Patient Stimulation Device for Autonomous Sensory Discrimination Training
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sensory discrimination training for chronic pain patients requires daily involvement of healthcare professionals, leading to high costs and resource strain, as well as limitations in accessibility and convenience for patients.
Innovation Solution
A patient stimulation device with a controller that autonomously applies stimuli, receives patient feedback, and communicates data about the applied stimuli, allowing patients to self-learn and identify the stimuli without the need for a third-party professional, enabling device-led training.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sensory discrimination training is conducted with healthcare professional involvement, then training effectiveness and patient guidance are improved, but treatment cost and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables patients to conduct sensory discrimination training independently without healthcare professional involvement. The controller automatically provides stimulus feedback and guides patients through training protocols, allowing self-directed therapy that maintains effectiveness while eliminating the need for expensive professional time
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates a feedback mechanism where the controller receives patient responses and provides appropriate stimulus feedback. This closed-loop system ensures training effectiveness by adapting to patient performance while maintaining autonomous operation, resolving the contradiction between professional-level guidance and cost reduction
2Reliability
If conventional sensory discrimination training is conducted with healthcare professional involvement, then proper stimulus discrimination training is ensured, but patient convenience and accessibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device allows patients to perform training at their convenience without scheduling appointments or traveling to clinics. The autonomous controller manages all training aspects, providing professional-quality guidance that patients can access anytime, anywhere, dramatically improving convenience while maintaining training quality
3Ease of operation
If device-led autonomous training is implemented, then patient convenience and accessibility are improved, but the complexity of the stimulation device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is designed to perform multiple functions: delivering electrical stimuli, receiving patient responses, providing feedback, and managing training protocols. By consolidating these functions into a single multi-functional device, the patent achieves autonomous operation without proportionally increasing overall system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A patient stimulation device is provided comprising a plurality of stimulators for selectively applying a stimulus to a patient's body. Each of the plurality of stimulators is locatable in a different position upon a patient's body. A patient input interface is provided for receiving data representative of a perceived stimulus from the patient, and an output is provided for communicating to a patient data representative of an applied stimulus. The device comprises a controller having a training mode, the training mode comprising the controller actuating at least one of the plurality of stimulators to apply a stimulus to the patient's body, subsequently receiving data representative of a perceived stimulus from the patient input interface, and subsequently providing the output with data representative of the applied stimulus for communication to the patient, such that the data representative of the applied stimulus identifies, or allows the identification of, the applied stimulus.