55 results about "Nerve structure" patented technology

A surgical access system including a tissue distraction assembly and a tissue retraction assembly, both of which may be equipped with one or more electrodes for use in detecting the existence of (and optionally the distance and / or direction to) neural structures before, during, and after the establishment of an operative corridor to a surgical target site. Some embodiments of the surgical access system may be particularly suited for establishing an operative corridor to a surgical target site in the spine. Such an operative corridor may be established through the retroperitoneal space and the psoas muscle during a direct lateral, retroperitoneal approach to the spine.

A surgical access system including a tissue distraction assembly and a tissue refraction assembly, both of which may be equipped with one or more electrodes for use in detecting the existence of (and optionally the distance and / or direction to) neural structures before, during, and after the establishment of an operative corridor to a surgical target site.

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.

Systems providing improved methods of performing a spinal fusion procedure and including a monorail instrument that protects the medial neural structures, includes a sliding platform for additional instrumentation and allows controlled delivery of various instruments for disc preparation and implant insertion. The monorail instrument engages other instruments, including various instruments utilized to prepare the disc space as well as spinal fusion implants, for guided and controlled insertion into the disc space. The monorail instrument may be a distractor, and may include flutes for preparation of the disc space.

There is provided a method of treating a patient comprising: screening a patient suffering from signs and / or symptoms of at least one medical condition secondary to increased sympathetic tone; selecting the patient for treatment by ablation of at least one neural structure containing sympathetic nerves to reduce the sympathetic tone, the neural structure comprises one or more of: celiac ganglion, superior mesenteric ganglion, inferior mesenteric ganglion, aorticorenal ganglion; selecting a target of at least one measurable parameter affected by the sympathetic tone; ablating at least a portion of the neural structure to deactivate the portion of the neural structure; monitoring changes in the at least one measurable parameter; comparing the at least one measurable parameter to the selected target; and performing another ablation of the same neural structure, and / or another neural structure, based on the comparison.

A system for determining proximity of a surgical device relative to nerve structure includes at least one surgical device having a sensor assembly operably coupled to a processing unit and configured to transmit at least one electrical signal generated by the processing unit through nerve structure to elicit a measurable response there from. The processing unit is configured to calculate a signature property value of nerve structure based on the measurable response and to determine proximity of the nerve structure to the surgical device based on the measurable response. The processing unit is further configured to test the nerve function after completing the surgical procedure.

A neuromodulation system, comprises an implantable electrode which is implanted within a body adjacent to a target nerve structure to which electric energy is to be applied via the electrode and a connection port which is implanted in the body with a proximal surface thereof substantially flush with an outer surface of a skin of the body, the connection port including a device interface for electrically connecting to an external device which remains external to the body in combination with an electric line extending from the device interface to the electrode for carrying electric energy from the external device to the electrode and a cover selectively closing an opening of the external surface of the implanted connection port.

A method and apparatus are disclosed for improving accuracy of placement of a cannula during delivery of electrical energy to neural structures. The apparatus includes a cannula operable to deliver electrical current where a portion of the cannula is electrically insulated and a portion of the cannula is exposed and electrically conductive. The cannula further includes a radiopaque marker located to differentiate the electrically insulated region from the electrically exposed region by allowing it to be more clearly delineated using fluoroscopy or other radiographic imaging techniques. The cannula may be used to treat pain by delivering energy to a neural structure.

The invention describes a surgical implant that is equipped to provide neurological data during and after implantation. Neurological monitoring ensures accurate insertion of the implant with minimal disturbance of neural structures. The implant includes at least one electrically conductive region that is utilized to determine the distance from and direction to a nerve with respect to the implant.

Stimulation of the facial nerve system (e.g., electrically, electromagnetically, etc.) in stroke patients will cause dilation of occluded arteries and dilation of surrounding arteries, allowing for blood flow to circumvent the obstruction and reach previously-deprived tissue. The device approaches the facial nerve and its branches in the vicinity of the ear. In use, the device can be inserted into the ear canal or placed in proximity to the ear in order to stimulate the facial nerve system without puncturing the tympanic membrane (e.g., using an electromagnetic field). The device can also be advanced into the middle ear through a puncture created in the tympanic membrane. Branches of the facial nerve in the middle ear can then be stimulated directly (e.g., by application of electrical current). The device can be used in the emergency treatment of acute stroke or as chronically-implanted / inserted variations for long-term maintenance of blood flow to the brain and stroke prevention

A method for treating a patient having nociceptive pain in a body region using at least one electrode implanted within a spinal column of the patient. The method comprises conveying electrical stimulation energy from the at least one implanted electrode to an efferent motor neural structure innervating the body region, thereby inducing an endogenous chemical response within a spinal cord of the patient that treats the nociceptive pain. Another method for treating a patient suffering from a medical ailment. The other method comprises applying electrical stimulation energy to an efferent neural structure, thereby increasing the activation threshold of the efferent neural structure relative an afferent neural structure, and applying electrical stimulation energy to the afferent neural structure while the activation threshold of the efferent neural structure is increased, thereby modulating activity of the afferent neural structure to treat the medical ailment while minimizing stimulation of the efferent neural structure.

A retractor system 100 comprises a first tower 102 which is mountable on a first surgical screw 12.1. A second tower 104 is mountable on a second surgical screw 12.2. A link 106 extends between the first and second towers. At least a first elongate retractor element 108 for at least one of muscle, tissue and nerve structures is movably mountable on the link.

The present invention relates to a stationary articulated bicycle for physical exercise, especially for interiors (indoor), such as sports centers and fitness centers. In essence, it is aimed with the invention, the characterization of a new conception of stationary bike which has a hinge between two elements of a structure, to allow their relative angular displacement, which is intended to provide both a combination of balance and freedom, sensitive to forces applied to remove all and any impact that occurs in bone and nerve structure of the human body, providing comfort to the practitioner.

System and methods for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) are described in which regions adjacent (e.g., to the sides and behind the TMS electromagnet) are protected from the high magnetic fields emitted by the TMS electromagnet. Thus, adjacent muscle or neural structures are protected and undesirable side effects are avoid or minimized, allowing stimulation from previously unavailable sites such as the mouth and pharynx.

Stimulation of the facial nerve system (e.g., electrically, electromagnetically, etc.) in ischemic stroke patients will cause dilation of occluded arteries and dilation of surrounding arteries, allowing for blood flow to circumvent the obstruction and reach previously-deprived tissue. The device approaches the facial nerve and its branches in the vicinity of the ear. In use, the device can be inserted into the ear canal and / or placed in proximity to the ear in order to stimulate the facial nerve system non-invasively (e.g., using an electromagnetic field). The device can be used in the emergency treatment of acute stroke or chronically variations for long-term maintenance of blood flow to the brain and stroke prevention. Additional embodiments of the device may be adapted for use on different regions of the body.

A method for treating a patient having nociceptive pain in a body region using at least one electrode implanted within a spinal column of the patient. The method comprises conveying electrical stimulation energy from the at least one implanted electrode to an efferent motor neural structure innervating the body region, thereby inducing an endogenous chemical response within a spinal cord of the patient that treats the nociceptive pain. Another method for treating a patient suffering from a medical ailment. The other method comprises applying electrical stimulation energy to an efferent neural structure, thereby increasing the activation threshold of the efferent neural structure relative an afferent neural structure, and applying electrical stimulation energy to the afferent neural structure while the activation threshold of the efferent neural structure is increased, thereby modulating activity of the afferent neural structure to treat the medical ailment while minimizing stimulation of the efferent neural structure.

Nerve guides which are formed from three dimensional (3D) arrays of highly aligned electrospun fibers are provided. The electrospun fibers are oriented parallel to the long axis of the guide, and gaps and elongated spaces between the stacked fiber arrays provide channels for directed axonal growth. In some embodiments, the nerve guides also comprise high precision gradients of beneficial substances such as growth factors, which aid in nerve regeneration and growth along the guide.

Disclosed are methods and systems for non-invasive ultrasound neuromodulation of superficial cortex of the brain or stimulation of nerve roots or peripheral nerves. Such stimulation is used for such purposes as determination of motor threshold, demonstrating whether connectivity to peripheral nerves or motor neurons exists and performing nerve conduction-speed studies. Neuromodulation of the brain allows treatment of conditions such as depression via stimulating superficial neural structures that have connections to deeper involved centers. Imaging is optional.

A system for determining proximity of a surgical device relative to nerve structure includes at least one surgical device having a sensor assembly operably coupled to a processing unit and configured to transmit at least one electrical signal generated by the processing unit through nerve structure to elicit a measurable response there from. The processing unit is configured to calculate a signature property value of nerve structure based on the measurable response and to determine proximity of the nerve structure to the surgical device based on the measurable response. The processing unit is further configured to test the nerve function after completing the surgical procedure.

The present invention relates to a stationary articulated bicycle for physical exercise, especially for interiors (indoor), such as sports centers and fitness centers. In essence, it is aimed with the invention, the characterization of a new conception of stationary bike which has a hinge between two elements of a structure, to allow their relative angular displacement, which is intended to provide both a combination of balance and freedom, sensitive to forces applied to remove all and any impact that occurs in bone and nerve structure of the human body, providing comfort to the practitioner.

The invention relates to a process for manufacturing at least one implant for focal electrical stimulation of a nervous structure, said implant being of the type including in a supporting structure a network of cavities at the bottom of which are placed microelectrodes, the cavities being bounded by walls erected and located around the microelectrodes, the supporting structure being produced beforehand by implementing the following steps: deposition and etching, in a planar manner, on an insulating substrate, of electrical contacts, of electrical tracks and of microelectrodes, first tracks electrically connecting the microelectrodes and the electrical contacts, second electrical tracks being electrically connected to a ground.

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method modulating targeted neural and non-neural tissue of a nervous system for the treatment of head-and-face pain. Electrical stimulation is delivered transcutaneously to the treatment site that modulates the targeted neural- and non-neural tissue of the nervous structure, inhibiting nervous signaling and the perception of pain.

A neuromodulation system, comprises an implantable electrode which is implanted within a body adjacent to a target nerve structure to which electric energy is to be applied via the electrode and a connection port which is implanted in the body with a proximal surface thereof substantially flush with an outer surface of a skin of the body, the connection port including a device interface for electrically connecting to an external device which remains external to the body in combination with an electric line extending from the device interface to the electrode for carrying electric energy from the external device to the electrode and a cover selectively closing an opening of the external surface of the implanted connection port.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an auxiliary model for cervical vertebra operation. Cervical vertebra scanning data are processed by computer software, and cervical vertebras, bones, intervertebral disc, blood vessels and nerve structures can be separated according to density difference of different tissues. A three-dimensional image is divided into two parts, a front central pillar and a rear pillar through computer software, and converted into formats which are identifiable by a 3D printer. The printer prints out the two parts of models, the cervical vertebra structures are printed with transparent and hard materials, the intervertebral discs are printed with red and soft materials, and the spinal cords and nerve roots are printed with hoary soft materials. The method helps a doctor to better observe a pathological parts and to make a more reasonable operation scheme. The method helps patients and their family members lack of related medical knowledge to know the conditions of the patients and obtain informed consent. The operation time is substantially shortened, bleeding during an operation is reduced, and the incidence rate of various complication is minimized.

The invention discloses a living body tracing cerebral nerve connection method based on magnetic resonance imaging and application thereof. The method comprises the steps of using an adeno-associatedvirus variant rAAV2-retro with an axon terminal absorption reverse transport characteristic as a carrier, loading a gene of Ferritin in a genome of the carrier, packaging the carrier into a recombinant virus rAAV2-retro-CAG-Ferritin-WPRE-pA, injecting the recombinant virus into the brain, infecting neurons with the virus, expressing Ferritin in the neurons, and observing nerve connection between other brain regions and the infected neurons at an injected site in combination with MRI. The method combines magnetic resonance imaging with rAAV2-retro-CAG-Ferritin-WPRE-pA, realizes living body tracing of cerebral nerve connection and can be used for long-time nerve structure loop tracing or nerve function analysis.

The invention discloses a percutaneous vertebral plate drilling precise depth-limiting trepan set for minimally invasive spine surgery, and belongs to the field of medical instruments. The percutaneous vertebral plate drilling precise depth-limiting trepan set comprises a depth-limiting trepan, a limiting soft tissue opening sleeve, a depth-limiting grinding disc, limiting buckles and a saw ring,wherein the depth-limiting trepan is sleeved with the limiting soft tissue opening sleeve; the limiting soft tissue opening sleeve is detachably connected with the depth-limiting trepan; the depth-limiting grinding disc is arranged in the depth-limiting trepan and detachably connected with the depth-limiting trepan; the top end of the depth-limiting trepan and the top end of the depth-limiting grinding disc are sleeved with the limiting buckles correspondingly; and the saw ring is arranged on the bottom side of the depth-limiting trepan. A channel is opened for further operation in the spinalcanal, the percutaneous vertebral plate drilling precise depth-limiting trepan set is precise, safe and efficient, the surgical mode that in the prior art, a rongeur bites a vertebral plate or a spherical high-speed grinding drill bit is used for grinding the vertebral plate under X-ray perspective monitoring is changed, excessive resection injuries to the vertebral plate and more radiation exposure of doctors and patients are avoided, and interference and injuries to adjacent peripheral soft tissue and the neural structure in the spinal canal are reduced.

A method for treating an ailment of a patient using at least one electrode implanted within a spinal column of the patient at a T4-T6 spinal nerve level. The method comprises increasing an activation threshold of a side-effect exhibiting neural structure relative to the activation threshold of a dorsal column (DC) nerve fiber of the patient, and applying electrical stimulation energy to the DC nerve fiber via the at least one electrode while the activation threshold of the neural structure is increased, thereby treating the ailment while minimizing stimulation of the neural structure. Another method comprises applying electrical stimulation energy to the spinal column of the patient via the plurality of electrodes, thereby generating a medio-lateral electrical field relative to the spinal column of the patient and treating the ailment.

The invention belongs to the field of biomedicine, and particularly relates to a method for preparing a calcium alginate nerve conduit and nerve scaffold. Raw materials include shell powder and sodiumalginate. The shell matrix / calcium alginate nerve conduit is prepared by treating a mixture of shell powder and sodium alginate with hydrochloric acid. The nerve scaffold is obtained by filling the middle of the nerve conduit with a cylinder containing microchannels, and the microchannels are prepared through biofilaments. The preparation method can be used for preparing a nerve conduit with pores of different sizes in the wall and a nerve scaffold containing microchannels of different diameters and numbers. The nerve conduit and nerve scaffold can be used for preparing a model for evaluatingthe repair effect of peripheral nerve defects, thereby providing a reference basis for the design of artificial neural structures and achieving a better effect of promoting repair of peripheral nervedefects.

The invention discloses a biotype mini urethral tape, which is made of biomembranes which are treated by special technology. The urethral tape is a membrane tape, wherein the middle of the membrane tape is long and narrow, and both ends of the membrane tape are gradually widened and diverged into symmetrical double-fork structures; divergent fixing tapes on both ends are mainly used for suturing and fixing; a middle bearing tape is mainly used for bearing the urethra; the overall urethral tape is short and refine; the total length of the overall urethral tape is between 40 and 80 millimeters and is preferably 10 millimeters; the maximum extending width of both ends is between 15 and 40 millimeters and is preferably 20 millimeters; and the width of the middle bearing tape is between 10 and 20 millimeters and is preferably 10 millimeters. The biotype mini urethral tape does not need to go deep into an organism for suture, is easy for surgical operation, is made of the materials which are treated by the special technology, has high stability and good biocompatibility, is difficult to degrade and cause exclusive reaction, can guide nerve structures of patients to extend into the biotype mini urethral tape, and finally realizes bearing and suspending of the nerve structures of the patients.