Rule-based stimulation program search

A system comprising:

• a memory that stores a plurality of rules, each of the rules defining a respective electrode configuration modification based on at least one of proximity of active electrodes to each other, proximity of inactive electrodes to active electrodes, or number of active electrodes;
• and
• a processor that selects a parent stimulation program, the parent stimulation program including a parent electrode configuration, receives an indication of a degree of program similarity from a user via a user interface, the indication of the degree of program similarity being indicative of how similar a plurality of child programs are to the parent stimulation program, applies each of the plurality of rules to the parent electrode configuration, and generates the plurality of child programs based on the application of the rules to the parent electrode configuration, wherein:
• at least one aspect of the application of the rules to the parent electrode configuration is selected based on the indicated degree of program similarity;
• and each of the child programs includes a respective child electrode configuration determined by application of one of the rules to the parent electrode configuration.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that cause a programmable processor to:

• select a parent stimulation program, the parent stimulation program including a parent electrode configuration;
• receive an indication of a degree of program similarity from a user, the indication of the degree of program similarity being indicative of how similar a plurality of child programs are to the parent stimulation program;
• apply each of a plurality of rules to the parent electrode configuration, each of the rules defining a respective electrode configuration modification based on at least one of proximity of active electrodes to each other, proximity of inactive electrodes to active electrodes, or number of active electrodes, wherein at least one aspect of the application of the rules to the parent electrode configuration is selected based on the indicated degree of program similarity;
• and
• generate the plurality of child programs based on the application of the rules to the parent electrode configuration, wherein each of the child programs includes a respective child electrode configuration determined by application of one of the rules to the parent electrode configuration.

A method comprising:

• selecting a parent program group, the parent program group including a plurality of parent stimulation programs, and each of the parent stimulation programs including a respective one of a plurality of parent electrode configurations;
• receiving an indication of a degree of program similarity from a user, the indication of the degree of program similarity being indicative of how similar a plurality of child programs are to the parent stimulation program;
• applying a rule to each of the parent electrode configurations, the rule defining an electrode configuration modification based on at least one of proximity of active electrodes to each other, proximity of inactive electrodes to active electrodes, or number of active electrodes, wherein at least one aspect of the application of the rules to the parent electrode configuration is selected based on the indicated degree of program similarity;
• and
• generating the plurality of child program groups based on the application of the rule to the parent electrode configurations, wherein each of the child program groups includes a respective child stimulation program and corresponding child electrode configuration determined by application of the rule to the parent electrode configuration.

A system comprising:

• a memory that stores a rule that defines an electrode configuration modification based on at least one of proximity of active electrodes to each other, proximity of inactive electrodes to active electrodes, or number of active electrodes;
• and
• a processor that selects a parent program group, the parent program group including a plurality of parent stimulation programs, and each of the parent stimulation programs including a respective one of a plurality of parent electrode configurations, receives an indication of a degree of program similarity from a user via a user interface, the indication of the degree of program similarity being indicative of how similar a plurality of child programs are to the parent stimulation program, applies the rule to each of the parent electrode configurations, and generates the plurality of child program groups based on the application of the rule to the parent electrode configurations, wherein:
• at least one aspect of the application of the rules to the parent electrode configuration is selected based on the indicated degree of program similarity;
• and
• each of the child program groups includes a respective child stimulation program and corresponding child electrode configuration determined by application of the rule to the parent electrode configuration.