Devices, systems, and methods for non-invasive chronic pain therapy

A system for treating neuropathic pain in a subject's body via administration of magnetic stimulation, the system comprising:

• a transcutaneous sensing and monitoring device for identifying a nerve to be treated with the magnetic stimulation, the transcutaneous sensing and monitoring device comprising:
• a housing having an extended top and bottom surface offset from one another by a bounding member, together the top surface, bottom surface, and bounding member bounding a cavity for retaining one or more components of the transcutaneous sensing device;
• a plurality of extended insulation layers, a first insulation layer of the plurality of extended insulation layers being positioned proximate the top surface and a second insulation layer of the plurality of extended insulation layers being positioned proximate the bottom surface;
• and
• an extended substrate layer positioned between the plurality of insulation layers, the substrate layer comprising:
• a plurality of sensors positioned along one or more surfaces of the substrate layer and being configured for detecting a reaction in one or more nerve fibers to the receipt of the magnetic stimulation being applied to a target area of a subject's body so as to produce response data,
• a printed circuit board coupled with the plurality of sensors, the printed circuit board comprising a processor, and a memory, the processor being configured for receiving and processing the response data to produce processed response data, the processed response data including a characterization of an identified nerve to be treated, and
• an antenna for enhancing data collection and transmission, wherein the transcutaneous sensing and monitoring device is configured to be coupled to a portion of the subject's body proximate the target area;
• and
• a transcutaneous magnetic stimulation (tMS) application device for delivering focused magnetic stimulation to the identified nerve, the tMS application device comprising:
• a housing having an extended body, the extended body including a proximate portion having a proximate end, and a distal portion having a distal end, the extended body defining a cavity for retaining one or more components of the tMS device, and
• an insulated magnetic coil disposed within the cavity of the proximate portion of the extended body of the housing, the magnetic coil having a figure-8 arrangement and including braiding wrapped around a figure-8 portion of the coil, the magnetic coil being configured for generating and delivering a focused magnetic stimulation at a determined pulse rate and having a determined amplitude, the focused magnetic stimulation being defined by a voltage and a current,
• controller, the controller including:
• a memory for storing the processed response data, the characterization of the identified nerve, and one or more treatment protocols, and
• a control processor, coupled to the memory, the control processor configured to access the processed response data and the characterization of the identified nerve, and determine the one or more treatment protocols, the one or more treatment protocols defining one or more application parameters and one or more delivery characteristics, the one or more application parameters including:
• a voltage level and a current level for generating a magnetic pulse of the magnetic stimulation,
• a frequency and duration of the magnetic pulse to be generated, and
• the one or more delivery characteristics including a set of coordinates defining the nerve to be treated and an orientation for orienting the tMS application device relative to the target area;
• and
• a positioning element having a proximal portion including a proximal end, and a distal portion including a distal end, the distal portion of the positioning element being coupled to the transcutaneous magnetic stimulation (tMS) application device proximate the distal end of the positioning element, the positioning element being composed of a plurality of articulating arm members, a plurality of the arm members being coupled together by an automating element, the automating element for positioning and orienting the tMS application device proximate the treatment area in accordance with the orientation.

A system for identifying one or more characteristics of a neuropathic nerve to be targeted with an application of a focused magnetic stimulation so as to ameliorate neuropathic pain experience, the system comprising:

• a transcutaneous sensing and monitoring device having a plurality of sensors in a grid including both rows and columns of sensors, each sensor being configured for identifying a reaction of the neuropathic nerve in response to the application of the focused magnetic stimulation so as to produce raw reaction data;
• a computing device, coupled to the transcutaneous sensing and monitoring device, the computing device being configured for receiving the raw reaction data, evaluating the raw reaction data, and determining one or more characteristics of the neuropathic nerve to be targeted for treatment by the application of the focused magnetic stimulation, the computing device comprising:
• a first processing engine for receiving raw reaction data from a first unit of sensors of the plurality of sensors, the first unit including a first set of at least three sensors of the plurality of sensors, the raw reaction data including magnitude data and orientation data from each sensors of the first unit and defining characteristics of a response of the neuropathic nerve to the applied focused magnetic stimulation, the first processing engine for integrating the magnitude data and the orientation data from each of the sensors of the first unit, and for determining a first integrated magnitude and a first integrated orientation for the first unit;
• a second processing engine for receiving raw reaction data from a second unit of sensors of the plurality of sensors, the second unit including a second set of at least three sensors of the plurality of sensors and the raw reaction data including second magnitude data and second orientation data from each sensor of the second unit and further defining characteristics of the response of the neuropathic nerve, the second processing engine for integrating the magnitude data and the orientation data from each of the sensors of the second unit, and for determining a second integrated magnitude and a second integrated orientation for the second unit;
• a third processing engine for receiving the first and second integrated magnitude, determining which sensor evidences a greater magnitude, and associating a greater weight to the sensor evidencing the greater magnitude;
• a fourth processing engine for receiving the first and second integrated orientation and associating a greater weight to whichever orientation is correlated with the unit evidencing the greater magnitude;
• a fifth processing engine for receiving and evaluating respective integrated magnitude, integrated orientation, and weight data for the plurality of sensors, and determining a set of coordinates defining the neuropathic nerve to be targeted in a treatment area based on the evaluated respective integrated magnitude, integrated orientation, and weight data;
• and
• a sixth processing engine for determining a first treatment protocol for administering the focused magnetic stimulation to the neuropathic nerve to be targeted so as thereby ameliorate neuropathic pain experience, the first treatment protocol including an orientation of a tMS application device relative to the neuropathic nerve to be treated in the target area and an amplitude of the focused magnetic stimulation to be administered.