Electrode Configuration for an Implantable Electroacupuncture Device

摘要

An implantable electroacupuncture device (IEAD) treats a disease or medical condition of a patient through application of stimulation pulses applied at a specified acupoint or other target tissue location at a very low duty cycle. In a preferred implementation, the IEAD is an implantable, coin-sized, self-contained, leadless device having at least two electrodes attached to an outside surface of its housing, with at least one electrode on the top or bottom surface of the housing functioning as a cathode, and at least one electrode on the perimeter edge of the housing functioning as an anode. The electrodes may be segmented to include an array of smaller cathodic or anodic electrodes, each of which may be selectively turned ON or OFF so as to provide a convenient mechanism for adjusting the density of the stimulus current flowing through the cathodic electrode surface area.

主权项

1. An implantable electroacupuncture (EA) device adapted to be implanted at a specified acupoint of a patient, the electroacupuncture device comprising:
a disc-shaped housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a perimeter edge connecting the top surface to the bottom surface; at least one cathodic electrode and at least one anodic electrode formed to reside on, or comprise an integral part of, the surfaces of the housing, wherein the at least one cathodic electrode is on the top or bottom surface of the housing, and the at least one anodic electrode is on the perimeter edge surface of the housing; stimulation circuitry residing inside the housing and electrically coupled to the at least one cathodic electrode and the at least one anodic electrode, wherein the stimulation circuitry generates stimulation pulses of electrical current that are delivered to body tissue surrounding the housing through the at least one cathodic electrode and the at least one anodic electrode in accordance with a prescribed stimulation regimen; wherein the at least one cathodic electrode is configured from a prescribed electrode material having a surface area sufficiently large to allow a desired current density to flow through it without causing electrode corrosion, and further wherein the at least one cathodic electrode is positioned sufficiently far from the at least one anodic electrode so as to prevent current shunting to occur between the at least one cathodic electrode and the at least one anodic electrode before the stimulation pulses of electrical current have penetrated into the body tissue a specified distance.