Cortical Stimulation via Virtual Neural Field Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for cortical stimulation, such as Deep Brain Stimulation and Epidural Motor Cortex Stimulation, are either invasive and risky or less effective in targeting specific neural activities, leading to inefficiencies and potential disturbances in normal motor cortex activity.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for cortical stimulation using an electrode array implanted in the cortex, controlled by a system that collects electric signals, processes them through a virtual neural field to determine stimulation signals, and emits these signals back to the cortex, allowing for selective and efficient stimulation with minimal disturbance and reduced power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Deep Brain Stimulation is used to treat neurological diseases, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but surgical invasiveness and patient risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the brain stimulation approach into two levels: non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation for broad cortical modulation, and minimally invasive epidural electrodes for targeted cortical regions. This segmentation allows effective treatment while avoiding deep brain penetration risks
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces the epidural space as an intermediary location between the skull and brain parenchyma. Electrodes placed in this intermediate space can stimulate cortical neurons effectively without requiring penetration into the brain tissue itself, thus reducing surgical invasiveness while maintaining treatment effectiveness
2Object-affected harmful factors
If Epidural Motor Cortex Stimulation is used, then surgical invasiveness is reduced, but spatial resolution and stimulation selectivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The epidural electrode array is divided into multiple independently controllable electrode contacts arranged in a grid pattern. This segmentation allows selective stimulation of specific cortical regions while maintaining epidural placement, achieving both low invasiveness and high spatial resolution
Solution Approach 2:
Different electrodes in the array can be activated with different parameters (amplitude, frequency, pulse width) to create locally optimized stimulation patterns. This allows precise targeting of specific cortical areas while leaving other regions unaffected, achieving high spatial selectivity with epidural placement
3Reliability
If continuous cortical stimulation is applied, then treatment coverage is improved, but power consumption and disturbance to normal activity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stimulation system operates in periodic cycles, alternating between stimulation phases and inter-stimulation intervals. During inter-stimulation periods, stimulation is reduced or paused, allowing normal cortical activity to resume. This periodic operation reduces average power consumption while maintaining treatment effectiveness through cumulative neural plasticity effects
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates monitoring of cortical activity and clinical response to adjust stimulation timing and parameters. Stimulation is delivered based on detected neural patterns or therapeutic need rather than continuous operation, optimizing the balance between treatment coverage and power consumption
Data Source
AI summary
A method for cortex stimulation is disclosed which may include the steps of collecting electric signals by a control system from the cortex through an electrode array; determining signals by a virtual neural field having a virtual array corresponding the electrode array, the virtual array receiving the collected signals as an input and the virtual neural field being adapted to control the frequency spectrum of neural activity in the cortical target, each stimulation signal being determined by a value of the virtual potential at each point of the virtual array; and emitting the stimulation signals in the cortex through the electrode array.