Regional anesthetic
First Claim
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1. A method of anesthetizing a region of a patient'"'"'s body, comprising:
- identifying a target nerve which, upon anesthetization, anesthetizes a region of a patient'"'"'s body including a surgical site;
locating the target nerve;
placing an electrode of a nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve;
connecting the electrode to an external power source via a conductive path inserted through the patient'"'"'s skin;
anesthetizing the region of the patient'"'"'s body by activating the electrode at a frequency of at least 5,000 Hz to block neural propagation of afferent pain signals along the nerve; and
retaining the activated electrode of the nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve during a surgical procedure at the site.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are disclosed for anesthetizing a region of a patient'"'"'s body. The method includes identifying a target nerve which, upon activation, anesthetizes a region of a patient'"'"'s body including a surgical site. The target nerve is located and an active site of a nerve blocking apparatus is placed in proximity to the nerve. The nerve blocking apparatus is activated to block neural propagation along the nerve. The activation of the nerve blocking apparatus is maintained during a surgical procedure at the surgical site.
286 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of anesthetizing a region of a patient'"'"'s body, comprising:
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identifying a target nerve which, upon anesthetization, anesthetizes a region of a patient'"'"'s body including a surgical site; locating the target nerve; placing an electrode of a nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve; connecting the electrode to an external power source via a conductive path inserted through the patient'"'"'s skin; anesthetizing the region of the patient'"'"'s body by activating the electrode at a frequency of at least 5,000 Hz to block neural propagation of afferent pain signals along the nerve; and retaining the activated electrode of the nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve during a surgical procedure at the site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for treating a patient, comprising:
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identifying a target nerve which, upon anesthetization, anesthetizes a region of a patient'"'"'s body including a surgical site; locating the target nerve; placing an electrode of a nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve; connecting the electrode to an external power source via a conductive path inserted through the patient'"'"'s skin; anesthetizing the region of the patient'"'"'s body by activating the electrode at a frequency of at least 5,000 Hz to block neural propagation of afferent pain signals along the nerve; retaining the activated electrode of the nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve during a surgical procedure at the surgical site; and blocking neural propagation of afferent pain signals after the surgical procedure by activating the electrode at a frequency of at least 5,000 Hz after the surgical procedure. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for treating a patient, comprising:
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identifying a target nerve which, upon anesthetization, anesthetizes a region of a patient'"'"'s body including a surgical site; locating the target nerve; placing an electrode of a nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve; connecting the electrode to an external power source via a conductive path inserted through the patient'"'"'s skin; anesthetizing the region of the patient'"'"'s body by activating the electrode at a frequency of at least 5,000 Hz to block neural propagation of afferent pain signals along the nerve; retaining the activated electrode of the nerve blocking apparatus in proximity to the nerve during a surgical procedure at the surgical site; and blocking neural propagation of afferent pain signals after the surgical procedure by activating an electrode of the nerve blocking apparatus at a frequency of at least 5,000 Hz after the surgical procedure to treat chronic pain experienced by the patient. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification