Interleaved Spinal Cord and Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Chronic Pain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices for electrical stimulation therapy often fail to effectively target multiple tissue sites simultaneously to provide comprehensive pain relief, as they primarily focus on a single stimulation site without considering the differential responses of neuronal and glial cells to electrical fields.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of differential target multiplexed (DTM) stimulation, which delivers electrical pulses at different frequencies to both spinal cord and peripheral nerve or nerve root sites, interleaving pulses to modulate glial and neuronal interactions, thereby optimizing synaptic plasticity and pain relief.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If single-site electrical stimulation is delivered to spinal cord or peripheral nerve, then the device complexity is low, but the pain relief effectiveness is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation into a single integrated system that delivers both stimulations simultaneously through one device, merging previously separate treatment approaches into a unified therapy platform
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs interleaved periodic stimulation where pulses are delivered in alternating sequences to different targets (spinal cord and peripheral nerve) at different frequencies, creating a time-multiplexed stimulation pattern that achieves multi-target effects through periodic action
2Duration of action of moving object
If multiple tissue sites are targeted simultaneously with different frequencies, then the pain relief duration is extended, but the stimulation generation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stimulation generation circuitry implements periodic interleaved pulse delivery where first and second trains of pulses are alternated in time, with each train targeting different tissue sites at different frequencies, extending therapeutic effect duration through sustained multi-frequency stimulation
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes stimulation parameters (frequency, amplitude, pulse width) dynamically by delivering different parameter sets to different targets through the same electrode, with first stimulation using parameters optimized for spinal cord and second stimulation using parameters optimized for peripheral nerve
3Manufacturing precision
If interleaved pulse trains are delivered to different targets, then the synaptic plasticity modulation is optimized, but the measurement and detection difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interleaved pulse trains create distinct periodic patterns that can be differentiated by their timing and frequency characteristics, allowing the system to track and measure responses from different targets by analyzing the periodic response patterns corresponding to each stimulation train
Data Source
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AI summary
Devices, systems, or methods include generating, by stimulation generation circuitry, a first train of electrical stimulation pulses at a first frequency to a first target tissue; and generating, by the stimulation generation circuitry, a second train of electrical stimulation pulses at a second frequency to a second target tissue different from the first target tissue, wherein at least some electrical stimulation pulses of the first train of electrical stimulation pulses are interleaved with at least some electrical stimulation pulses of the second tram of electrical stimulation puises. At least the first target tissue is associated with a spinal cord of a patient, and the second target tissue is associated with at least one of a peripheral nerve or a nerve root of the patient.