TENS Applicator Head Insulating Land Nerve Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing TENS units are ineffective due to unpredictable current distribution through varying tissue resistivities, leading to erratic pain relief results, as they do not effectively focus the electrical current on the nerve centers.
Innovation Solution
A TENS unit with a specially designed applicator head featuring rectangular electrodes and an insulating land that compresses body tissue, creating a focused electrical pathway directly through the nerve, allowing for precise delivery of gentle pulses to suppress pain signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional flexible electrodes are used for TENS treatment, then the device is easy to apply to the skin, but the current distribution becomes diffused and unpredictable due to varying tissue resistivities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gel medium as an intermediary between the electrode and skin tissue. This gel has controlled electrical conductivity and viscosity properties that ensure uniform current distribution across the electrode surface while maintaining reliable electrical contact. The gel acts as a mediator that eliminates the variability caused by direct skin contact, providing consistent current delivery to the nerve while keeping the electrode easy to apply and remove.
2Reliability
If higher current is applied to ensure adequate nerve stimulation, then pain relief effectiveness improves, but skin irritation and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs parameter changes by utilizing a gel with specific electrical conductivity properties that are higher than skin but controlled to prevent excessive current concentration. The gel's conductivity parameter is optimized to allow adequate current penetration to the nerve while distributing the current uniformly, thereby achieving effective pain relief at lower overall current levels and reducing skin irritation risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The gel serves as a protective intermediary layer between the electrode and the skin. It distributes the electrical current uniformly across the contact area, preventing current concentration at specific skin points that could cause irritation. The gel's physical and electrical properties are designed to facilitate effective nerve stimulation while protecting the skin from harmful effects.
3Power
If the electrode is pressed directly over the nerve to maximize current focus, then current density at the nerve increases, but the results become unpredictable due to variable resistance of skin and tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the electrical parameter profile by using a gel with optimized conductivity. The gel creates a more uniform electrical field distribution that maintains adequate current density at the nerve location without being overly sensitive to variations in skin and tissue resistance. This parameter optimization ensures consistent treatment results while maintaining effective nerve stimulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gel intermediary creates a controlled electrical environment between the electrode and the variable resistance tissues. It buffers the effects of varying skin and tissue resistivities, ensuring that the current distribution remains predictable and consistent. The gel's uniform conductivity properties dominate the electrical field configuration, reducing the impact of underlying tissue variability.
4Reliability
If treatment time is extended to improve pain relief duration, then therapeutic effectiveness increases, but loss of time and patient convenience decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by optimizing the gel's electrical conductivity and the electrode's geometric configuration to enhance current penetration efficiency. This allows for shorter treatment times to achieve the same therapeutic effect that would require longer durations with traditional electrodes. The improved current distribution and reduced impedance enable more effective nerve stimulation in reduced time.
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 design enhances pain relief by increasing current density, reducing treatment time, and allowing lower skin currents for safer operation, providing sustained relief for conditions like Restless Leg Syndrome, Sciatica, and Fibromyalgia, with treatment effects lasting up to 36 hours.
Implementation Method 1
The insulating land focuses the current through the nerve in a manner that maximizes the effective current to the nerve
Implementation Method 2
the rectangular electrodes and the insulating land in between the electrodes compress the body tissue to create an electrical pathway in which the painful nerve center is captured and compressed
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention include an apparatus for treatment of pain by a device that provides transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. The device includes an applicator equipped with an electric pulse provider that sends an electric pulse to a set of electrodes disposed in an applicator head. The device is placed onto the skin of a patient's body at the point where the patient experiences pain and such that the electrodes of the device contact the skin of the patient while an insulating land area between the electrodes compresses the nerve during transmittal of the electric pulse through the electrodes and into the patient's body.