Magnetic Stimulation Devices and Methods of Therapy

Abstract

Devices and systems are disclosed for the non-invasive treatment of medical conditions through delivery of energy to target tissue, comprising a source of electrical power, a magnetically permeable toroidal core, and a coil that is wound around the core. The coil and core are embedded in a continuous electrically conducting medium, which is adapted to have a shape that conforms to the contour of an arbitrarily oriented target body surface of a patient. The conducting medium is applied to that surface by any of several disclosed methods, and the source of power supplies a pulse of electric charge to the coil, such that the coil induces an electric current and / or an electric field within the patient, thereby stimulating tissue and / or one or more nerve fibers within the patient. The invention shapes an elongated electric field of effect that can be oriented parallel to a long nerve. In one embodiment, the device comprises two toroidal cores that lie adjacent to one another.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 415,469 filed Nov. 19, 2010. This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 859,568 filed Aug. 9, 2010 which is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 408,131, titled Electrical Treatment of Bronchial Constriction, filed Mar. 20, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The field of the present invention relates to the delivery of energy impulses (and / or fields) to bodily tissues for therapeutic purposes. It relates more specifically to toroidal magnetic stimulation devices, as well as to non-invasive methods for treating medical conditions using energy that is delivered by such devices. The medical conditions include, but are not limited to, post-operative ileus, neurodegenerative disorders ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0034]In embodiments of methods that use the disclosed devices, a magnetic stimulator coil is positioned non-invasively on or above a target anatomical location, such as on or near a patient's neck, ankle, abdomen, or scalp, in the vicinity of nerves or tissue that control a physiological reflex or response. The electric field and / or eddy-currents induced as energy impulses by the coil of the magnetic stimulator create a field of effect that permeates the target nerve fibers or tissue and cause the stimulating, blocking, and / or modulation of signals to an end organ that is controlled by the stimulated nerves or tissue.

[0039]It is therefore a further objective of the present invention to produce a toroidal-coil magnetic stimulation device having a conducting medium that is convenient and practical to use. In particular, the device may be applied to body surfaces having an arbitrary orientation with respect to the long-axis of the component containing the coil. Additional objectives of the disclosed devices are that they be compact and portable, and that they may be adapted for use in nerve and tissue stimulation applications that treat diverse medical conditions, such as post-operative ileus, dysfunction associated with TNF-alpha in Alzheimer's disease, postoperative cognitive dysfunction, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchoconstriction, urinary incontinence and / or overactive bladder, and sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

Problems solved by technology

A variety of techniques and mechanisms have been designed to produce focused lesions directly in target nerve tissue, but collateral damage is inevitable.

In many cases, these medicinal approaches have side effects that are either unknown or quite significant.

For example, at least one popular diet pill of the late 1990's was subsequently found to cause heart attacks and strokes.

Unfortunately, the beneficial outcomes of surgery and medicines are often realized at the cost of function of other tissues, or risks of side effects.

While the therapeutic results of deep brain stimulation are promising, there are significant complications that arise from the implantation procedure, including stroke induced by damage to surrounding tissues and the neuro-vasculature.

Both TENS and percutaneous electrical stimulation can be to some extent unpleasant or painful, in the experience of patients that undergo such procedures.

As described in the above-cited publications, the circuits for magnetic stimulators are generally complex and expensive.

Another practical disadvantage of magnetic stimulator coils is that they overheat when used over an extended period of time, because large coil currents are required to reach threshold electric fields in the stimulated tissue.

At high repetition rates, currents can heat the coils to unacceptable levels in seconds to minutes, depending on the power levels and pulse durations and rates.

Accordingly, coil-cooling equipment is used, which adds complexity to the magnetic stimulator coils.

Water-cooled coils overheat in a few minutes.

Ferrite core coils heat more slowly due to the lower currents and heat capacity of the ferrite core, but they also cool slowly and do not allow for water-cooling because the ferrite core occupies the volume where the cooling water would flow.

However, even the use of ferrofluids may be inadequate when long treatment times at high stimulation frequencies may be required.

Another problem that is sometimes encountered during magnetic stimulation is the unpleasantness or pain that is experienced by the patient in the vicinity of the stimulated tissue.

However, these methods of reducing pain or discomfort on the part of the stimulated patient are not always successful or practical.

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