Noninvasive Epilepsy Device Modulating Autonomic Nervous System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for epilepsy, such as anti-epileptic drugs, surgery, and implanted devices, often come with significant side effects and limited effectiveness, particularly for patients resistant to medication, and lack the ability to predict and prevent seizures effectively.
Innovation Solution
A treatment device that combines sensors to monitor physiological and psychological states with a storage module and controller to provide biofeedback and tactile stimulation, aiming to reduce cortical excitation and prevent seizures by altering autonomic states without invasive methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If anti-epileptic drugs are used to treat epilepsy, then seizure frequency can be reduced in some patients, but significant side effects occur and 30% of patients develop drug resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces pharmacological treatment (chemical system) with a physical/biological feedback system. The device uses sensors to detect physiological parameters, processes this information through a controller, and delivers targeted electrical stimulation to modulate brain activity, substituting drugs with a non-chemical intervention mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs closed-loop biofeedback where the patient's own physiological signals are detected, processed, and used to generate appropriate stimulation responses. The device learns from individual patient data stored in memory, adapting stimulation parameters based on recorded physiological patterns and seizure events, enabling self-regulating treatment.
2Reliability
If invasive surgical devices or implanted stimulators are used to treat drug-resistant epilepsy, then seizure control may be improved, but the treatment becomes more invasive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the treatment approach into separate functional modules: external sensor array for physiological detection, wireless communication interface for data transmission, and portable controller unit for stimulation delivery. This segmentation eliminates the need for permanent implanted devices while maintaining treatment effectiveness through coordinated operation of discrete components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces wireless communication and portable external devices as intermediaries between the patient's body and the treatment system. Instead of direct implantation, physiological data is transmitted wirelessly to an external controller that delivers stimulation, serving as a non-invasive intermediary layer that reduces surgical complexity.
3Measurement precision
If existing seizure detection devices are implanted to detect seizures before they develop, then early detection capability is provided, but the devices are not successfully utilized to terminate seizures and remain invasive
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects physiological changes and psychological states that precede seizure onset, allowing preliminary identification of seizure risk. The controller analyzes stored historical data and real-time sensor inputs to predict impending seizures and delivers preventive stimulation before the full seizure event occurs, interrupting the developing pathological process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous biofeedback by monitoring physiological parameters through sensors, comparing detected values against stored baseline data and thresholds, and automatically adjusting stimulation delivery based on the feedback loop. This closed-loop control enables dynamic response to changing physiological states without invasive implantation.
Data Source
AI summary
A treatment device configured noninvasively to treat neurological conditions and/or neuropsychiatric conditions, designed to modulate autonomic nervous system through biofeedback configured to change brain network. The treatment device comprising: physiological sensor, storage piling psychological data and operating controller to effectively provide at least one of biofeedback and tactile stimulation to the individual to curtail neurological and/or neuropsychiatric events.