Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation Using Local Biopotential Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current deep brain stimulation methods for neurological disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease, face challenges due to inconstant manifestations of the disease, leading to suboptimal control of motor fluctuations with constant stimulus parameters, and existing feedback systems rely on electro-chemical signals with latency issues, which are not suitable for quick feedback and oscillation avoidance.
Innovation Solution
A system that detects biopotentials from stimulating or adjacent electrodes, correlates these signals with stimulation effects, and adjusts stimulus parameters to optimize therapy, using an electro-catheter with multiple contacts, an adaptive stimulation system, and advanced signal processing to eliminate artefacts and provide real-time feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If constant stimulus parameters are used during the day, then the deep brain stimulation system is simple to operate, but it cannot optimally control the motor fluctuations typical of Parkinson's disease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adaptation of stimulation parameters based on real-time detection of local biopotentials. The system transitions from static constant parameters to dynamic parameter adjustment, where stimulus amplitude, frequency, or duration are modified according to the detected neural activity patterns, enabling optimal control of motor fluctuations while maintaining ease of use through automated adaptation
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback mechanisms by continuously detecting local biopotentials from the brain tissue and using this information to adjust stimulation parameters. The detected neural activity serves as feedback signal that triggers parameter modifications, creating a closed-loop control system that adapts to the patient's varying neurological state without requiring manual intervention
2Adaptability or versatility
If electro-chemical sensors are used for feedback, then the deep brain stimulation system can provide adaptive stimulation, but latency time occurs between tissue biochemical variations and signal detection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces electro-chemical sensing mechanisms with direct electrical field detection. Instead of using biochemical sensors that require chemical reactions and signal transduction, the system uses electrical electrodes to directly detect local biopotentials, eliminating the latency inherent in electro-chemical conversion processes and enabling real-time feedback
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces local biopotentials as an intermediary signal that directly reflects the immediate electrochemical state of neural tissue. These biopotentials serve as a real-time mediator between the stimulated tissue and the control system, providing instantaneous information about tissue response without the delay associated with measuring downstream biochemical changes
3Loss of time
If biopotentials are detected from stimulating electrodes, then real-time feedback is achieved with minimum latency, but artefacts from stimulation must be removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes stimulation artefacts from the detected signal through signal processing techniques. The system separates the artefact component from the genuine local biopotential signal, eliminating the harmful interference while preserving the useful neural activity information for feedback control
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses reference electrodes or differential measurement techniques as intermediaries to isolate the local biopotential signal from stimulation artefacts. By measuring the electrical field through multiple pathways and comparing signals, the system identifies and removes artefact components while retaining the genuine neural activity for feedback purposes
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for more precise and timely adjustment of stimulation parameters, improving therapeutic efficacy by minimizing latency and system oscillations, and reducing the risk of electrode-related injuries during implantation.
Implementation Method 1
detect biopotentials from the stimulating electrode or by adjacent electrodes... the electrical potentials produced by groups of neurons proximate the recording and stimulation electrodes
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
An apparatus and a related method for the deep brain stimulation have been invented wherein the parameters of the stimulation supplied at the human nervous system level are adjusted and optimized continuously by the analysis of the bioelectric signals coming from the tissue adjacent the stimulation electrode itself, adapting the therapy continuously and in line to the patient's clinical state. The apparatus is constituted at least by an electro- catheter (1) implantable in a patient's brain and equipped with four contacts (4, 5, 6, 7) . Then, there is at least a stimulation module (9) which generates the stimulating signal (15) sent to the electro-catheter (1) and in particular to one of the contacts thereof (6) . The electro- catheter (1) contemporarily sends a signal characterizing the brain activity coming from the tissue involved by the stimulating signal (15) to an acquisition module (8) . The characterizing signal is used to determine the feedback of the stimulation parameters (15) and, consequently, to adapt the therapy continuously to the patient's clinical state.