Enhanced dorsal horn stimulation using multiple electrical fields
AssigneeBoston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
InventorsMichael A. Moffitt, Bradley Lawrence Hershey, Changfang Zhu
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Abstract
A method of providing therapy to a patient having a medical condition comprises delivering electrical stimulation energy to the spinal cord of the patient in accordance with a stimulation program that preferentially stimulates dorsal horn neuronal elements over dorsal column neuronal elements in the spinal cord. The delivered electrical stimulation energy generates a plurality of electrical fields having different orientations that stimulate the dorsal horn neuronal elements.
Claims20
A non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions, which when executed by a neuromodulator connected to implanted electrodes which are operably positioned near a spinal cord, cause the neuromodulator to provide a therapy using implanted electrodes to a patient having a medical condition, including deliver electrical energy as a pulsed electrical waveform to the targeted neuronal elements in accordance with a stimulation program that preferentially stimulates the targeted neuronal elements, wherein the pulsed electrical waveform to the targeted neuronal elements produces a first electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the first electrical field has a first orientation during at least a first pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, a second electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the second electrical field has a second orientation during at least a second pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, and a third electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the third electrical field has a third orientation during at least a third pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform the first, second and third orientations being different from each other.
A system for providing a therapy to a patient using electrodes which are implanted operably near a spinal cord, the system comprising a neuromodulator including stimulation output circuitry and a controller/processor, wherein:
- the stimulation output circuitry is configured to be electrically connected to the electrodes;
- and
- the controller/processor is configured to cooperate with the stimulation output circuitry to provide the therapy to the patient by delivering electrical stimulation energy as a pulsed electrical waveform using the electrodes in accordance with a stimulation program that preferentially stimulates targeted neuronal elements, wherein the controller/processor is configured to cooperate with the stimulation output circuitry to generate a first electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the first field has a first orientation during at least a first pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, a second electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the second field has a second orientation during at least a second pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, and a third electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the third field has a third orientation during at least a third pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, the first, second and third orientations being different from each other.
A method implemented using a neuromodulator connected to implanted electrodes which are operably positioned near a spinal cord, the method comprising:
- using the neuromodulator to provide a therapy to targeted neuronal elements, including using the implanted electrodes to deliver the electrical energy as a pulsed electrical waveform to the targeted neuronal elements in accordance with a stimulation program that preferentially stimulates the targeted neuronal elements, wherein the pulsed electrical waveform provides a first electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the first electric field has a first orientation during at least a first pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, a second electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the second electric field has a second orientation during at least a second pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, and a third electrical field to the targeted neuronal elements where the third electric field has a third orientation during at least a third pulse in the pulsed electrical waveform, and wherein the first, second and third orientations are different from each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.