Neurostimulation Waveform Interaction Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of implantable neurostimulation systems, with numerous electrodes and customizable stimulation parameters, presents a challenge in selecting the optimal stimulation settings to effectively target neural tissue while minimizing non-target tissue stimulation, making it difficult to predict and visualize the effects of electrical energy on neural tissue.
Innovation Solution
An external device with a graphical user interface and processors is used to display a representation of the patient's anatomy, allowing clinicians to input and visualize stimulation waveforms, their interactions, and resulting neural activations, enabling the determination of therapeutic mechanisms and optimal electrode configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of electrodes and stimulation parameters is increased to improve therapy customization, then the ability to target specific neural tissue is improved, but the complexity of selecting optimal stimulation settings increases
Solution Approach 1:
A computerized programming system serves as an intermediary between the clinician and the complex neurostimulation system. This system includes a graphical user interface that displays anatomical representations and calculates optimal stimulation parameters, mediating the complexity by translating clinical goals into specific electrode configurations and parameter settings without requiring the clinician to manually navigate millions of possible combinations
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual model or copy of the patient's anatomy and neural tissue responses through computational algorithms. This virtual representation allows clinicians to visualize and select stimulation parameters in a simplified graphical interface rather than directly manipulating complex electrical parameters, effectively copying the complex physical system into an easier-to-manage digital representation
2Manufacturing precision
If the number of electrodes is increased to improve neural tissue targeting precision, then the manufacturing capability is improved, but the number of available stimulation parameter sets increases exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The computerized programming system incorporates feedback mechanisms that automatically evaluate the effectiveness of different electrode configurations and parameter sets. The system provides real-time feedback to the clinician about which combinations are likely to achieve optimal targeting, reducing the effective search space from millions of possibilities to a manageable subset based on calculated performance metrics and clinical guidelines
3Productivity
If multiple stimulation waveforms are applied to activate different neural elements, then the therapeutic benefit is improved, but the visualization of interactions between waveforms becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical user interface acts as an intermediary that automatically calculates and displays the interactions between multiple stimulation waveforms. Rather than requiring the clinician to manually analyze complex waveform interactions, the system computes the combined effects on neural tissue and presents this information through visual indicators on the anatomical representation, making the interactions detectable and measurable through the interface
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for programming implantable stimulation devices are disclosed. The disclosed techniques may be applied to a programming interface associated with a clinician's programmer, for example. A user interface allows a user to select stimulation waveforms to be applied at a plurality of electrodes implanted in a patient and to visualize how the waveforms interact with each other and with the patient's tissue. For example, the user interface can display a representation of constructive and destructive activation interactions and can also display time-resolved spatiotemporal behavior during stimulation.