Means and method for applying magnetic pulses to prevent the occurrence of neurological disorders
OwnerRobert E. Fischell, Nicholas A. Nelsoninventors
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Abstract
The present invention is a magnetic pulser that is portable and operated by the patient for the treatment of disorders of the brain or other human organs, the magnetic pulser being designed to provide one or more, high intensity, short duration, magnetic pulses that are applied to the neurons of the brain or to any other body part that is to be treated, the purpose of the treatment being to prevent the occurrence of a migraine headache or any other disorder that can be prevented to ameliorated by the use of TMS or rTMS.
Claims24
A portable magnetic pulser system for the treatment of migraine headaches of a human subject by the application of one or more TMS pulses in a preemptive manner prior to the occurrence of a migraine headache, the system including:
- an electrical power source for operating the system;
- electronic circuitry for taking power from the electrical power source and creating a comparatively high voltage for charging capacitors;
- control circuitry that is capable of charging the capacitors and then dumping the charge into a magnetic coil that is used to create an intense magnetic pulse onto the brain of the human subject, the charging of the capacitors and the subsequent discharge of the capacitors into the magnetic coil being controlled by at least one electrical switch that is operated by the patient, the maximum intensity of the magnetic pulse delivered onto the brain of the human subject being between 0.05 and 5 Tesla, and one or more TMS pulses being applied prior to the occurrence of the migraine headache.
A method for the preemptive treatment of a migraine headache by a human patient, the method including the following steps:
- a. procuring by the patient of a magnetic pulser system that is capable of delivering at least one TMS magnetic pulse onto the patient's brain, the magnetic pulse having a maximum magnetic field intensity that lies between 0.05 and 5.0 Tesla;
- b. determination by the patient or a health care professional when the preemptive application of at least one TMS pulse will decrease the frequency, severity or duration of at least one migraine headache that that patient would otherwise have;
- c. charging of capacitors in the magnetic pulser system to a high enough voltage to generate the desired magnetic pulse, the charging being initiated by the patient;
- d. having the patient place a magnetic coil which is part of the magnetic pulser system onto a region in close proximity to the patient's brain;
- e. having the patient trigger the capacitors to discharge into the magnetic coil to provide the desired TMS magnetic pulse into the patient's brain as a preemptive treatment for ameliorating at least one migraine headache.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.