Implantable Electrical Modulator Nerve Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, migraine headaches, and hypertension lack effective and minimally invasive methods for modulating nerves to address physiological disorders, relying on external devices or invasive procedures.
Innovation Solution
An implantable electrical modulator system that delivers energy to nerves through an implant unit and an external unit, allowing for nerve stimulation or inhibition to modulate nerve activity, thereby treating conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, migraine headaches, and hypertension by targeting specific nerves like the genioglossus muscle, greater occipital nerve, and glossopharyngeal nerve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If external devices or invasive procedures are used to treat conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, migraine headaches, and hypertension, then treatment effectiveness may be achieved, but patient comfort decreases and procedural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the treatment apparatus into separate functional components: an implantable unit containing electrodes and circuitry for nerve stimulation, and an external control unit for programming and monitoring. This segmentation allows the implant to remain minimal and comfortable while the external unit handles complex functions, resolving the contradiction between treatment effectiveness and patient comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an implantable electrical modulator as an intermediary device that delivers targeted electrical stimulation to specific nerves. This intermediary approach provides effective treatment through controlled neural modulation without requiring invasive surgical procedures or cumbersome external equipment, thus improving patient comfort while maintaining treatment reliability.
2Reliability
If invasive procedures are used to modulate nerves, then nerve modulation effectiveness improves, but procedural complexity and patient discomfort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The implantable electrical modulator is designed to deliver localized electrical stimulation to specific target nerves with precise spatial control. The electrodes are configured to stimulate only the intended neural structures, providing effective nerve modulation while minimizing tissue invasion and procedural complexity through targeted local action rather than broad invasive procedures.
3Ease of operation
If minimally invasive methods are used for nerve modulation, then patient comfort improves, but treatment effectiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical invasive procedures with electrical field-based nerve modulation. The implantable modulator uses electrical signals to stimulate or inhibit nerve activity, achieving effective treatment through non-mechanical means that are minimally invasive and comfortable for patients, thus resolving the contradiction between patient comfort and treatment effectiveness.
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
The system provides a minimally invasive means to effectively modulate nerve activity, improving airway dilation in sleep apnea, reducing pain in migraines, and regulating blood pressure, offering a more comfortable and efficient treatment option compared to existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
An implantable electrical modulator system that delivers energy to nerves through an implant unit and an external unit, allowing for nerve stimulation or inhibition to modulate nerve activity
Data Source
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AI summary
A device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure includes a housing configured to retain a battery, a primary antenna associated with the housing, and at least one processor in electrical communication with the battery and the primary antenna. In some embodiments, the at least one processor may be configured to cause transmission of a primary signal from the primary antenna to an implantable device during a treatment session of at least three hours in duration, wherein the primary signal is generated using power supplied by the battery and includes a pulse train, the pulse train including a plurality of modulation pulses.