Magnetic stimulation devices and methods of therapy
First Claim
1. A device for selectively applying energy to a target region in a patient, the device comprising:
- a power source configured to generate a magnetic field outside of the patient;
a housing containing an enclosed coil and an electrically conductive fluid surrounding at least a portion of the enclosed coil; and
wherein the enclosed coil is configured to transmit the magnetic field through an outer skin surface of the patient such that the magnetic field induces an electric current at a nerve at the target region within the patient, wherein the electric current comprises bursts of electrical impulses, wherein each of the electrical impulses comprises a duration from about 50 microseconds to about 1000 microseconds, wherein each of the bursts comprises a frequency from about 15 Hz to about 50 Hz, wherein the electric current is sufficient to modulate the nerve.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Devices and systems are disclosed for the non-invasive treatment of medical conditions through delivery of energy to target tissue, comprising a source of electrical power, a magnetically permeable toroidal core, and a coil that is wound around the core. The coil and core are embedded in a continuous electrically conducting medium, which is adapted to have a shape that conforms to the contour of an arbitrarily oriented target body surface of a patient. The conducting medium is applied to that surface by any of several disclosed methods, and the source of power supplies a pulse of electric charge to the coil, such that the coil induces an electric current and/or an electric field within the patient, thereby stimulating tissue and/or one or more nerve fibers within the patient. The invention shapes an elongated electric field of effect that can be oriented parallel to a long nerve. In one embodiment, the device comprises two toroidal cores that lie adjacent to one another.
93 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A device for selectively applying energy to a target region in a patient, the device comprising:
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a power source configured to generate a magnetic field outside of the patient; a housing containing an enclosed coil and an electrically conductive fluid surrounding at least a portion of the enclosed coil; and wherein the enclosed coil is configured to transmit the magnetic field through an outer skin surface of the patient such that the magnetic field induces an electric current at a nerve at the target region within the patient, wherein the electric current comprises bursts of electrical impulses, wherein each of the electrical impulses comprises a duration from about 50 microseconds to about 1000 microseconds, wherein each of the bursts comprises a frequency from about 15 Hz to about 50 Hz, wherein the electric current is sufficient to modulate the nerve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
applying an energy selectively to a target region within a patient, wherein the applying is via a device comprising a power source and a housing, wherein the power source generates a magnetic field outside of the patient, wherein the housing contains an enclosed coil and an electrically conductive fluid surrounding at least a portion of the enclosed coil, wherein the enclosed coil transmits the magnetic field through an outer skin surface of the patient such that the magnetic field induces an electric current at a nerve at the target region within the patient, wherein the electric current comprises bursts of electrical impulses, wherein each of the electrical impulses comprises a duration from about 50 microseconds to about 1000 microseconds, wherein each of the bursts comprises a frequency from about 15 Hz to about 50 Hz, wherein the electric current is sufficient to modulate the nerve.
Specification