Systems and methods for sustained relief of chronic pain

Abstract

A system and method of applying electrical stimulation to achieve sustained relief of chronic pain includes a coiled percutaneous lead configured to be inserted into a portion of a body proximate a region of pain and an electrode integrally formed on the coiled percutaneous lead, where the electrode is configured to be positioned inside the body, and at a therapeutically effective distance from a portion of the at least one peripheral nerve governing the pain region. The systems and methods may also include an electrical stimulation device operably coupled with the lead to apply electrical stimulation through the at least one electrode to at least one peripheral nerve governing the pain region to activate target peripheral nerve fibers while preventing activation of non-target peripheral nerve fibers, and avoiding altering or blocking neural activity in non-target peripheral nerve fibers in at least one peripheral nerve to create comfort in the region of pain and produce pain relief by modulating central nervous system plasticity associated with pain.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0002] This application claims US Patent Application No. 62 / 878,522, filed July 25, 2019, US Patent Application No. 62 / 935,207, filed November 14, 2019, US Patent Application No. 62 / 935,207, filed December 6, 2019 62 / 944,711, priority to US Patent Application No. 63 / 050,265, filed July 10, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. technical field [0003] The present teachings relate to systems and methods for sustained relief of chronic pain, and more particularly, to systems and methods of applying electrical stimulation to achieve sustained relief of chronic pain. Background technique [0004] Chronic pain is a common and costly condition estimated to occur in more than 30% of the population. Chronic pain frequently leads to disability and depression, and is strongly negatively correlated with quality of life. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has successfully treated many chronic pain cond...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

For example, conventional neurostimulation systems, including PNS, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, and spinal cord stimulation (SCS), have been found to produce sustained pain relief during long-term implantation and use, which is consistent with implantation and maintenance. invasive and costly, but such systems have not produced sustained relief of chronic, intractable pain after a limited (eg, 30-60 days) duration of stimulation

These traditional systems typically use relatively small (e.g., 3mm) electrode contacts placed in close contact with the neural target, which limits the intensity of stimulation that can be delivered due to the close proximity to non-target fibers that cause discomfort and make them activation

This limitation of stimulus intensity prevents the generation of robust responses in the target fibers, thereby potentially producing neuroplastic effects that can produce long-term sustained pain relief that cannot be produced by traditional systems and methods

Some traditional systems also target neural structures that are not specific and focal to the area of ​​pain (e.g., spinal cord, DRG), which limits the focality of the sensory signal produced and blocks the nerves that can produce long-term pain relief plasticity effect

Images