Vagal Nerve Stimulation Intensity Control for Heart Rate Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vagal nerve stimulation therapies for cardiovascular diseases often induce undesirable side effects such as bradycardia, which can limit their therapeutic effectiveness and patient tolerability, as they rely on heart rate reduction to achieve benefits.
Innovation Solution
Delivering vagal nerve stimulation (VST) at a therapeutically-effective intensity below the threshold that lowers intrinsic heart rate, using a closed-loop system to monitor heart rate and adjust stimulation intensity to avoid significant heart rate reductions, thereby maintaining heart rate while achieving anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects without chronotropic side effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vagal nerve stimulation is delivered at high intensity to achieve therapeutic benefits for cardiovascular diseases, then anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects are improved, but heart rate reduction (bradycardia) occurs as a harmful side effect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the stimulation intensity parameter to operate below the threshold that causes bradycardia. The system delivers VST at intensities that are therapeutically effective for cardiovascular diseases but maintain heart rate above critical reduction thresholds, thus changing the operational parameter to eliminate the harmful side effect while preserving therapeutic benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control by continuously monitoring heart rate during VST delivery and using this information to adjust stimulation parameters. The closed-loop system detects heart rate changes and modulates the VST intensity accordingly, ensuring therapeutic effectiveness is maintained while preventing bradycardia through real-time feedback adjustment
2Reliability
If vagal nerve stimulation intensity is increased to achieve cardiovascular therapeutic effects, then treatment efficacy is improved, but patient tolerability deteriorates due to chronotropic side effects
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the stimulation intensity parameter to a lower range that eliminates chronotropic side effects while preserving anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic therapeutic effects. This parameter adjustment improves patient tolerability by removing unwanted heart rate reduction effects, making the treatment more acceptable and easier to tolerate
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the previously harmful chronotropic side effects into a benefit by deliberately operating below the threshold that causes heart rate reduction. What was once a harmful side effect (bradycardia) is now avoided, and the remaining therapeutic effects (anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic) are preserved, transforming the treatment profile into one that is both effective and well-tolerated
Data Source
AI summary
According to various method embodiments, a person is indicated for a therapy to treat a cardiovascular disease, and the therapy is delivered to the person to treat the cardiovascular disease. Delivering the therapy includes delivering a vagal stimulation therapy (VST) to a vagus nerve of the person at a therapeutically-effective intensity for the cardiovascular disease that is below an upper boundary at which upper boundary the VST would lower an intrinsic heart rate during the VST.