Punctual stimulation apparatus
OwnerJozsef Constantin Szelesinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus is disclosed for punctually stimulating nerve endings located in the region of the ears, said nerve endings extending to brain stem nuclei. The apparatus (1) has a support (2) which is to be positioned in the region of the neck or the upper arm of a patient, and which is provided with at least some of the electrically active structural components (4, 7, 13) of the apparatus (1) arranged for forming a therapeutic current, and which furthermore accommodates feed batteries (3) that deliver at least part of the operating power for the apparatus.
Claims28
1-44. (canceled)
An apparatus for punctually stimulating nerve endings located in the region of the ears, said nerve endings extending to brain stem nuclei, said apparatus (1) comprising a battery-fed therapeutic-current generator (4) that is provided with an electronic circuit forming low-frequency therapeutic current, and said apparatus (1) further comprising at least one electrode (11) to be positioned at a nerve ending, said electrode being configured as a short needle and connected to the therapeutic-current generator (4) via a separate flexible line (12), wherein the apparatus (1) has a support (2) provided configured in the form of a collar or tape to be laid around the neck (A) of a patient (P), said support (2) accommodating feed batteries (3) that provide for at least part of the operating power of the apparatus (1), and said support (2) further being provided with at least some of electrically-active structural components (4, 7, 13) of the apparatus (1) that serve for forming the therapeutic current.
A method of regulating standard-deviating values of heartbeat rate and/or blood pressure, wherein ear-region-located endings of neurons of tractus solitarius are stimulated by groups of successive electrical pulses generated by a therapeutic-current generator that is adjustable with respect to the point of time of starting the pulse groups, and wherein said stimulation is effected in cycle with the heartbeat cycle, and wherein an electrocardiogram signal is formed for this purpose by means of a sensor for electrical cardiac-action potentials provided on the patient's body, said electrocardiogram signal being supplied to a trigger circuit which responds to the occurrence of a predefined value in the electrocardiogram signal, and which triggers an adjustable time-delay stage provided in the therapeutic-current generator, said time delay stage starting to deliver a pulse group after a respectively set delay time, wherein the point of time of starting the individual pulse groups is provided in the systolic region of the heartbeat cycle by adjusting the delay time, with the point of time of starting being temporally displaced with respect to the R wave of the electrocardiogram signal, and wherein first a base value of the delay time is set at the beginning of a regulation treatment, and wherein the delay time will thereafter be slowly changed for bringing the values to be regulated closer to standard values, wherein the delay time is slowly changed taking into account the stimulation-produced changes in the values to be regulated.
A method of functional neurostimulation by electrical pulses, wherein these pulses are supplied to neurons via electrodes, wherein electrical-pulse stimulation of ear-region-located endings of neurons of tractus solitarius is effected during systole of each heartbeat cycle, and electrical-pulse stimulation of ear-region-located endings of lucus LC is effected during diastole of each heartbeat cycle, said electrical pulses being generated by a therapeutic-current generator, wherein an electrocardiogram signal is formed by a sensor that responds to the electrical cardiac-action potentials for synchronizing the stimulating pulses with the heartbeat cycle, said electrocardiogram signal being supplied to a trigger circuit which responds to the occurrence of a predefined value in the electrocardiogram signal, and which triggers adjustable time-delay stages provided in the therapeutic-current generator, said time delay stage starting to deliver stimulating pulses during systole and diastole after delay times.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.