Central Thalamus DBS Targeting for Selective Fiber Pathway Activation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapies for treating cognitive deficits post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) are ineffective due to poor patient selection and hypothesis-free targeting, leading to variable clinical outcomes and unknown mechanisms of neural activation.

Innovation Solution

A method for selective activation of central thalamus fibers using electrodes positioned to maximize central lateral nucleus and medial dorsal tegmental tract fiber pathway activation while minimizing central medial parafascicularis fiber pathway activation, guided by surgical planning computing devices and systems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If deep brain stimulation is applied to the centromedian-parafascicularis complex (Cm-Pf) to treat severe TBI patients, then some improvement in arousal and behavior may be achieved, but the activation is non-selective and activates both central lateral nucleus and parafascicularis pathways, leading to variable and unreliable clinical outcomes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveclinical outcome reliabilityVSAvoidtarget activation selectivity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the thalamic target into distinct functional pathways (central lateral nucleus pathway vs. parafascicularis pathway) and uses separate DBS leads positioned in different thalamic regions to selectively activate each pathway independently, thereby achieving reliable and reproducible activation of the intended target

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by positioning DBS leads at specific locations within the thalamus (anteromedial vs. posterolateral regions) to create localized activation zones that selectively stimulate specific fiber pathways, ensuring that only the desired pathway is activated while avoiding non-selective activation of adjacent structures

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Productivity

If electrical stimulation is applied to activate central thalamus fibers, then arousal and cognitive function are enhanced, but off-target activation of parafascicularis pathways causes unwanted side effects

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecognitive function enhancementVSAvoidoff-target side effects

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the harmful non-selective activation component by separating the DBS lead placement into distinct anatomical regions, allowing selective activation of the central lateral nucleus pathway while excluding the parafascicularis pathway from stimulation, thereby eliminating off-target side effects

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of attempting to inhibit parafascicularis activation while stimulating central lateral nucleus (the conventional approach), the patent inverts the strategy by placing leads exclusively in the anteromedial thalamus to activate only the central lateral nucleus pathway from the start, preventing harmful activation before it occurs

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Ease of manufacture

If hypothesis-free DBS targeting is used to treat TBI patients, then the procedure is simpler and faster, but the mechanisms of neural activation remain unknown and clinical outcomes are highly variable

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveDBS procedure simplicityVSAvoidneural activation mechanism knowledge

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary anatomical and functional mapping of thalamic pathways before DBS lead placement, using imaging and computational modeling to predict activation patterns, thereby guiding lead positioning to achieve reliable and reproducible activation of specific pathways while maintaining procedural efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

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 enhances arousal and cognitive function by optimizing the activation of specific fiber pathways, providing robust behavioral facilitation and reducing off-target side effects in TBI patients.

Implementation Method 1

An electrical stimulus is applied to the positioned one or more electrodes to selectively activate the central thalamus fibers of the subject

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElectrical stimulation: Electric Field

Data Source

PatentUS12507930B2Methods for selective activation of central thalamus fibers in a subject and systems therefor

Publication Date: 2025.12.30 THE UNIV OF UTAH

AI summary

A method for selective activation of central thalamus fibers in a subject is disclosed. The method involves providing one or more electrodes each with one or more contacts. The one or more electrodes are positioned in the subject's central thalamus fibers. An electrical stimulus is applied to the positioned one or more electrodes to selectively activate the central thalamus fibers of the subject. The positioning and applying are carried out to maximize central lateral nucleus and medial dorsal tegmental tract fiber pathway activation in the subject and to minimize central median parafascicularis fiber pathway activation in the subject. Methods, devices, and computer readable media for surgical planning involving selective activation of central thalamus fibers in a subject are also disclosed.