Multichannel Burst Neuro-stimulation Device for Focalized Therapy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current non-invasive neuro-stimulation methods for treating neurological and psychiatric diseases often require high stimulation strengths to achieve therapeutic effects, leading to side effects and insufficient focalization, which can result in inadequate treatment efficacy and patient compliance.
Innovation Solution
A multi-channel burst stimulation apparatus with a control unit and stimulation unit that delivers sensory, electrical, or magnetic stimuli through multiple channels to target specific brain regions with controlled bursts of stimuli, minimizing stimulation strength while maximizing therapeutic impact by desynchronizing pathological neuronal activity without phase resetting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high stimulation strengths are used to achieve therapeutic effects, then treatment efficacy is improved, but side effects increase and focalization is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the stimulation into multiple channels (at least two channels) that can be independently controlled. Each channel targets specific neuronal populations with tailored stimulation parameters, allowing focalized treatment of different brain regions simultaneously. This segmentation enables precise spatial control, improving treatment efficacy while minimizing side effects by avoiding diffuse high-intensity stimulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different stimulation characteristics to different channels, with each channel having independently adjustable parameters including frequency, amplitude, and duty cycle. This local quality control allows optimization of stimulation for specific target regions while maintaining safety margins in surrounding areas, resolving the contradiction between effective treatment and side effect prevention.
2Reliability
If high stimulation strengths are used to achieve therapeutic effects, then treatment efficacy is improved, but device complexity and patient compliance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic burst stimulation patterns where each channel delivers trains of stimuli at controlled frequencies with specific duty cycles. This periodic action allows achievement of therapeutic effects through rhythmic desynchronization of pathological neuronal activity, enabling effective treatment with moderate stimulation strengths and simplified control compared to continuous high-intensity stimulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent provides dynamic control capabilities where stimulation parameters can be adjusted during operation to optimize treatment efficacy. The system can adapt stimulation patterns based on patient response, allowing effective treatment with varying parameter sets rather than requiring consistently high stimulation strengths, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
3Reliability
If high stimulation strengths are used to achieve therapeutic effects, then treatment efficacy is improved, but treatment duration and patient comfort worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic burst stimulation with controlled duty cycles, where stimulation is delivered in intermittent trains rather than continuously. This periodic action achieves therapeutic desynchronization effects over time with lower average power delivery, reducing treatment duration and improving patient comfort while maintaining efficacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies stimulation at moderate strengths that are sufficient to achieve desynchronization without excessive intensity. By using multiple channels with coordinated partial stimulation rather than single-channel excessive stimulation, the system achieves therapeutic effects with reduced treatment duration and improved patient tolerance.
Data Source
AI summary
A device is provided for the stimulation of neurons that includes a non-invasive stimulation unit to generate stimuli in multiple stimulation channels, where the stimulation unit stimulates a neuron population in the brain and/or spinal cord of a patient in different locations for each of the stimulation channels. Moreover, the device includes a control unit that controls the stimulation unit to generate repetitive bursts in each of the stimulation channels, where each of the bursts includes multiple stimuli and is designed so that they do not reset the phase of the neuronal activity of the respective stimulated neurons.