Optogenetic Cardiac Stimulation via Electromagnetic Energy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical stimulation devices for tissue, such as cardiac pacemakers and spinal cord stimulators, face challenges including tissue necrosis, crosstalk, pain, and the need for vascular access, which can lead to infections and vascular occlusions, due to direct contact and galvanic coupling with tissue.
Innovation Solution
An implantable device that uses electromagnetic radiation, specifically optogenetic manipulation, to evoke, modulate, or inhibit action potentials in pretreated excitable cell structures without the need for galvanic imprinting or electrode implantation, allowing for permanent stimulation without vascular access or external devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrical stimulation devices are galvanically coupled to tissue to deliver therapy current, then stimulation function is achieved, but tissue necrosis and other harmful effects occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces electrical stimulation with optical stimulation. Instead of using electrodes to deliver electrical current galvanically coupled to tissue, the invention uses optically stimulated materials (such as photonic crystals or light-sensitive compounds) that convert optical energy into electrical signals within the tissue, thereby eliminating direct electrical contact and associated tissue damage while achieving the same neuronal activation effect
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary substance or structure (optically stimulated material) that mediates between the external optical energy source and the target tissue. This intermediary converts light energy into electrical stimulation locally within the tissue, avoiding the need for direct electrical electrode-tissue contact that causes necrosis
2Reliability
If electrical stimulation devices are galvanically coupled to tissue, then action potentials can be evoked, but crosstalk and unwanted stimulation of nearby tissue occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies optical stimulation at highly localized positions within the tissue using targeted light delivery (e.g., fiber optics or focused light sources). The optically stimulated material is positioned precisely at the target site, enabling selective activation of specific neuronal populations without affecting adjacent tissues, thereby eliminating crosstalk while maintaining reliable action potential evocation
3Duration of action of stationary object
If implantable devices are used for electrical stimulation, then continuous therapy is possible, but device complexity and implantation procedures become cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex implanted electrical stimulation devices with a simpler external optical stimulation system. Since light can be delivered externally through the skin using fiber optics or LED arrays, there is no need for complex implanted generators, electrodes, or battery systems, dramatically reducing implant complexity while enabling continuous therapy through externally controlled light delivery
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the stimulation function from the implanted device and places it in the external optical system. The implant only needs to contain the optically stimulated material, while the complex electronics, power supply, and control systems are removed and placed in an external device that delivers light through the skin or via minimally invasive optical fibers
4Reliability
If vascular access is used for catheter-based optogenetic manipulation, then light delivery to heart tissue is achieved, but infections and vascular occlusions occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the skin and subcutaneous tissue as an intermediary medium to deliver light to the target organ. External light sources or minimally implanted optical fibers deliver light through the skin, which acts as a natural barrier and interface, eliminating the need for vascular catheterization and associated risks of infection and vascular occlusion while still achieving effective light delivery to the target tissue
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach eliminates the adverse effects of galvanic coupling, reduces energy requirements, and enables multifocal therapy with reduced implant complexity, providing effective and targeted stimulation of excitable tissues without the drawbacks of traditional electrical stimulation methods.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator (15) which is able to emit electromagnetic radiation (16), for example in the visible light range, to body tissue that has been previously pretreated
Data Source
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AI summary
A stimulation device is described, comprising at least: a power source, an electronics unit, an actuator coupled to the electronics and/or the power source, wherein the electronics unit includes a control unit, a housing in which the power source, the electronics unit, and the actuator are arranged, and a fixation unit coupled to the housing, the fixation unit being designed to fix the stimulation device to or within a heart. The actuator is designed to emit electromagnetic waves to stimulate genetically modified tissue, and the control unit is designed to control the stimulation of said tissue by means of the electromagnetic waves emitted by the actuator.