Back to results
US 12,752,112 B2Granted
Devices, systems, and methods for auricular vagus nerve stimulation
AssigneeThe United States Government as represented by the Department of Veterans Affairs
InventorMichael A Urbin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of acutely activating the noradrenergic systems in a subject can comprise applying one or more electrical pulses to an ear canal (e.g., the left ear canal) of the subject, wherein the one or more electrical pulses are sufficient to acutely activate the noradrenergic system of the subject. Apparatuses and systems for applying one or more electrical pulses to an ear canal are also disclosed.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- activating a neurotransmitter system of a subject by applying one or more electrical pulses to an ear of a subject to stimulate an auricular branch of a vagus nerve of the subject;
- exposing, simultaneously with the one or more electrical pulses, the subject to an environmental or task-related event for a behavior to be learned;
- measuring, by a pupil measurement device, pupil diameter of the subject over time;
- receiving, by a computing device, the pupil diameter of the subject over time;
- calculating, by the computing device, an area under a curve of data corresponding to the measured pupil diameter over time within a duration between a time of peak acceleration and a time of peak dilation;
- confirming activation of a neurotransmitter system of the subject based on the area under the curve,
- wherein activation of a neurotransmitter system of the subject in combination with exposure to the environmental or task-related event for a behavior to be learned provides a therapeutic benefit to the subject.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.