Peltier unidirectional and selective nerve stimulation
AssigneeRainbow Medical Ltd.
InventorYossi Gross
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus is provided including an assembly (22) and a control unit (36). The assembly (22) includes a housing (34) configured to be applied to a nerve (20) of a subject, and at least one cathode (30) and at least one Peltier cooler (32), which are fixed to the housing (34). The control unit (36) is configured to drive the cathode (30) to apply an activating current to the nerve (20) that generates action potentials traveling in first and second directions (38 and 40) in the nerve (20), and the Peltier cooler (32) to cool the nerve (20) sufficiently to block propagation of at least a portion of the cathode-generated action potentials traveling in the second direction (40). Other embodiments are also described.
Claims16
Apparatus comprising:
- an assembly, said assembly comprising:
- a housing configured to be applied to a nerve of a subject, the housing shaped to define a chamber, an interior of said chamber being in fluid communication with the nerve when the housing is applied to the nerve, wherein at least one wall of the chamber comprises a membrane that separates the interior of the chamber from a region outside the chamber;
- at least a first electrode, which is positioned within the chamber;
- and
- at least a second electrode, which is positioned in the region outside the chamber, in a vicinity of the membrane;
- and
- a control unit, which is configured to:
- drive a current between the first and second electrodes such that the first electrode has a positive charge, and the second electrode has a negative charge, and
- the control unit further configured to:
- configure the current to increase a pH in the interior of the chamber in order to inhibit action potentials traveling in the nerve past the chamber.
A method comprising:
- placing a housing in a vicinity of a nerve of a subject such that an interior of a chamber defined by the housing is in fluid communication with the nerve, wherein at least one wall of the chamber includes a membrane that separates the interior of the chamber from a region outside the chamber;
- driving a current between a first site within the chamber and a second site in the region outside the chamber, the second site being in a vicinity of the membrane;
- and
- configuring the current to increase a pH in the interior of the chamber sufficiently to inhibit action potentials traveling in the nerve past the chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.