Vagus Nerve Stimulation Temporal Parameters Cardiovascular Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapies face challenges in selectively modulating target physiological functions while minimizing side effects due to the complex innervation pattern of the vagus nerve, leading to unintended activation of non-target functions such as laryngeal muscles, which results in side effects like voice hoarseness and coughing.
Innovation Solution
The use of specific temporal stimulation parameters, such as duty cycle, to control the delivery of electrical stimulation pulses to the vagus nerve, allowing for modulation of cardiovascular functions without causing contraction of laryngeal muscles, thereby reducing unwanted side effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrical stimulation pulses are delivered to the vagus nerve to modulate cardiovascular functions, then the therapeutic effect on heart failure or myocardial infarction is improved, but laryngeal muscles are activated causing side effects like voice hoarseness and coughing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by using burst stimulation mode where stimulation is delivered in periodic bursts rather than continuous stimulation. Each burst consists of multiple pulses at a specific frequency (e.g., 20-50 Hz) with inter-burst intervals. This periodic pattern selectively activates cardiac parasympathetic fibers while avoiding the activation threshold for laryngeal muscles, thereby achieving therapeutic cardiovascular modulation without causing voice hoarseness or coughing side effects
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by precisely controlling stimulation parameters including pulse width (e.g., 200-500 μs), pulse frequency within bursts (e.g., 20-50 Hz), and duty cycle of burst delivery (e.g., 10-30% duty cycle). By adjusting these temporal parameters, the stimulation selectively targets cardiac fibers which have different excitation thresholds and refractory periods compared to laryngeal muscles,从而实现 selective modulation of cardiovascular function without activating laryngeal muscles
2Adaptability or versatility
If the vagus nerve is stimulated to affect multiple physiological functions, then the versatility of treatment is improved, but the difficulty of controlling target-specific effects increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by implementing adaptive stimulation protocols where stimulation parameters are dynamically adjusted based on physiological feedback. The system can modify pulse frequency, amplitude, and burst timing in real-time based on heart rate variability, blood pressure measurements, or other physiological parameters. This dynamic adaptation allows the same VNS device to effectively treat multiple conditions (depression, epilepsy, heart failure, hypertension) by optimizing parameters for each specific therapeutic target without requiring different hardware configurations
Data Source
AI summary
One or more temporal stimulation parameters of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) are selected to substantially modulate one or more target physiological functions without substantially modulating one or more non-target physiological functions. In one embodiment, a stimulation duty cycle is selected such that VNS is delivered to the cervical vagus nerve trunk to modulate a cardiovascular function without causing laryngeal muscle contractions.