DEVICES AND METHODS FOR NON-INVASIVE CAPACITIVE ELECTRICAL STIMULATION AND THEIR USE FOR VAGUS NERVE STIMULATION ON THE NECK OF A PATIENT

摘要

A non-invasive electrical stimulation device shapes an elongated electric field of effect that can be oriented parallel to a long nerve, such as a vagus nerve in a patient's neck, producing a desired physiological response in the patient. The stimulator comprises a source of electrical power, at least one electrode and a continuous electrically conducting medium in which the electrode(s) are in contact. The stimulation device is configured to produce a peak pulse voltage that is sufficient to produce a physiologically effective electric field in the vicinity of a target nerve, but not to substantially stimulate other nerves and muscles that lie between the vicinity of the target nerve and patient's skin. Current is passed through the electrodes in bursts of preferably five sinusoidal pulses, wherein each pulse within a burst has a duration of preferably 200 microseconds, and bursts repeat at preferably at 15-50 bursts per second.

主权项

1. An apparatus for modulating a nerve within a body of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
a source of energy configured to generate a single signal comprising one or more electrical impulses; one or more electrodes coupled to the source of energy; an interface coupled to the one or more electrodes and configured to be positioned against an outer skin surface of the patient; and wherein the source of energy is configured to deliver the one or more electrical impulses, from the one or more electrodes through the interface and the outer skin surface to the nerve, sufficient to modulate the nerve, wherein the one or more electrical impulses are from about 50 microseconds to about 1000 microseconds in duration, and wherein the one or more electrical impulses comprises bursts of pulses with a silent intra-burst interval between each of the bursts.