IMPLANTABLE PULSE GENERATOR THAT GENERATES SPINAL CORD STIMULATION SIGNALS FOR A HUMAN BODY

• US 20160015980A1
• Filed: 07/22/2015
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cirtec Medical Corp.
• Original Assignee: Globus Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: Biele, Christopher, Angara, Raghavendra, Khalil, Saif
• Granted Patent: US 9,526,899 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/025 Digital circuitry features of electrotherapy devices, e.g. memory, clocks, processors
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0551 Spinal or peripheral nerve electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0553 Paddle shaped electrodes, e.g. for laminotomy
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36071 Pain
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36125 Details of circuitry or electric components
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36178 Burst or pulse train parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37229 Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37235 Aspects of the external programmer
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3752 Details of casing-lead connections
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 from an external energy source

Abstract

An implantable pulse generator (IPG) that generates spinal cord stimulation signals for a human body includes a timing generator and high frequency generator. The timing generator generates timing signals that represent stimulation signals for multiple channels. The high frequency generator determines whether to modulate the timing signals and modulates them at a burst frequency according to stored burst parameters if the decision is yes. As such, the IPG provides the ability to generate both the low frequency and high frequency stimulation signals in different channels according to user programming.

Claims

1. An implantable pulse generator (IPG) that generates spinal cord stimulation signals for a human body, comprising:

control registers storing stimulation signal parameters for a plurality of channels with each channel capable of being associated with at least two electrodes among a plurality of electrodes, each channel representing a stimulation signal pattern of the associated electrodes, the signal parameters including burst parameters;

a timing generator adapted to generate timing signals representing stimulation signals for the plurality of channels according to the stored signal parameters;

a high frequency generator adapted to determine whether to modulate the timing signals received from the timing generator and modulate the received timing signals at a burst frequency according to the stored burst parameters.

2. The IPG of claim 1, wherein when the high frequency generator has determined not to modulate the received timing signals, the high frequency generator outputs the received timing signals whose frequency is unaltered.

3. The IPG of claim 1, wherein the high frequency generator includes a burst multiplexer that:

receives the burst parameters stored in the control registers;

selects the burst parameters associated with an active channel; and

outputs the selected burst parameters.

4. The IPG of claim 3, wherein the high frequency generator includes a burst generator that receives the selected burst parameters from the burst multiplexer and modulates the received timing signals according to the received burst parameters.

5. The IPG of claim 1, further comprising:

a processor having a memory;

a treatment control module stored in the memory and executable by the processor, the treatment control module adapted to transmit the stimulation signal parameters to the control registers and to place the processor in a standby mode, wherein the timing generator is adapted to generate the timing signals according to the stored signal parameters without intervention from the processor while the processor is in the standby mode.

6. The IPG of claim 5, further comprising a transceiver module adapted to wirelessly communicate with a remote control and to transmit an interrupt signal to the processor to wake up the processor from the standby mode.

7. The IPG of claim 1, further comprising an arbitrator that continuously receives the generated timing signals and selects one channel among the plurality of channels as an active treatment channel.

8. The IPG of claim 7, wherein when the one channel is being selected as the active treatment channel, the arbitrator is adapted to suppress all other channels.

9. The IPG of claim 7, wherein when the generated timing signals indicate that two or more channels are about to become active at the same time when no active channel has been selected, the arbitrator is adapted to select the one channel as the active treatment channel based on a predetermined priority of the two or more channels.

10. A method of generating spinal cord stimulation signals for a human body, comprising:

storing in control registers stimulation signal parameters for a plurality of channels with each channel capable of being associated with at least two electrodes among a plurality of electrodes, each channel representing a stimulation signal pattern of the associated electrodes, the signal parameters including burst parameters;

generating timing signals representing stimulation signals for the plurality of channels according to the stored signal parameters;

determining whether to modulate the timing signals received from the timing generator; and

if it is determined that the timing signals are to be modulated, modulating the received timing signals at a burst frequency according to the stored burst parameters.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein if it is determined that the timing signals are not to be modulated, outputting the received timing signals whose frequency is unaltered.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

selecting the burst parameters associated with an active channel among the plurality of channels, wherein the step of modulating includes modulating the received timing signals according to the selected burst parameters.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting, by a processor, the stimulation signal parameters to the control registers; and

placing the processor in a standby mode, wherein the timing signals are generated without intervention from the processor while the processor is in the standby mode.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving by the processor an interrupt signal from a transceiver module to wake up the processor from the standby mode.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising continuously receiving the generated timing signals and selecting one channel among the plurality of channels as an active treatment channel.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein when the one channel is being selected as the active treatment channel, further comprising suppressing all other channels.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein when the generated timing signals indicate that two or more channels are about to become active at the same time when no active channel has been selected, further comprising selecting the one channel as the active treatment channel based on a predetermined priority of the two or more channels.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the signal parameters include an identification of all electrodes that belong to each channel and in which each electrode can be associated with two or more channels.