# US 2019/0059495 A1 · Reducing Brain Injury By Limiting Brain Motion During Sudden Deceleration Or Acceleration Of The Head > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0059495 A1 - Document ID: US20190059495A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/171,184 - Filed: 2018-10-25 - Published: 2019-02-28 - Earliest claimed: 2016-04-25 - Assignees: PreActive Technologies Inc. - Applicants: Preactive Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Vincent E. Bryan; Randal P. Ching; Daniel Reed Baker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190059495A1 ## CPC - A42B 3/046: {Means for detecting hazards or accidents} - A42B 3/30: Mounting radio sets or communication systems - A61B 5/11: Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor or mobility of a limb {(A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721)} - A61B 17/1325: {with means for applying local pressure (pressure pads A61F5/30)} - A61B 17/135: inflatable - A61B 17/1355: {Automated control means therefor} - A61N 1/36003: {of motor muscles, e.g. for walking assistance} - A61B 5/4836: {Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods (A61B5/0036 takes precedence)} - A61B 5/6803: {Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles} - A61B 5/7267: {involving training the classification device} - A61N 1/0452: {Specially adapted for transcutaneous muscle stimulation [TMS]} - A61N 1/0456: {Specially adapted for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [TENS]} - A61N 1/0484: {Garment electrodes worn by the patient} - A61N 1/36014: {External stimulators, e.g. with patch electrodes (external pacemakers A61N1/3625)} - A42B: HATS; HEAD COVERINGS (headbands A41D20/00; head-scarves A41D23/00) - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A61N: ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY (measurement of bioelectric currents A61B; surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body A61B18/00; anaesthetic apparatus in general A61M; incandescent lamps H01K; infrared radiators for heating H05B) ## Abstract A brain injury reduction system provides a protective measure to reduce severity of brain injury caused by collision or blast. A sensing device of the system detects an impending or occurring event (e.g., collision or blast) in an environment surrounding the individual and sends information about the event to a controller of the system. The sensing device can be stationary or moves with the individual. Based on the information, the controller determines whether the event will likely cause brain injury to the individual. If so, the controller sends an instruction to an actuation device of the system to activate the protective measure. The actuation device uses transcutaneous electrodes to electrically simulate glottis closure and contraction of the abdominal musculature to induce a Valsalva-like maneuver. The Valsalva-like maneuver can increases the stiffness of the brain tissues in the intracranial compartment, and thus reduces the susceptibility of the brain tissues to deformation. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for reducing a severity of a brain injury to be incurred by an individual, the system comprising: a wearable actuation device configured to be worn on the body of the individual and configured to cause a Valsalva-like maneuver or a gag reflex of the individual, the wearable actuation device comprising: one or more stimulators on or within the actuation device; a sensing device in communication with the wearable actuation device configured to detect an event in an environment surrounding the individual; and a controller configured to: receive output from the sensing device, determine, based on the output from the sensing device, that the event in the environment surrounding the individual will likely cause the brain injury, generate an instruction to the wearable actuation device to activate electrical stimulation to cause the Valsalva-like maneuver, and send the instruction to the wearable actuation device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing device is external to the body of the individual. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein the sensing device is configured to move when the individual moves. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein the sensing device is stationary. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing device comprises one or more electromagnetic radiation sensors configured to capture data of the environment surrounding the individual. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more stimulators are configured to cause one or both of glottis closure and contraction of the abdominal musculature of the individual. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein a stimulator comprises one or more electrodes, the electrodes distributed over an area having a size beyond a threshold. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the electrodes include at least one of the following: one or more indwelling electrodes, one or more implanted electrode, and one or more transcutaneous electrodes. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein at least some of the electrodes are arranged in a flex circuit. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the wearable actuation device further comprises a power source configured to provide power to the electrodes. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable actuation device is amounted on at least one of the following: a piece of clothing to be worn by the individual, a neckpiece to be worn by the individual, and a belt to be worn by the individual. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the controller and the wearable actuation are arranged on a flexible circuit, the flexible circuit amounted on a wearable housing that is configured to be worn on the body of the individual. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein a controller is configured to determine that the event in the environment surrounding the individual will likely cause the brain injury by determining that the event will likely cause at least one of the following: a change in acceleration of the individual's head, an impact to the individual's head, or a blast to the individual's head. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive information indicating a condition of muscle of the individual; determine a degree of muscle fatigue based on the received information; generate a second instruction based on the determined degree of muscle fatigue; and send the second instruction to the wearable actuation device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the information indicating the condition of the abdominal muscle is received from a sensor configured to detect muscle fatigue. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive information indicating effectiveness of the electrical stimulation; generate an additional instruction to the wearable actuation device based on the received information; and send the additional instruction to the wearable actuation device to activate another electrical stimulation. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the instruction to the wearable actuation device to activate the electrical stimulation comprises an amplitude, a frequency, and a duration of the electrical stimulation. ### Claim 18 A method comprising: receiving information about an event in an environment surrounding an individual; determining, based on the received information, whether the event will likely cause brain injury of the individual; in response to a determination that the detected event will likely cause a brain injury, determining one or more parameters for a cycle of electrical stimulation, the cycle of electrical stimulation configured to cause a Valsalva-like maneuver of the individual; and sending the one or more parameters to an wearable actuation device, the wearable actuation device comprising one or more electrodes to induce the cycle of electrical stimulation to cause the Valsalva-like maneuver of the individual. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein determining one or more parameters for a cycle of electrical stimulation comprises: receiving information indicating a condition of one or more muscles of the individual; determine a degree of muscle fatigue; and determining the one or more parameters based on the determined degree of muscle fatigue. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein determining one or more parameters for a cycle of electrical stimulation comprises: receiving feedback information associated with a previous cycle of electrical stimulation; and determining the one or more parameters based on the feedback information. ### Claim 21 A method comprising: receiving information about an event in an environment surrounding an individual; determining, based on the received information, whether the event will likely cause an injury of the individual; in response to a determination that the detected event will likely cause the injury, determining one or more parameters for a cycle of electrical stimulation, the cycle of electrical stimulation configured to stimulate the body's own natural protective response of the individual; and sending the one or more parameters to a wearable actuation device, the wearable actuation device comprising one or more electrodes to induce the cycle of electrical stimulation to of the body's own natural response of the individual.