427 results about "Epileptic seizure" patented technology

A method of treating a brain disorder by heat transfer from brain tissue comprising the steps of surgically cutting a heat transfer aperture into a patient's skull, thereby exposing a predetermined portion of patient's brain; surgically implanting into said heat transfer aperture a heat pump having one or more electrical sensor elements and one or more temperature sensor elements; surgically implanting a heat transfer management unit in a body cavity of said patient such that a micro controller of the heat transfer management unit is connected to one or more activity sensor elements and one or more temperature sensor elements contacting brain tissue and connecting the heat transfer management unit to said heat pump via a lead bundle. Optionally, the heat transfer unit may be located external to the patient's body. Responsive to signals from one or more activity or temperature sensor elements, mathematical algorithms of the heat transfer management unit determine abnormal brain activity, causing the heat pump to remove heat from the brain tissue into a heat sink, thereby cooling the predetermined portion of the patient's brain. This technique utilizes acute hypothermia by means of a Peltier cooler or similar device to cool the brain temperature to reduce or prevent seizure initiation and/or propagation. The method may be used in association with brain stimulation and/or drug application to acutely avoid the occurrence of a seizure episode.

The present invention provides methods and system for managing neurological disorders such as epilepsy. In one embodiment, the method comprises measuring one or more signals from a patient and processing the one or more signals to characterize a patient's propensity for a future seizure. The characterized propensity for the seizure is thereafter used to determine an appropriate action for managing or treating the predicted seizure; and a recommendation is communicated to the patient that is indicative of the appropriate action.

The present invention provides systems and methods for managing epilepsy. In one embodiment, a method of the present invention characterize a patient's propensity for a future epileptic seizure and communicates to the patient and/or a health care provider a therapy recommendation. The therapy recommendation is typically a function of the patient's propensity for the future epileptic seizure.

The present invention uses electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve to treat epilepsy with minimized or no effect on the heart. Treatment is carried out by an implantable signal generator, one or more implantable electrodes for electrically stimulating a predetermined stimulation site of the vagus nerve, and a sensor for sensing characteristics of the heart such as heart rate. The heart rate information from the sensor can be used to determine whether the vagus nerve stimulation is adversely affecting the heart. Once threshold parameters are met, the vagus nerve stimulation may be stopped or adjusted. In an alternative embodiment, the invention may include a modified pacemaker to maintain the heart in desired conditions during the vagus nerve stimulation. In yet another embodiment, the invention may be simply a modified pacemaker having circuitry that determines whether a vagus nerve is being stimulated. In the event that the vagus nerve is being stimulated, the modified pacemaker may control the heart to maintain it within desired conditions during the vagus nerve stimulation.

A system and method for predicting the likelihood of occurrence of an impending neurological episode. Electrical stimuli are delivered to a structure of the brain. Response field potentials evoked by the stimuli are sensed. Analysis of these field potentials allows for predictions as to the occurrence of an impending, but not yet occurring, neurological disorder. In one example, a measurement of change in response pulses is used to determine a level of interconnectivity in the structures of the brain. The level of functional interconnectivity is used in predicting the occurrence of the neurological event. An example of such a neurological event includes an epileptic seizure.

The present invention provides systems and methods for managing epilepsy. In one embodiment, a method of the present invention characterize a patient's propensity for a future epileptic seizure and facilitates administration of a pharmacological agent. The dosage of the pharmacological agent is typically a function of at least one of the patient's propensity for the future epileptic seizure and time period to seizure.

Systems and methods for monitoring physiological signals from a subject to determine the subject's susceptibility for having a seizure. Also includes are systems and methods for activating an alert when there is a communication error between an implanted device and the external assembly. Additionally included are systems and method for long-term substantially continuous physiological signal data collection. At least a portion of the systems of the present invention may be implanted within the subject. In some embodiments, brain activity signals are sampled from the subject with implanted electrodes and are communicated to an external assembly where the brain activity signals are analyzed to determine the subject's susceptibility for having a seizure.

Apparatus and method detect a detection cluster that is associated with a neurological event, such as a seizure, of a nervous system disorder and update therapy parameters that are associated with a treatment therapy. The occurrence of the detection cluster is detected when the maximal ratio exceeds an intensity threshold. If the maximal ratio drops below the intensity threshold for a time interval that is less than a time threshold and subsequently rises above the intensity threshold, the subsequent time duration is considered as being associated with the detection cluster rather than being associated with a different detection cluster. Consequently, treatment of the nervous system disorder during the corresponding time period is in accordance with one detection cluster. Treatment therapy may be provided by providing electrical stimulation, drug infusion or a combination. Therapy parameters may be updated for each m^th successive group of applications of the treatment therapy or for each n^th detection cluster.

Transcutaneous electrical and magnetic nerve stimulation devices are disclosed, along with methods of averting imminent medical attacks using energy that is delivered noninvasively by the devices. The attacks comprise asthma attack, epileptic seizure, attacks of migraine headache, transient ischemic attack or stroke, onset of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, onset of ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, panic attack, and attacks of acute depression. The imminence of an attack is forecasted using grey-box or black-box models as used in control theory. In preferred embodiments of the disclosed methods, a vagus nerve in the neck of a patient is stimulated noninvasively to avert the attack.

Systems and methods for detecting and/or treating nervous system disorders, such as seizures, are disclosed. Certain embodiments of the invention relate generally to implantable medical devices (IMDs) adapted to detect and treat nervous system disorders in patients with an IMD. Certain embodiments of the invention include detection of seizures based upon comparisons of long-term and short-term representations of physiological signals. Other embodiments include prediction of seizure activity based upon analysis of physiological signal levels. A further embodiment of the invention includes detection of seizure activity following the delivery of therapy.

An implantable multimodal neurostimulator having improved efficacy in treating epilepsy and other neurological disorders and processes of using that neurostimulator are described herein. The neurostimulator itself generally has two modes of electrical stimulation. The first involves delivering a non-responsive electrical stimulation signal that is applied to the central nervous system to reduce the likelihood of a seizure or other undesirable neurological even from occurring. Various waveform morphologies are described for non-responsive stimulation signals. A second mode involves delivering a responsive electrical stimulation signal when epileptiform waveforms are impending or extant. The responsive electrical stimulation signal is intended to terminate epileptiform activity, e.g., to desynchronize abnormally synchronous brain electrical activity.

Methods of treating language, behavioral and social disorders are described, including methods of treating language disorders associated with electrographic abnormalities in the primary or associative language cortex of persons with autism spectrum disorders, pervasive developmental delay or acquired epileptic aphasia. A language, behavioral and social disorder may be treated by detecting epileptiform activity or an electrographic seizure for a subject's brain and applying neurostimulation to a language cortical region of the subject's brain (e.g., a primary or associative language cortical region). Detection of epileptiform activity or an electrographic seizure and stimulation of language cortex may be performed by a sensing and/or stimulation electrode that is inserted into a subject's brain and connected to one or more neurostimulation devices for monitoring and/or stimulating the language cortex.

Transcutaneous electrical and magnetic nerve stimulation devices are disclosed, along with methods of averting imminent medical attacks using energy that is delivered noninvasively by the devices. In particular, the devices and methods involve handheld devices designed to stimulate the vagus nerve of a patient with a signal sufficient to minimize or avert epileptic seizures.

A system and method for predicting and avoiding a seizure in a patient. The system and method includes use of an implanted surface acoustic wave probe and coupled RF antenna to monitor temperature of the patient's brain, critical changes in the temperature characteristic of a precursor to the seizure. The system can activate an implanted cooling unit which can avoid or minimize a seizure in the patient.

Improved methods and devices are provided for detecting and/or predicting the onset of an undesirable physiological event or neural state, such as an epileptic seizure, to facilitate rapid intervention with a treatment therapy such as neurostimulation or drug therapy. The methods and devices involve monitoring the patient's body temperature, preferably by an implanted temperature sensor, to detect a sudden change in a body temperature parameter. The temperature parameter change may comprise an increase or decrease in the patient's body temperature, time rate of change of body temperature, or a difference in a moving average temperature for a first period from that of a second period. When a parameter change is detected that exceeds a threshold, neurostimulation therapy is delivered to a neural structure of the patient.

A once daily controlled-release pharmaceutical formulation which contains therapeutic amounts of topiramate and which is capable of being administered to specific regions along the gastrointestinal tract used to treat various types of conditions, for example, partial seizures with or without secondarily generalized seizures, primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, seizures associated with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, migraines, and obesity.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for detecting an epileptic event, for example, a seizure in a patient using a medical device. The determination is performed by providing an autonomic signal indicative of the patient's autonomic activity; providing a neurologic signal indicative of the patient's neurological activity; and detecting an epileptic event based upon the autonomic signal and the neurologic signal.

The present invention relates to methods of inhibiting seizure in a subject. In particular, the invention provides methods of increasing brain leptin levels in a subject.

The present invention relates to a brain dysfunction and seizure detector monitor and system, and a method of detecting brain dysfunction and/or seizure of a subject. The various embodiments of the system of the present invention were developed for the brain activity and preferably EEG monitoring of a single patient or multiple patients. Preferably, the system or monitor of the present invention also includes one or more seizure detection algorithms. The analysis method is specifically optimized to amplify abnormal brain activity and minimize normal background activity. This analysis yields a seizure index whose value is directly related to the current presence of ictal activity in the signal. In addition, a seizure probability index based on historical values of the aforementioned seizure index, is derived for diagnostic purposes. The seizure probability index quantifies the probability that the patient has exhibited abnormal brain activity since the beginning of the recording. The real-time seizure index, and the historical seizure probability index, can be used in the context of an emergency and/or clinical situation to assess the status and well being of a patient's brain, or can be used to automatically administer treatment to stop the seizure before clinical signs appear.

The present invention relates to methods and devices for noninvasive nonlinear prediction of ictal onset in patients afflicted by neurological disease. In particular, the present invention provides methods and devices for noninvasive nonlinear prediction of seizures in patients afflicted with epilepsy. The devices and methods preferably being based on analysis of two or more electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, one set of recordings taken from an electrode close to the region of ictal onset, and a second or more set of recordings (e.g., concurrent readings) taken from a region remote from the region of ictal onset.