Neural Stimulation System with Cough Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Neural stimulation therapies, such as vagus nerve stimulation, often cause unintended side effects like coughing, pharyngitis, and nausea, which current systems fail to effectively mitigate without compromising therapeutic efficacy.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a neural stimulation delivery system, a cough detector, and a controller that automatically titrates the neural stimulation therapy by adjusting parameters of a biphasic waveform to abate detected side effects, ensuring the therapy remains effective while minimizing adverse reactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If neural stimulation therapy is delivered to treat conditions such as hypertension and heart failure, then therapeutic efficacy is improved, but side effects such as coughing, pharyngitis, and nausea occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a cough detector that provides real-time feedback about coughing episodes to the controller. When coughing is detected, the controller automatically adjusts stimulation parameters (amplitude, pulse width, or frequency) to eliminate the side effect while maintaining therapeutic benefit. This closed-loop feedback mechanism resolves the contradiction by dynamically adapting the therapy to prevent harmful effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static, fixed-parameter neural stimulation to dynamic, adaptive stimulation where parameters are continuously adjusted based on detected side effects. The controller can modify amplitude, pulse width, and frequency in real-time, allowing the therapy to adapt to the patient's physiological state and eliminate coughing while preserving therapeutic efficacy.
2Power
If neural stimulation parameters are increased to enhance therapeutic effect, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but side effects become more severe
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies stimulation parameters that may initially exceed the threshold for side effects, then uses feedback from the cough detector to reduce parameters to the minimum necessary for therapeutic effect. This allows the system to explore higher effective doses while automatically retreating to safe levels when side effects occur, optimizing the balance between power and side effect severity.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller can independently adjust multiple stimulation parameters (amplitude, pulse width, frequency) to achieve the desired therapeutic effect at the lowest possible intensity. By changing parameters in combination rather than simply increasing amplitude, the system can maintain efficacy while reducing side effect severity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If manual adjustment of stimulation parameters is used to reduce side effects, then side effect management is possible, but treatment complexity and patient burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-adjustment of stimulation parameters based on automatic detection of coughing episodes. The cough detector and controller work autonomously to monitor for side effects and modify therapy accordingly, eliminating the need for manual patient intervention or complex user interfaces. This reduces patient burden while managing side effects effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The automatic feedback loop from the cough detector to the controller creates a self-regulating system that manages side effects without requiring patient awareness or action. The system monitors its own performance and automatically corrects problematic parameters, simplifying the user experience while maintaining sophisticated side effect management.
Data Source
AI summary
Various system embodiments comprise a neural stimulation delivery system adapted to deliver a neural stimulation signal for use in delivering a neural stimulation therapy, a side effect detector, and a controller. The controller is adapted to control the neural stimulation delivery system, receive a signal indicative of detected side effect, determine whether the detected side effect is attributable to delivered neural stimulation therapy, and automatically titrate the neural stimulation therapy to abate the side effect. In various embodiments, the side effect detector includes a cough detector. In various embodiments, the controller is adapted to independently adjusting at least one stimulation parameter for at least one phase in the biphasic waveform as part of a process to titrate the neural stimulation therapy. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.