Fat-Pad Lead Placement Near Nerves of Passage for Pain Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for treating chronic pain, particularly post-amputation pain such as stump and phantom pain, are inadequate, with limited success and significant side effects, and existing electrical stimulation systems face practical limitations like lead migration and patient discomfort.
Innovation Solution
The method involves placing electrical stimulation leads in tissues near 'nerves of passage' upstream from the pain region, bypassing the need for motor point stimulation, allowing for effective pain relief without direct muscle contraction and minimizing complications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrical stimulation leads are placed in motor points to treat pain, then pain relief can be achieved, but muscle contraction occurs causing patient discomfort and lead migration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by placing leads in the fat pad tissue between the muscle and bone, rather than directly in the motor point. This intermediary location allows electrical stimulation to reach the nerve without causing direct muscle contraction, thereby providing pain relief while avoiding the harmful effect of muscle contraction discomfort and lead migration.
2Reliability
If electrical stimulation is applied to treat chronic pain, then pain relief is achieved, but lead migration occurs reducing treatment effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The fat pad tissue serves as a stable intermediary medium that anchors the lead in place. By placing the lead in the fat pad rather than directly in the muscle, the lead achieves better positional stability and reduces migration, thereby maintaining treatment effectiveness over time.
3Reliability
If conventional pain treatment methods are used, then various therapeutic effects are achieved, but side effects and limited success rates remain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses fat pad tissue as an intermediary target for lead placement, which allows electrical stimulation to indirectly affect nerve pathways without causing the harmful side effects associated with direct motor point stimulation, such as muscle contraction and lead migration. This approach maintains therapeutic effectiveness while reducing harmful factors.
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 effectively reduces both stump and phantom pain by targeting neural pathways through nerves of passage, providing long-term pain relief with reduced complications and improved patient compliance.
Implementation Method 1
The lead may be placed in a muscle or other tissue in electrical proximity to but spaced away from a targeted nerve or nerves of passage... applying stimulation in a muscle or other tissue near a targeted nerve of passage relieves pain
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for applying electrical stimulation to a body by an electrode spaced from a target nerve of passage. It has been discovered that pain felt, or perceived to be felt, in a given region of the body can be treated by stimulating muscle close to a “nerve of passage” in a region that is superior (i.e., cranial or upstream toward the spinal column) to the region where pain is felt, such as in a case of post-amputation residual limb pain, or purportedly felt in the case of post-amputation phantom limb pain.