permittivity is applied broadly on neural tissue to enact procedures selected from sensory augmentation, sensory alteration, anesthesia induction and maintenance, brain mapping, epileptic mapping, pre-surgical planning, neural atrophy reduction, neuroprosthetic interaction or control with nervous system, stroke and traumatic injury neurorehabilitation, bladder control, assisting breathing, cardiac pacing, muscle stimulation, and treatment of pain syndromes, such as those caused by migraine, neuropathies, and low-back pain;

or internal visceral diseases, such as chronic pancreatitis or cancer.

37. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electric field and said means for altering permittivity are applied broadly on neural tissue to enact procedures selected from sensory augmentation, sensory alteration, anesthesia induction and maintenance, brain mapping, epileptic mapping, pre-surgical planning, neural atrophy reduction, neuroprosthetic interaction or control with nervous system, stroke and traumatic injury neurorehabilitation, bladder control, assisting breathing, cardiac pacing, muscle stimulation, and treatment of pain syndromes, such as those caused by migraine, neuropathies, and low-back pain;

or internal visceral diseases, such as chronic pancreatitis or cancer.

38. A method for stimulating biological tissue comprising:

applying an electric source to a region of biological tissue to generate an electric field in said tissue; and

altering the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric source by applying a means for altering the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric field, whereby the alteration of the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric field generates a displacement current in said tissue.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is selected from a chemical source, optical source, mechanical source, thermal source, or electromagnetic source.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein altering the permittivity of tissue comprises applying a mechanical source to mechanically alter the permittivity of tissue.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is an ultrasound source.

42. The method of claim 38, wherein said tissue is neural tissue.

43. The method of claim 38, wherein said tissue is endocrine tissue.

44. The method of claim 38, wherein said tissue is electrically receptive tissue.

45. The method of claim 38, wherein said tissue is muscle tissue.

46. The method of claim 38, wherein said tissue is connective tissue.

47. The method of claim 38, wherein said tissue is skeletal tissue.

48. The method of claim 38, wherein said method is applied for physical therapy of said region of said tissue.

49. The method of claim 38, wherein said displacement current stimulates blood flow in said region of said tissue.

50. The method of claim 38, wherein said means for altering the permittivity is an ultrasound source, which applies ultrasound to the region of said tissue.

51. An apparatus for generating currents in biological tissue comprising:

an electric source capable of generating an electric field across a region of tissue whereby said electric source is at least one electrode attached to the outer surface of a region of surrounding tissue; and

an ultrasound device which generates a mechanical field focused on a sub-region of tissue whereby the combined effects of said electric field and said mechanical field generate an altered current with a newly generated displacement current within said region of tissue.

52. A method for stimulating biological tissue comprising:

applying an electric source to a region of biological tissue to generate an electric field in said tissue; and

a means for altering the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric field, whereby a displacement current is generated; and

a means for altering the conductivity of said tissue relative to said electric field, whereby the ohmic current is altered.

53. An apparatus for altering currents in biological tissue comprising:

an electric source capable of generating an electric field across a region of tissue; and

a means for altering the permittivity of said tissue relative to said electric field, whereby a displacement current is generated; and

a means for altering the conductivity of said tissue relative to said electric field, whereby the ohmic current is altered.

54. An apparatus for generating currents in biological tissue comprising:

an electric source capable of generating an electric field across a region of tissue; and

an ultrasound device which generates a mechanical field focused on a sub-region of tissue whereby the combined effects of said electric field and said mechanical field generate an altered current with a newly generated displacement current within said region of tissue.

55. An apparatus for altering currents in biological tissue comprising:

an electric source capable of generating an electric field across a region of tissue; and

a means for altering the electromagnetic properties of said tissue relative to said electric field.