MAGNETIC STIMULATION DEVICES AND METHODS OF THERAPY

摘要

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.

主权项

1. A device for selectively applying energy to a target region in a patient, the device comprising:
a power source configured to generate a magnetic field outside of the patient; a housing containing an enclosed coil and an electrically conductive fluid surrounding at least a portion of the enclosed coil; and wherein the enclosed coil is configured to transmit the magnetic field through an outer skin surface of the patient such that the magnetic field induces an electric current at a nerve at the target region within the patient, the electric current being sufficient to modulate the nerve.