NERVE STIMULATION METHODS FOR AVERTING IMMINENT ONSET OR EPISODE OF A DISEASE

• US 20120185020A1
• Filed: 01/24/2012
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electrocore, Llc
• Original Assignee: Electrocore, Llc
• Inventors: Simon, Bruce, Errico, Joseph P., Raffle, John T.
• Granted Patent: US 10,252,074 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/74
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36025 for treating a mental or cerebral condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36034 specified by the stimulation parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/006 for magnetic stimulation of nerve tissue

Abstract

Transcutaneous electrical and magnetic nerve stimulation devices are disclosed, along with methods of averting imminent medical attacks using energy that is delivered noninvasively by the devices. The attacks comprise asthma attack, epileptic seizure, attacks of migraine headache, transient ischemic attack or stroke, onset of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, onset of ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, panic attack, and attacks of acute depression. The imminence of an attack is forecasted using grey-box or black-box models as used in control theory. In preferred embodiments of the disclosed methods, a vagus nerve in the neck of a patient is stimulated noninvasively to avert the attack.

Claims

1. A method of averting the onset of an acute medical event in a patient, comprising:

using one or more sensors to detect physiological and/or environmental signals within, on, and/or about the patient;

using values of said environmental signals to forecast the onset of the acute medical event;

positioning a device adjacent to a skin surface of the patient;

generating one or more electrical impulses with the device; and

transmitting the electrical impulses to selected nerve fibers in the patient to treat the acute medical event.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating shaped electrical impulses within the device and transmitting them to the patient through a conducting medium within the device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrical impulses are sufficient to avert an acute event, selected from a group of events comprising asthma attack, epileptic seizure, attack of migraine headache, transient ischemic attack or stroke, onset of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, onset of ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, panic attack, and attack of acute depression.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrical impulses are transmitted transcutaneously through an outer skin surface of the patient to generate an electrical impulse at or near the selected nerve fibers.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the transmitting step is carried out by transcutaneously passing an electrical current through the outer skin surface of the patient to a target region within the patient.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising generating an electrical field at or near the device and shaping the electrical field such that the electrical field is sufficient to modulate a nerve at the target region;

and wherein the electric field is not sufficient to substantially modulate a nerve or muscle between the outer skin surface and the target region.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the electric field is not sufficient to substantially produce movement of a skeletal muscle of the patient.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the transmitting step is carried out by generating a magnetic field exterior to the patient sufficient to induce an electrical impulse at or near the selected nerve within the patient.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected nerve fibers are at least approximately 0.5-2 cm below an outer skin surface of the patient.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected nerve fibers are associated with a vagus nerve of the patient.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrical impulses comprise bursts of pulses with a frequency of between about 5 to 100 bursts per second (Hz).

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each bursts contains between 1 and 20 pulses.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the pulses are full sinusoidal waves.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein each pulse is about 50-1000 microseconds in duration.

15. A device for averting an acute attack in a patient comprising:

a housing having an electrically permeable or conducting contact surface for contacting an outer skin surface of a patient;

an energy source within the housing configured to generate an electric field sufficient to transmit an electric current through the outer skin surface of the patient to a nerve at a target region within the patient; and

wherein the electric current is sufficient to avert or at least partially ameliorate the acute event, selected from a group of events comprising asthma attack, epileptic seizure, attack of migraine headache, transient ischemic attack or stroke, onset of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, onset of ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, panic attack, and attack of acute depression.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the energy source comprises a signal generator and one or more electrodes coupled to the signal generator within the housing.

17. The device of claim 16 further comprising a conducting medium within the housing between the electrodes and the electrically permeable contact surface.

18. The device of claim 15 wherein the energy source comprises a battery.

19. The device of claim 16 wherein the signal generator is configured to generate an electric field comprising bursts of pulses with a frequency of about 5 to about 100 bursts per second.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the electric field comprises bursts of between 1 and 20 pulses with each pulse about 50-1000 microseconds in duration.

21. The device of claim 15 wherein the energy source comprises one or more toroids within the housing configured to generate a magnetic field sufficient to induce the electric field.

22. The device of claim 21 further comprising a conduction medium within the housing between the toroids and the electrically permeable contact surface.

23. The device of claim 15 wherein the electric current is sufficient to stimulate a vagus nerve of the patient.

24. The device of claim 15 wherein the housing is a handheld device configured for contacting a surface of the skin of a patient.

25. The device of claim 15 wherein the surface of the skin lies over a vagus nerve.