Nerve Stimulation Patch for RLS Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Periodic Limb Movement (PLM) disorders disrupt sleep patterns, leading to daytime fatigue, irritability, and mood disturbances, with existing treatments often involving medications or invasive devices.
Innovation Solution
A non-invasive nerve patch that stimulates nerves using a boosted voltage circuit with feedback loops to deliver adaptive electrical stimulation, allowing for self-administration and avoiding surgical implants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If medications or invasive devices are used to treat RLS and PLM, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but patient comfort and ease of use deteriorate due to side effects, surgical requirements, and prescription dependencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical medications with an electrical stimulation system that uses a patch with electrodes to deliver targeted electrical impulses to nerves, eliminating pharmacological side effects while maintaining treatment effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment system is divided into separate functional components: a wearable patch with electrodes for direct nerve stimulation, a control unit for programming stimulation parameters, and a power source, allowing the device to be used without surgical implantation while providing effective localized treatment
2Reliability
If invasive devices or surgical implants are used, then treatment reliability is improved, but device complexity and difficulty of application worsen due to surgical procedures and implant requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a non-invasive patch with electrodes as an intermediary device that delivers electrical stimulation through the skin without requiring surgical implantation, thereby maintaining treatment reliability while eliminating the complexity of invasive procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows programming of stimulation parameters such as pulse duration, frequency, and amplitude to optimize treatment effectiveness for different patients and conditions, providing reliable treatment without requiring complex surgical customization
3Device complexity
If fixed voltage stimulation is used, then device simplicity is improved, but treatment adaptability worsens because it cannot adjust to varying patient needs and physiological conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback loops that monitor physiological responses and adjust stimulation parameters in real-time, allowing the device to adapt to varying patient needs and physiological conditions while maintaining reasonable circuit complexity through automated control
4Ease of operation
If non-invasive stimulation is used, then ease of administration is improved, but stimulation effectiveness may worsen without sufficient voltage boost capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a voltage boost circuit that pre-charges capacitors to high voltages before delivery, enabling the non-invasive patch to generate sufficient stimulation effectiveness without requiring surgical implantation or complex external power sources
Solution Approach 2:
The system delivers periodic electrical pulses through the patch electrodes, with programmable frequency and duty cycle, maintaining stimulation effectiveness while allowing simple self-application and removal by the patient
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
The patch effectively treats RLS and PLM by inhibiting leg movement symptoms through polysynaptic reflexes, providing a convenient, non-invasive, and prescription-free solution for improved sleep and reduced discomfort.
Implementation Method 1
an electrical signal generator integral to the malleable dermis conforming bottom surface configured to generate one or more electrical stimuli
Implementation Method 2
A non-invasive nerve patch that stimulates nerves using a boosted voltage circuit with feedback loops to deliver adaptive electrical stimulation
Implementation Method 3
The patch effectively treats RLS and PLM by inhibiting leg movement symptoms through polysynaptic reflexes
Data Source
AI summary
Example inventions treat restless legs syndrome (“RLS”). Examples affix a patch externally on a dermis of a user adjacent to a targeted nerve of the user, the patch including a flexible substrate, a processor directly coupled to the substrate, and electrodes directly coupled to the substrate. Examples detect the occurrence of RLS and in response to the detecting, activate the patch, the activating including generating an electrical stimuli via the electrodes that is directed to the targeted nerve.