CRANIAL NERVE STIMULATION TO TREAT DEPRESSION DURING SLEEP

• US 20150306392A1
• Filed: 04/25/2014
• Published: 10/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LivaNova USA, Inc. (LivaNova Plc)
• Original Assignee: Cyberonics, Inc
• Inventors: SABESAN, Shivkumar
• Granted Patent: US 9,302,109 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/398 Electrooculography [EOG], e.g. detecting nystagmus; Electroretinography [ERG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4812 Detecting sleep stages or cycles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4836 Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods A61B5/0036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0529 Electrodes for brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36096 Mood disorders, e.g. depression, anxiety or panic disorder
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36135 using physiological parameters

Abstract

A method includes determining sleep cycle information related to a sleep cycle of a patient based on body parameter data. The method also includes adjusting a cranial nerve stimulation parameter based on the sleep cycle information. The method further includes applying a cranial nerve stimulation therapy to treat depression based on the adjusted cranial nerve stimulation parameter.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, at a computing device, sleep cycle information related to a sleep cycle of a patient based on body parameter data;

adjusting, at the computing device, a cranial nerve stimulation parameter based on the sleep cycle information; and

applying a cranial nerve stimulation therapy to treat depression based on the adjusted cranial nerve stimulation parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the body parameter data comprises at least one of electroencephalography (EEG) data, electrooculography (EOG) data, electromyography (EMG) data, electrocardiography (ECG) data, respiration data, and accelerometer data.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising evaluating the sleep cycle information to determine at least one of a particular sleep stage of the patient, a sleep stage transition, an amount of time the patient spends in one or more sleep stages during a particular sleep cycle, and an amount of time the patient spends in one or more sleep stages during a sleep period that includes multiple sleep cycles.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

collecting the body parameter data from a sensor monitoring the patient; and

determining cranial nerve stimulation parameter adjustment data based on the sleep cycle information, wherein adjusting the cranial nerve stimulation parameter based on the sleep cycle information includes adjusting the cranial nerve stimulation parameter based on the cranial nerve stimulation parameter adjustment data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining information regarding efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy; and

adjusting the cranial nerve stimulation therapy based on the information regarding the efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

generating a report that includes an adjustment to the cranial nerve stimulation therapy based on the information regarding the efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy; and

communicating the report to at least one of the patient and a health care provider.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the information regarding the efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy is determined based on an amount of time the patient spends in REM stage sleep.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the sleep cycle information indicates time in REM stage sleep during a sleep period that includes one or more sleep cycles is less than a threshold, the cranial nerve stimulation parameter is adjusted to apply stimulation that drives the patient toward the REM stage sleep.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying stimulation signals to a vagus nerve or a trigeminal nerve of the patient via a therapy delivery unit based on the adjusted cranial nerve stimulation parameter such that serotonin production of the patient is increased.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying stimulation signals to a vagus nerve or a trigeminal nerve of the patient via a therapy delivery unit based on the adjusted cranial nerve stimulation parameter such that synchrony of a brain of the patient substantially conforms to a synchrony profile.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the cranial nerve stimulation parameter includes at least one of a pulse width, an output current, a cranial nerve stimulation frequency, a cranial nerve stimulation duty cycle, a particular nerve or nerves stimulated, a cranial nerve stimulation frequency sweep, a cranial nerve stimulation on-time, and a cranial nerve stimulation off-time.

12. A device comprising:

a processor configured to;

determine sleep cycle information related to a sleep cycle of a patient based on body parameter data; and

adjust a cranial nerve stimulation parameter based on the sleep cycle information;

a memory coupled to the processor; and

a therapy delivery unit configured to apply cranial nerve stimulation to treat depression based on the cranial nerve stimulation parameter.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine cranial nerve stimulation parameter adjustment data based on the sleep cycle information; and

adjust the cranial nerve stimulation parameter further based on the cranial nerve stimulation parameter adjustment data.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

evaluate the sleep cycle information to determine at least one of a particular sleep stage of the patient, a sleep stage transition, an amount of time the patient spends in one or more sleep stages during a particular sleep cycle, and an amount of time the patient spends in one or more sleep stages during a sleep period that includes multiple sleep cycles.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine information regarding efficacy of a cranial nerve stimulation therapy; and

communicate the information regarding the efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy to a health care provider, the patient, or a combination thereof.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the information regarding the efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy is determined based on a comparison of the sleep cycle information to sleep cycle information of the patient prior to receiving the cranial nerve stimulation therapy.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the information regarding the efficacy of the cranial nerve stimulation therapy is determined based an amount of time the patient spends in REM stage sleep.

18. The device of claim 12, further comprising:

a sensor data gathering unit configured to receive the body parameter data from a sensor that is attached to the patient.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the therapy delivery unit is further configured to apply the cranial nerve stimulation such that such that an amount of time that the patient spends in REM stage sleep is increased.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

determine sleep cycle information related to a sleep cycle of a patient based on body parameter data;

adjust a cranial nerve stimulation parameter based on the sleep cycle information; and

apply a cranial nerve stimulation therapy to treat depression based on the adjusted cranial nerve stimulation parameter.