Multimodal Stimulation for Low Energy Pain Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for electrical stimulation therapy often require high energy consumption and may not efficiently provide pain relief or other therapeutic benefits, particularly for chronic conditions like chronic pain, where existing methods may not effectively modulate glial and neuronal interactions to achieve long-lasting pain relief.
Innovation Solution
The use of multimodal stimulation techniques involving a composite electric field with components oscillating at different frequencies, where a higher frequency 'priming' component is interleaved with a lower frequency 'tonic' component, modulating glial activation and neuronal depolarization to achieve pain relief with reduced energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If uniform or higher frequency pulses are delivered to achieve efficacious therapy, then pain relief effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by delivering stimulation in intermittent bursts rather than continuous uniform pulses. The stimulation consists of multiple pulse trains delivered at different frequencies (e.g., 100 Hz, 200 Hz, 400 Hz) with inter-pulse intervals, creating a periodic pattern that reduces overall energy consumption while maintaining therapeutic efficacy through temporal modulation of neural responses
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by varying the frequency of stimulation pulses over time rather than using a static uniform frequency. The system dynamically adjusts between different frequency components (e.g., alternating between 100 Hz and 400 Hz trains) to optimize both pain relief effectiveness and energy efficiency, adapting the stimulation pattern to achieve therapeutic goals with reduced energy expenditure
2Duration of action of stationary object
If higher frequency stimulation is used to modulate glial and neuronal interactions, then pain relief duration is improved, but energy usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by delivering higher frequency stimulation bursts (e.g., 400 Hz trains) at specific intervals to prime and modulate glial and neuronal interactions, followed by lower frequency or intermission periods. This preliminary high-frequency action initiates and sustains pain relief effects over extended durations without requiring continuous high-energy input
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic alternation between higher frequency stimulation bursts and lower frequency intervals to maintain prolonged pain relief. The periodic delivery of high-frequency trains (e.g., 200 Hz, 400 Hz) at strategically timed intervals sustains therapeutic effects and extends pain relief duration while significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous high-frequency stimulation
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure is directed to devices, systems, and techniques for delivering various stimulation patterns. In some examples, a method includes 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 train of electrical stimulation pulses, and wherein the first frequency is greater than the second frequency.