US20070032834A1 - Systems and methods for automatically optimizing stimulus parameters and electrode configurations for neuro-stimulators - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and devices for automatically optimizing the stimulus parameters and/or the configuration of electrodes to provide neural stimulation to a patient. In one embodiment, a system includes an electrode array having an implantable support member configured to be implanted into a patient and a plurality of therapy electrodes carried by the support member. The system can also have a pulse system operatively coupled to the therapy electrodes to deliver a stimulus to the therapy electrodes, and a sensing device configured to be attached to a sensing location of the patient. The sensing device generates response signals in response to the stimulus. The system can also include a controller operatively coupled to the pulse system and to the sensing device. The controller includes a computer operable medium that generates command signals that define the stimulus delivered by the pulse system, evaluates the response signals from the sensing device, and determines a desired configuration for the therapy electrodes and/or a desired stimulus to be delivered to the therapy electrodes.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
• This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/802,808 filed Mar. 8, 2001, entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Effectuating a Lasting Change in a Neural-Function of a Patient,” which claims priority to U.S. Application No. 60/217,981 filed Jul. 13, 2000, which are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
• The present disclosure is related to systems and methods for automatically optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes and/or the stimulus parameters of the electrical or magnetic waveforms applied to a target stimulation site of a patient.
BACKGROUND
• A wide variety of mental and physical processes are known to be controlled or influenced by neural activity in the central and peripheral nervous systems. For example, the neural-functions in some areas of the brain (i.e., the sensory or motor cortices) are organized according to physical or cognitive functions. There are also several other areas of the brain that appear to have distinct functions in most individuals. In the majority of people, for example, the areas of the occipital lobes relate to vision, the regions of the left interior frontal lobes relate to language, and the regions of the cerebral cortex appear to be consistently involved with conscious awareness, memory and intellect. The spinal cord is also organized so that specific regions of spinal cord are related to particular functions. Because of the location-specific functional organization of the central nervous system in which neurons at discreet locations are statistically likely to control particular mental or physical functions in normal individuals, stimulating neurons at selected locations of the central nervous system can be used to effectuate cognitive and/or motor functions throughout the body.
• The neural activity in the central nervous system can be influenced by electrical and/or magnetic energy that is supplied from an external source outside of the body. Various neural functions can thus be promoted or disrupted by applying an electrical current to the cortex or other part of the central nervous system. As a result, the quest for treating or augmenting neural functions in the brain, spinal cord, or other parts of the body have led to research directed toward using electricity or magnetism to control these functions.
• In several existing applications, the electrical or magnetic stimulation is provided by a neural-stimulator that has a plurality of therapy electrodes and a pulse system coupled to the therapy electrodes. The therapy electrodes can be implanted into the patient at a target site for stimulating the desired neurons. For example, one existing technique for masking pain in the lower extremities of a patient is to apply an electrical stimulus to a desired target stimulation site of the spinal cord. Although determining the general location of the target stimulation site may be relatively straight forward, identifying the specific configuration of electrodes for applying the stimulus will generally vary for specific patients.
• The conventional procedure for optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes involves several steps and relies on the subjective input from the patient. Conventional techniques generally involve rendering the patient unconscious, implanting an electrode array in the patient at the stimulation site, and then letting the patient regain consciousness. After the patient is conscious, the particular configuration of electrodes is optimized for that patient by selecting different combinations of the therapy electrodes and applying a constant electrical stimulus. The patient subjectively evaluates the effectiveness of each stimulus by indicating the degree to which the stimulus masks the pain. After testing the various configurations of therapy electrodes and deciding upon a desired electrode configuration according to the input of the patient, the patient is rendered unconscious for a second time to close the electrode array in the patient.
• A similar procedure can be followed for determining the desired configuration of therapy electrodes for intra-cranial electrical stimulation. For example, a device for stimulating a region of the brain is disclosed by King in U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,922. King discloses a device for cortical surface stimulation having electrodes mounted on a paddle. The paddle can be implanted under the skull of the patient so that the electrodes are on the surface of the brain in a fixed position. King also discloses that the electrical pulses are generated by a pulse generator implanted in the patient remotely from the cranium (e.g., subclavicular implantation). The pulse generator is coupled to the electrodes by a cable that extends from the paddle, around the skull, and down the neck to the subclavicular location of the pulse generator.
• King discloses implanting the electrodes in contact with the surface of the cortex to create paresthesia, which is a vibrating or buzzing sensation. More specifically, King discloses inducing paresthesia in large areas by placing the electrodes against particular regions of the brain and applying an electrical stimulus to the electrodes. This is similar to implanting therapy electrodes at the spinal cord of a patient for masking pain in the lower extremities of a patient, and thus King appears to require stimulation that exceeds the membrane activation threshold for a population of neurons at the electrodes (supra-threshold stimulation). King further discloses applying a stimulus to one set of electrodes, and then applying a stimulus to a separate configuration of electrodes to shift the location of the paresthesia.
• One problem of the procedures for optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes for either spinal or cortical stimulation is that existing systems and methods are expensive and time consuming. First, it is expensive to render the patient unconscious, implant the neural-stimulators in the patient, then wait for the patient to regain consciousness, then test various electrode configurations by asking the patient to subjectively estimate the degree to which the particular stimulus masks the pain, and then finally render the patient unconscious again to complete the implantation. Second, it can be a reasonably high risk operation because the patient is placed under general anesthesia at two separate stages of the process. It will be appreciated that this is an extremely long process that requires highly skilled doctors and personnel to attend to the patient for a significant period of time. Moreover, the patient occupies costly operating rooms and utilizes expensive equipment throughout the process. Third, relying on the subjective response from the patient may not provide accurate data for evaluating minor variances in the results. Fourth, the patient may experience pain or discomfort because some configurations may provide high intensity stimulation that exceeds the sensory level of stimulation. Therefore, existing systems for determining a desired configuration of electrodes to apply a neural-stimulus to specific patients are expensive, time consuming, potentially painful, and may not determine the most effective electrode configuration.
• Another drawback of configuring the therapy electrodes using existing systems and methods is that the procedures are not effective for on-going use. This is because the patient's condition changes continually. For example, the location of the pain or the sensation typically shifts over time such that the optimal configuration of the electrodes at one point of the therapy may not mask the pain after a period of time. A large number of patients accordingly terminate electrical therapies for paresthesia within one year because of such a shift in the location of the pain/sensation. Therefore, although electrical stimulation for masking pain, inducing or enhancing plasticity, and other reasons appears to be very promising, it has not yet gained wide acceptance because of the drawbacks of configuring the therapy electrodes to apply an effective stimulus to different patients over a long period of time.
• Additionally, it is also difficult to optimize the parameters of the electrical or magnetic stimulus. For example, even when a desired configuration of therapy electrodes is used, different waveforms can produce different results in each patient. Determining the stimulus parameters of the waveform can be even more time consuming than determining the desirable configuration of therapy electrodes because it involves testing a large number of independent variables. In a biphasic pulse train, for example, the stimulus parameters can include (a) the intensity of the electrical current, (b) the time of the stimulus of the first phase, (c) the time of the stimulus of the second phase, (d) the total time of the stimulus pulse, (e) the frequency of the stimulus pulse, (f) the pulse duty cycle, (g) the burst time of the stimulus, (h) the burst repetition rate of the stimulus, and (i) additional variables. Because of the large number of stimulus parameters, a particular waveform for the stimulus is typically selected for a given treatment for all patients such that the parameters for stimulus itself are not optimized.
• In light of the several drawbacks for existing techniques of applying electrical or magnetic neural-stimulation to produce desired results, there is a significant need to enhance the procedures for applying such stimulus to individual patients. For example, it would be desirable to have more cost effective and less time consuming procedures for determining an effective configuration of therapy electrodes and stimulus parameters. Additionally, it would be desirable to update the electrode configuration and stimulus parameters in each individual patient without surgically operating on the patient to compensate for shifts in the target stimulation site.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system for automatically optimizing the configuration of the electrodes and/or the stimulus parameters in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for automatically optimizing the configuration of electrodes and/or the stimulus parameters in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes that can be used in the method ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
• FIGS. 4A-4F illustrate various examples of using the system ofFIG. 1 to optimize the configuration of the electrodes in accordance with an embodiment of the methods ofFIGS. 2 and 3.
• FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for optimizing the stimulus parameters that can be used in the method ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of several stimulus parameters that can be optimized using an embodiment of the method ofFIG. 5.
• FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for optimizing the electrode configuration and/or stimulus parameters for inducing and/or enhancing neural-plasticity using sub-threshold stimulation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• The following disclosure describes several methods and apparatus for automatically determining the configuration of therapy electrodes and/or the parameters for the stimulus to treat or otherwise effectuate a change in neural-functions of a patient. Several embodiments of methods in accordance with the invention are practiced using a computer to automatically implement such processes, but it is not necessary to use a computer in all of the embodiments. The specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following description and inFIGS. 1-7 to provide a thorough understanding of these embodiments to a person of ordinary skill in the art. More specifically, several embodiments of a system in accordance with the invention are described with reference toFIG. 1, and then several embodiments of methods for determining a desired configuration of therapy electrodes and/or stimulus parameters are described with reference toFIGS. 2-7. A person skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may have additional embodiments, or that the invention can be practiced without several of the details described below.
• A. Systems for Automatically Optimizing Therapy Electrode Configurations and/or Stimulus Parameters
• FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system for providing neuro-stimulation to a patient that can automatically optimize (a) the configuration of therapy electrodes, (b) the waveform parameters for the electrical stimulus, and/or (c) additional stimulation parameters. In this embodiment, thesystem100 comprises anelectrode array110, astimulus unit120 operatively coupled to theelectrode array110, and at least onesensing device180 operatively coupled to thestimulus unit120. Theelectrode array110 and thesensing unit180 can be operatively coupled to thestimulus unit120 by a direct connection (e.g., wires, cables, or fiber optical lines) or an indirect connection (e.g., RF energy, magnetic energy, infrared, etc.).
• Theelectrode array110 can include asupport member112 and a plurality ofelectrodes114 that are carried by thesupport member112. Theelectrode array110 is generally configured to be implanted into a patient P for cortical stimulation, deep brain stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, cardiac stimulation, or stimulation of other parts of the body. For example, theelectrode array110 can be a cortical neural-stimulation device, such as one of the devices described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/802,808 incorporated by reference above. Theelectrode array110 can alternatively be a grid having a plurality ofdiscreet electrodes114 arranged in an X-Y coordinate system or another type of coordinate system. Thetherapy electrodes114 can be independently coupled to thestimulus unit120 by alink116. In one embodiment, thelink116 is a wire or another type of conductive line, but in alternate embodiments thelink116 can be an indirect link (e.g., infrared, magnetic or RF energy). Thelink116 can accordingly be a direct connection or an indirect connection to operatively couple thetherapy electrodes114 to thestimulus unit120. It will be appreciated that many of the electrode arrays can be implanted at the spinal cord for spinal cord stimulation.
• Thestimulus unit120 can include acontroller130 with a processor, a memory, and a programmable computer medium. Thecontroller130, for example, can be a computer and the programmable computer medium can be software loaded into the memory of the computer and/or hardware that performs the processes described below. Thestimulus unit120 can further include apulse system140, aconverter150, and a plurality of controls/indicators160. Thepulse system140 can generate and send energy pulses to the electrode array, and theconverter150 can receive signals from thesensing device180. Thepulse system140 and theconverter150 are both operatively coupled to thecontroller130. The controls andindicators160 can include a computer display, an input/output device (e.g., a keyboard, touch sensitive screen, etc.), or other types of devices commonly used to enter commands or receive output from computers.
• Theelectrode array110 and thepulse system140 can be integrated into a single stimulation apparatus that can be implanted into the patient, as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/082,808. One example of anintegrated pulse system140 andelectrode array110 is configured to be implanted into the skull of the patient so that the electrodes contact the pia matter of the cortex. Such a device can have an internal power source that can be implanted into the patient and/or an external power source coupled to the pulse system via electromagnetic coupling or a direct connection. In alternate embodiments, thepulse system140 is an external unit that is not implanted into the patient. Theexternal pulse unit140 can provide the electrical stimulus to thetherapy electrodes114 using RF energy, electromagnetism, or wire terminals exposed on the scalp of the patient P.
• Thesensing device180 can be an electrode that produces an analog signal, and theconverter150 can convert the analog signal to a digital signal for processing by thecontroller130. Thesensing device180 can be an implantable electrode that can be implanted at a number of different locations according to the desired response of the stimulus applied to thetherapy electrodes114. In alternate embodiments, thesensing device180 can be an imaging device (e.g., an fMRI apparatus), an ultrasound apparatus, an EEG, a device that detects somatosensory evoked potentials, or another suitable apparatus for determining a response in the patient P to a stimulus applied to thetherapy electrodes114. The sensing device can alternatively detect behavioral responses. In an alternate embodiment, thesensing device180 can produce a digital output and be coupled directly to thecontroller130. Therefore, theconverter150 may only be used in some of the embodiments of thesystem100.
• Thesystem100 can automatically test the efficacy of various electrode configurations and stimulus parameters either with or without subjective input from the patient. In operation, thecontroller130 sends command signals to thepulse system140 defining the configuration of active electrodes and the waveform parameters for the stimulus. Thepulse system140 generates and sends a single pulse or pulse train to the active therapy electrodes in accordance with the command signals, and thesensing device180 senses the neural responses, motor responses, or other types of responses to the stimulus. Thesensing device180 also sends signals corresponding to the magnitude of the responses to thecontroller130, which compares the responses to previous responses and/or empirical responses for the type of therapy stored in the memory of the controller. Thecontroller130 then adjusts the configuration of active therapy electrodes and/or the waveform parameters of the stimulus to optimize the therapy for the particular patient. Several methods for using embodiments of thesystem100 for supra- and sub-threshold neural-stimulation therapies are described below.
• B. Methods of Optimizing Electrode Configurations and Stimulus Parameters for Neuro-Stimulation
• FIGS. 2-7 illustrate several embodiments of methods in accordance with the invention that can be practiced using thestimulator system100 described above.FIG. 2, for example, is a flow diagram illustrating anoptimization process200 that can be executed, at least in part, in a computer for automatically optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes and/or the waveform parameters for the stimulus. Theoptimization process200 generally starts after the therapy electrode array has been installed at a target stimulation site using surgical techniques known in the art and a sensing device has been positioned to sense a response to the electrical stimulus applied to the therapy electrodes.
• After the therapy electrode array has been installed and the sensing device is ready to sense a response in the patient, theoptimization process200 begins with asetup procedure210 in which a setup configuration of therapy electrodes and the waveform parameters for a control stimulus are selected. The controller can select the setup configuration for the electrodes and the control stimulus by retrieving predetermined setup values stored in a setup database in the memory of the controller. The setup database can contain at least one setup configuration for the therapy electrodes and at least one set of waveform parameters for the control stimulus. In several embodiments, a plurality of different setup configurations for the electrodes and the stimulus parameters can be stored in a database so that thesystem100 can be used for many different types of neural therapies and procedures. An alternate embodiment can involve manually inputting the setup configuration for the electrodes and the waveform parameters for the control stimulus either in lieu of or in addition to having the controller retrieve setup data from memory. A practitioner, for example, can select the setup data from pull-down menus provided by thesystem100 or manually key in the data.
• The setup configurations for the therapy electrodes and the waveform parameters for control stimuli can be determined by manually performing optimization procedures on test groups of patients for each type of therapy. The optimal setups can be correlated with the particular therapy (e.g., enhancing neural plasticity in the cortex, masking pain, etc.), the particular target site, and the patient factors. For example, a first electrode configuration and control stimulus can be determined for sub-threshold cortical neural stimulation to restore functionality of a limb that was affected by a stroke or other type of brain damage; a second electrode configuration and control stimulus can be determined for cortical neural stimulation to enhance learning capabilities; a third electrode configuration and control stimulus can be determined for spinal stimulation to mask pain; and a fourth electrode configuration and control stimulus can be determined for sub- or supra-threshold stimulation applied to the cortex. It will be appreciated that many additional electrode configurations and stimulus parameters can be determined for other types of therapies such that the foregoing is not exhaustive of the various types of setup configurations.
• Referring again toFIG. 2, theoptimization process200 continues with a stimulatingprocedure220 and then asensing procedure230. The stimulatingprocedure220 involves applying an electrical stimulus to a configuration of the therapy electrodes. Several iterations of thestimulation procedure220 are generally performed several times at different stages throughout theoptimization process200, and the configuration of the electrodes and/or the stimulus parameters can be changed at each iteration of thestimulation procedure220. For example, the initial iteration of the stimulatingprocedure220 can involve applying the control stimulus to the setup configuration of therapy electrodes. Subsequent iterations of thestimulation procedure220 can involve applying (a) the control stimulus to an alternate configuration of therapy electrodes; (b) an alternate stimulus with a different waveform to the setup electrode configuration; and/or (c) alternate stimuli with different waveforms to alternate electrode configurations. As explained above with reference toFIG. 1, the controller carries out thestimulation procedure220 by sending command signals to the pulse system, which in turn generates and transmits energy having the parameters for the stimulus to the selected configuration of active therapy electrodes.
• Thesensing procedure230 is generally performed after each iteration of thestimulation procedure220. Thesensing procedure230 involves monitoring a location in the patient for a response to the stimulus applied in thestimulation procedure220. The location for sensing the response and the particular type of response that is measured varies according to the particular type of therapy and other factors. In general, the physiologic outcome that the response measures can be categorized into three general areas: (1) cortical; (2) peripheral; and (3) functional. The types of measurements for monitoring cortical physiologic outcomes include: (a) action potential generation of the neurons; (b) excitability changes of the neurons measured waveform characteristics of EEG or field potentials within the cortex; (c) blood flow (e.g., doppler measurements); (d) thermal changes; (e) pulse oxymetry; (f) chemical metabolites; and (g) imaging techniques (e.g., functional MRI, MR spectroscopy, diffusion MRI, PET, CT, etc.). The types of measurements for monitoring peripheral physiologic outcomes include: (a) EMG (surface, percutaneous, or implanted); (b) external potentiometer or other forms of physiologic input; and (c) motion detectors (e.g., accelerometers). The types of measurements for monitoring functional physiologic outcomes include: (a) force/strength tests; (b) dexterity tests; (c) speed/reflex tests; and (d) performing complex tasks.
• Several types of measurements that monitor the physiologic outcomes can be automated so that they generate signals which can be processed by the controller either with or without subjective input from the patient. In the case of EMG measurements for sensing peripheral responses to the applied stimulus, the electrical signals from the EMG sensors are automatically received and processed by the controller. In other applications, the data sensed by functional MRI, blood flow monitors, thermal monitors, pulse oxymeters, PET, MR spectroscopy, accelerometers, etc. can be digitized and process by the controller in a similar manner. In this manner, the stimulatingprocedure220 and thesensing procedure230 can be automated using a controller with the appropriate hardware and/or software.
• Theoptimization process200 also includes performing anevaluation procedure240 after one or more iterations of the stimulatingprocedure220 and thesensing procedure230. Theevaluation procedure240 can involve adetermination routine242 in which a sensed response from thesensing procedure230 is compared with a desired response range and/or other responses from previous iterations of thestimulation procedure220 and thesensing procedure230. Based upon whether the sensed response is within a desired range and/or shows an improvement compared to previous responses or target ranges, the controller can automatically test the effectiveness of other electrode configurations and stimulus parameters. For example, if the response is not within the desired response range, then thedetermination routine242 directs the controller to select an alternate configuration for the therapy electrodes and/or alternate parameter for the stimulus. Alternatively, in one embodiment when the sensed response is within the desired response range, thedetermination routine242 can direct the controller to proceed directly to astop270 and indicate that the configuration of therapy electrodes and the parameters for the stimulus have been optimized to treat the specific patient. In another embodiment when the sensed response is within the desired response range, thedetermination routine242 directs the controller to select additional alternate configurations of the therapy electrodes and/or stimulus parameters to discover whether a more effective response can be achieved.
• The process of selecting alternate therapy electrode configurations or stimulus parameters is performed by ananalyzing procedure260. In one embodiment, the analyzingprocedure260 is predicated upon the understanding that the electrode configuration and each of the stimulus parameters are independent variables that can be individually optimized while keeping the other variables constant. The analyzingprocedure260, therefore, can proceed by keeping one of the configuration of the therapy electrodes or the stimulus parameters constant and then progressively adjusting the other of these variables until the most effective result is obtained for the adjusted variable. For example, when the analyzingprocedure260 selects alternate stimulus parameters, it typically maintains the previous configuration of therapy electrodes and it adjusts only one of the stimulus parameters at a time. Conversely, the analyzingprocedure260 can keep the same stimulus parameters and select alternate configurations of therapy electrodes. The analyzingprocedure260 can select alternate inputs for the stimulus parameters and/or the electrode configurations by dynamically estimating new parameters based on projected response patterns for using empirical data developed for particular therapies and/or actual responses from previous stimuli applied to the patient. In one embodiment, the controller automatically analyzes the responses from previous stimulatingprocedures220 to determine a pattern of improved or degraded effectiveness of the corresponding configurations of therapy electrodes and stimulus parameters that were applied in the iterations of thestimulation procedure220. Based upon the pattern of responses, the analyzing routine260 can then incrementally change one of the variables in a manner that concurs with a pattern showing improved responses or moves away from the pattern that shows deteriorated responses.
• A basic example of the analyzing routine260 involves optimizing the frequency of the electrical stimulus. As such, the configuration of electrodes and the other stimulus parameters remain constant for several iterations of the applyingprocedure220. In one iteration a stimulus having a first frequency (e.g., 50 Hz) may produce marginal results as determined by the sensing andevaluation procedures230 and240. Without additional data, the analyzingprocedure260 selects a second stimulus with a second frequency either less or greater than the first frequency to get a general understanding of whether higher or lower frequencies produce more efficacious results. The controller, for example, can select a second frequency of 25 Hz. If a frequency of 25 Hz produces better results than 50 Hz, the controller can select still lower frequencies in theanalyzing procedure260; but, assuming for the sake of this example that a frequency of 25 Hz produces a worse result than 50 Hz, then the controller can select a third frequency higher than the second frequency (e.g., 100 Hz). If the higher third frequency (e.g., 100 Hz) produces a better result than the first frequency (e.g., 50 Hz), then the controller can select a still higher fourth frequency (e.g., 200 Hz) in a subsequent iteration of the procedure. Themethod200 can continue in this manner by adjusting variables in a direction that produces better results until the results begin to deteriorate. At this point, it is expected that the optimal value for the variable is bracketed between the last value selected for the variable and the value of the iteration immediately preceding the penultimate iteration (i.e., the second-to-the-last iteration).
• Several embodiments of theoptimization procedure200 that use thesystem100 are expected to reduce the cost and time for optimizing the configuration of the therapy electrodes and the stimulus parameters. One feature of the optimizingmethod200 is that the pulse system and the therapy electrodes can be an integrated unit that is implanted into the patient and controlled externally from the patient such that an external controller can adjust the variables (e.g., electrode configuration and/or stimulus parameters) without requiring opening the patient for access to the pulse system and/or the therapy electrodes. One benefit of this feature is that several different electrode configurations and stimulus parameters can be adjusted after implanting the electrode array, and the variables can also be tested rather quickly because the controller can automatically adjust the variables and apply the stimulus to the therapy electrodes in a manner that is expected to be much faster than manually adjusting the variables. Another benefit of this feature is that the patient need only be subject to a single application of an anesthetic because the patient can be closed up soon after implanting the electrode array and the test can be performed after closing the patient. As a result, several embodiments of theoptimization procedure200 are expected to reduce the time and costs for determining a desirable electrode configuration and stimulus parameters.
• Several embodiments of theoptimization procedure200 are also expected to provide better results than relying solely on the subjective input of the patient. Another aspect of several embodiments of thesystem100 is that the sensing device provides objective criteria that measures the response to the stimuli. This feature is expected to provide better accuracy in determining the effectiveness of the individual stimuli applied to the therapy electrodes. Moreover, theoptimization procedure200 can also expediently optimize the waveform parameters in addition to optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes such that both the electrical components of the stimulus and the location(s) where the stimulus is applied are optimized for specific patients.
• Another feature of several embodiments of theoptimization method200 using thesystem100 is that they are expected to provide more effective therapies over a long period of time without additional surgical procedures. One feature that provides this benefit is that the pulse system and the electrode array can be implanted into the patient and controlled externally from the patient. As a result, when the effectiveness of the therapy degrades because the target site shifts or another variable changes, thesensing device180 can be positioned relative to the patient and coupled to the controller to re-optimize the electrode configuration and/or the stimulus parameters without having to perform surgery on the patient. Thesystem100 can accordingly be operated using embodiments of theoptimization procedure200 at any time to compensate for shifts in the target location. Several embodiments of theoptimization procedure200 that use thesystem100 are accordingly expected to provide more effective therapies for ongoing applications.
• Still another benefit of several embodiments of themethod200 is that they are expected to be more comfortable for patients. One feature of themethod200 is that the sensing procedure can sense responses at levels that the patient cannot feel any sensations. As a result, is it not likely that the application of the stimulus will cause pain or discomfort.
• FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, themethod300 can include asetup procedure310 in which a setup configuration of therapy electrodes is selected. The setup configuration of therapy electrodes can be based upon historical data obtained from previous optimization procedures for specific patients or different types of therapies. After performing thesetup procedure310, themethod300 continues with a stimulatingprocedure320 in which a control electrical stimulus is applied to the selected configuration of therapy electrodes. A response in the patient to the applied control stimulus is then sensed in asensing procedure330, which is generally performed after each iteration of the stimulatingprocedure320. The stimulatingprocedure320 and thesensing procedure330 can be similar to those described above with reference toFIG. 2, except that the stimulatingprocedure320 involves applying the same control stimulus for each iteration. The primary difference, therefore, is that the configuration of therapy electrodes can be changed for each iteration of the stimulatingprocedure320.
• Themethod300 continues with anevaluation procedure340 in which the sensed response from thesensing procedure330 is compared with a predetermined range of desired responses and/or previous responses from thesensing procedure330. Theevaluation procedure340 can have several different embodiments. Theevaluation procedure340, for example, can include adetermination routine342 that determines whether the sensed response is the optimized response. In one embodiment, the sense response is considered to be optimized when it is within a desired range of responses. Themethod300 can accordingly proceed to stop when such a response is sensed. In another embodiment, the sensed response is considered to be optimized when it provides the best result of all possible configurations of electrodes. This embodiment generally involves applying the control stimulus to all possible configurations of electrodes before identifying the optimized electrode configuration. In still another embodiment, the sensed response is the optimized response when it provides the most effective result compared to other responses without testing all of the possible configurations of electrodes. This embodiment involves testing a number of electrode configurations, identifying a trend in electrode configurations that produce effective results, and determining if or when the trend no longer holds true. It will be appreciated that theevaluation procedure340 can have several additional or different embodiments.
• Themethod300 can continue with ananalyzing procedure360 that selects an alternate therapy electrode configuration. The alternate therapy electrode configuration selected in theanalyzing procedure360 can be determined by comparing previous responses to other configurations of therapy electrodes to develop a pattern of improved responses and selecting a configuration that is expected to continue the trend. Alternatively, the analyzingprocedure360 can simply select another therapy electrode configuration that has not yet been tested. The method can also include afinal selection procedure365 that selects the optimized configuration of the therapy electrodes based upon the sensed responses. Theprocess300 can then terminate with afinal stop procedure370 in which the optimized electrode configuration is stored in memory, displayed to a practitioner, or otherwise presented for use.
• FIGS. 4A-4L illustrate several examples of therapy electrode configurations that can be selected in theanalyzing procedure360 and then tested in the stimulatingprocedure320, thesensing procedure330, and theevaluation procedure340. In these embodiments, atherapy electrode array400 for use with the system100 (FIG. 1) can include animplantable support member410 and a plurality ofelectrodes420 carried by thesupport member410. Thetherapy electrodes420 can be individual electrodes that are arranged in a grid array having M columns and N rows. Theelectrode array400 can have several other arrangements ofelectrodes420, such as concentric circles, elongated lines, or many other patterns. Each of theelectrodes420 can be independently coupled to a pulse system so thatindividual electrodes420 can be activated or inactivated using the controller130 (FIG. 1) and the pulse system140 (FIG. 1). Theelectrode array400 is typically implanted into the patient so that theelectrodes420 are placed generally over or proximate to a target location T for stimulation. In many embodiments, the target location T can be at the surface of the cortex, along the spinal cord, or within a deep brain region of a patient depending upon the particular treatment being applied to the patient.
• FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate two alternate embodiments of selecting therapy electrode configurations. Referring toFIG. 4A, a setup configuration of twoactive electrodes420acan be selected such that the electrodes are within the target location T. One of theactive electrodes420acan be biased with a positive polarity and the otheractive electrode420acan be biased with a negative polarity. Referring toFIG. 4B, a subsequent iteration of the process can include selecting an alternate configuration of therapy electrodes in which the polarity of theactive electrodes420ais switched.FIGS. 4C-4E illustrate alternate embodiments of selecting different configurations of therapy electrodes using theanalyzing procedure360 explained above with reference toFIG. 3. As can be seen fromFIGS. 4C-4E, theactive therapy electrodes420acan be inside and/or outside of the target location TFIG. 4C illustrates an embodiment in which all of theactive electrodes420aare within the target location and adjacent to one another, andFIGS. 4D and 4E illustrate embodiments in which at least some of theactive electrodes420aare outside of the target location T and one or moreinactive electrodes420 are between some of theactive electrodes420a. It will be appreciated that the analyzingprocedure360 can select any configuration oftherapy electrodes420 in the M×N electrode array400 such that any combination ofelectrodes420 can be active electrodes.
• FIG. 4F illustrates another aspect of selecting a desired configuration of therapy electrodes in which an original target location T_o(shown in broken lines) has changed to a current target location T_c. The shift from the original target location T_oto the current target location T_ccan be caused by several generally unpredictable factors. Themethods200 and300 can compensate for such a target location shift without additional surgery because the therapy electrodes can be optimized using an external control and indirect coupling with the pulse system and/or or the electrode array. Thus, the application of the stimulus can be changed as the target location of neural activity shifts to provide efficacious treatment over a long period of time.
• FIGS. 4G and 4H illustrate different embodiments of therapy electrical configurations that can be selected in theanalyzing procedure360 in which several electrodes on opposite areas of the target location are activated with a common polarity. Referring toFIG. 4G, for example, this embodiment illustrates a series of active electrodes on opposite ends of the target location T One embodiment of this configuration applies a common polarity to afirst set420_a1of active electrodes and an opposite polarity to asecond set420_a2of active electrodes. Another embodiment can apply the same polarity to all of the active electrodes in both of thesets420_a1and420_a2.FIG. 4H illustrates a related embodiment in which a number of electrodes on opposite sides of the target location T are active electrodes. The electrode configuration shown inFIG. 4H can also apply a common polarity to all of the active electrodes on each side of the target location T or all of the electrodes on both sides of the target location T.
• FIGS. 4I and 4J illustrate additional embodiments of electrode configurations that can be selected in theanalyzing procedure360 and then tested in thestimulation procedure320.FIG. 4I illustrates an embodiment in which afirst set420_a1of active electrodes has a common polarity at one end of the target location T, and asecond set420_a2of active electrodes is located at an opposite end of the target location T The polarity of the electrodes in thesecond set420_a2can be opposite or the same as those of the active electrodes in thefirst subset420_a1.FIG. 4J illustrates a similar embodiment in which afirst set420_a1of active electrodes is located within the target location T along one side, and asecond set420_a2of active electrodes is located within a target location T along an opposite side. The electrodes in thefirst set420_a1can have one polarity, and the electrodes in thesecond set420_a2can have an opposite polarity.
• FIGS. 4K and 4L illustrate additional embodiments of therapy electrode configurations that can be selected in theanalyzing procedure360 and then tested in thestimulation procedure320. Referring toFIG. 4K, this embodiment illustrates afirst set420_a1of active electrodes at one end of the target location T and asecond set420_a2of active electrodes at an opposite end of the target location T. The active electrodes in thefirst set420_a1can have opposite polarities and similarly the active electrodes in thesecond set420_a2can have opposite polarities. The active electrodes in the first andsecond sets420_a1and420_a2can be located outside of the target location T as shown inFIG. 4K.FIG. 4L illustrates a related embodiment in which the active electrodes in thefirst set420_a1have opposite polarities, and the active electrodes in thesecond set420_a2have opposite polarities. The active electrodes in the first andsecond sets420_a1and420_a2shown inFIG. 4L are located within the boundaries of the target location T. It will be appreciated that the invention can have several additional embodiments in which the individual sets of electrodes can be inside, outside, inside and outside, and have different combinations of polarities.
• Another aspect of the invention is optimizing the parameters for the electrical stimulus in addition to or in lieu of optimizing the configuration of therapy electrodes.FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for optimizing the desired parameters for the electrical stimulus in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, themethod500 can include asetup procedure510 in which a therapy electrode configuration and the initial parameters for the electrical stimulus are selected. The configuration of therapy electrodes can be the optimized configuration from themethod300 explained above with reference toFIG. 3, or it can be another configuration input by a practitioner or retrieved from memory in the controller. The same configuration of therapy electrodes is generally maintained throughout themethod500. After performing thesetup procedure510, themethod500 continues with a first stimulatingprocedure520 in which the electrical stimulus is applied to the selected configuration of therapy electrodes using the initial parameters of the electrical stimulus. A response in the patient to the initial electrical stimulus is sensed in afirst sensing procedure530. The procedures510-530 accordingly provide a response to an initial electrical stimulus based upon the initial stimulus parameters to provide a baseline response.
• Themethod500 continues with anadjusting procedure540 in which one of the stimulus parameters for the electrical stimulus is adjusted, and then a secondstimulating procedure550 in which the adjusted stimulus is applied to the therapy electrodes. A response to the adjusted stimulus is then determined using asecond sensing procedure560. Themethod500 can repeat the procedures540-560 several times for each of the parameters of the electrical stimulus to develop a plurality of responses for each parameter.
• Themethod500 can then continue with anevaluation procedure570 in which the responses are evaluated to determine specific values for the stimulus parameters that provide an efficacious result. Theevaluation procedure570 can include adetermination routine572 that determines whether a parameter of the stimulus has been optimized. If the response for a parameter is not optimized, then the method can continue by repeating the procedures540-560 for the parameters that are not within a desired range. However, if the response is optimized, then thedetermination routine572 can continue to afinal selection procedure580 in which a set of electrical parameters that produce a desirable response are selected.
• FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating some of the stimulus parameters that can be optimized using themethod500. A stimulus start time t_odefines the initial point at which an electrical or magnetic pulse is applied to the therapy electrodes. For a biphasic waveform, the parameters typically include a pulse width t₁for a first phase, a pulse width t₂for a second phase, and a stimulus pulse width t₃for a single biphasic pulse. The pulse can alternatively be a monophasic pulse. The parameters can also include astimulus repetition rate 1/t₄corresponding to the frequency of the pulses, a stimulus pulse duty cycle equal to t₃divided by t₄, a stimulus burst time t₅that defines the number of pulses in a pulse train, and/or a stimuluspulse repetition rate 1/t₆that defines the stimulus burst frequency. Another parameter of the electrical stimulus is the intensity of the current I₁, for the first phase and the current intensity I₂for the second phase of each pulse. In another embodiment, a continuous pulse train can be used such that t₅=t₆.
• In a typical application, one of the parameters is adjusted for each application of the stimulus while maintaining the other parameters constant to determine the affect that adjusting the one parameter has on the response in the patient. Each of the parameters are believed to be independent from one another, thus one of the parameters can be optimized by applying a number of different stimuli using different values for the parameter to determine whether increasing or decreasing the parameter enhances the efficacy of the stimulus. Once it is determined whether increasing or decreasing the parameter provides a better result, then the parameter can be further increased or decreased (whichever is more desirable) until the effectiveness of the stimulation degrades. The optimized value for a particular stimulus parameter can then be stored in memory, and then a different stimulus parameter can be optimized using a similar procedure for that parameter. As such, one or more of the stimulus parameters can be optimized using this procedure.
• The embodiments of themethods200,300 and500 described above can be used to optimize procedures for cortical stimulation, spinal stimulation, deep brain stimulation, and peripheral stimulation for a number of different applications. The spinal stimulation and certain aspects of the cortical stimulation can be used to mask pain, such as back pain, phantom limb pain experienced by amputees, or pain in the lower extremities. The deep brain stimulation can be optimized to treat movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, distonia, etc.), depression, or other functions related to deep brain neural activity. The methods can also be used to optimize therapies for cortical stimulation that enhance learning functions, restore motor functions (e.g., use of muscle groups affected by stroke or other trauma), and treating diseases or seizures (e.g., Alzheimer's, epilepsy, etc.). Many of the embodiments of themethods200,300 and500 for masking pain involve applying supra-threshold activation stimuli to the therapy electrodes. On the other hand, several of the cortical neural-stimulation procedures that are not directed toward masking pain but rather seek to enhance existing functions (e.g., learning) or rehabilitate impaired functions (e.g., brain damage) use sub-threshold activation stimuli that do not exceed the membrane activation threshold of a population of neurons in the target stimulation site. Several embodiments of themethods200,300 and500 that are directed more specifically toward sub-threshold optimization of the neural-stimulation procedures are described below with reference toFIG. 7.
• C. Sub-Threshold Optimization Methods
• FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment for optimizing a sub-threshold simulation therapy. Sub-threshold simulation involves training and/or recruiting neurons to perform a neural-function. The target location can be a site where neural-plasticity is occurring or is expected to occur. The present inventors believe that neurons become more likely to be able to carry out desired neural-functions for enhancing, repairing or restoring functionality after being stimulated electrically at a level below the membrane activation threshold for a significant population of neurons at the target site. The present inventors also believe that certain sub-threshold simulation lowers the threshold at which neurons are activated in response to physical or cognitive input to produce a lasting change in the membrane potential such that the neurons may eventually “fire” in response to motor or cognitive functions after termination of the stimulus. The optimization procedure for sub-threshold simulation accordingly seeks to select stimulus parameters that produce the desired neural-activity at the lowest level of stimulation.
• Referring to the flow diagram ofFIG. 7, this figure illustrates an embodiment of amethod700 including asetup procedure710 in which the configuration of therapy electrodes and the parameters for the stimulus are selected. The therapy electrode configuration and the stimulus parameters can be determined by optimizing them as described above with reference toFIGS. 1-6. Themethod700 then continues with an activationthreshold determination procedure720 that determines the intensity of the electrical current for the stimulus that causes a reaction in a population of the neurons at the target location to exceed the membrane activation threshold. In one embodiment, thethreshold determination procedure720 involves sensing responses in the patient that are related to changes in the membrane potential of the neurons. It is difficult to measure the actual membrane potential of a neuron, so thedetermination procedure720 generally measures a tangible response that is a surrogate for the change in the membrane potential. One such surrogate measurement of changes in the membrane potential is the EMG response to the stimulus applied to the therapy electrodes. Thethreshold determination procedure720 accordingly involves adjusting the stimulus parameters until the electrical current intensity just begins to produce an EMG response indicating that a significant population of neurons at the target location have just exceeded their membrane potential. After the EMG indicates a threshold electrical current, themethod700 includes adelaying period730 in which the effects of the supra-threshold stimulus are allowed to “wash out” from the neurons.
• Themethod700 further includes a sub-threshold stimulation procedure involving a selectingprocedure740 in which the intensity of the electrical current is lowered to a “sub-threshold” level, and astimulation procedure750 in which the sub-threshold stimulus is applied to the configuration of therapy electrodes. The selectingprocedure740 can involve selecting an electrical current that is a percentage of the threshold electrical current identified in thethreshold determination procedure720. In one embodiment, the sub-threshold current intensity is initially selected to be from approximately 40%-99% of the threshold electrical current membrane. After the sub-threshold electrical current intensity has been applied to the electrode configuration in thestimulation procedure750, asensing procedure760 determines whether the sub-threshold stimulus reduced the membrane activation threshold for a population of neurons.
• Thesensing procedure760 can proceed in a manner similar to theactivation threshold procedure720 explained above by applying an electrical pulse having a sensing current intensity above the sub-threshold stimulus applied in the stimulatingprocedure740 and below the initial threshold stimulus level that was measured in thethreshold determining procedure720. For example, if the threshold current for the threshold stimulus that produced the threshold activation was 10 mA and the sub-threshold current applied in the stimulatingprocedure750 was 7 mA, then thesensing procedure760 can start with a sensing current intensity of 7.5 mA and incrementally increase the sensing current intensity (e.g., by 0.5 mA increments). The sensing current is increased until the EMG measurements indicate that the membrane potential of a population of neurons has been exceeded. This is a ramp up procedure that works up from the sub-threshold current intensity applied in the stimulatingprocedure750. An alternate embodiment is a ramp down procedure in which the sensing current intensity is initially set at a level near the threshold current intensity (e.g., 90-99%) and works down until a threshold activation is not detected. In either case, thesensing procedure760 determines a secondary threshold current intensity corresponding to a change in the membrane threshold activation.
• Themethod700 then continues with ananalyzing procedure770 that determines whether the secondary current intensity is less than the initial threshold current intensity. If so, then themethod700 continues to identify that the stimulation is enhancing the plasticity of the neurons atstage772, and then themethod700 either repeats procedures740-760 with a lower sub-threshold electrical current intensity or it selects an optimized sub-threshold current intensity for use with the patient atstage782. If theanalyzing procedure770 determines that the threshold activation of the neurons is not decreasing, then themethod700 proceeds to stage774. In one embodiment in which a number of different electrical current intensities have reduced the activation threshold of the neurons, themethod700 continues fromstage774 to stage782 to select the most effective sub-threshold current intensity that has been tested for use on the patient. In another embodiment in which the stimulus parameters applied to the therapy electrodes have not decreased the activation threshold, themethod700 can repeat procedures740-770 to determine whether a different electrical current intensity can produce a lower activation threshold. In still another embodiment in which the activation threshold does not decrease after application of the stimulus, themethod700 can continue withstage784 that involves adjusting the electrical configuration, the timing parameters of the electrical stimulation, and/or the target location of the electrodes. Afterstage784, themethod700 can then proceed with repeating procedures740-770 to determine whether the activation threshold can be lowered by applying the new stimulus parameters to the therapy electrodes in accordance with the changes that were made instage784.
• From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the electrode arrays and sensing devices could be configured for use in cardiac applications to optimize implantable pacemakers or implantable defibrillators. It will be appreciated that the applications of the invention in the field of cardiology are embodiments of optimizing a peripheral stimulation treatment. Many aspects of the invention are also applicable to magnetic stimulation in addition to or in lieu of electrical stimulation. In magnetic applications, the parameters for the stimulation can be automatically set using the algorithms explained above for electrical stimulation; but, instead of selecting different configurations of a subcutaneous array of electrodes, the location and configuration of a magnetic transducer can be moved externally relative to the body. In still further applications of the inventions, many of the embodiments of the apparatus and methods can be particularly useful for optimizing spinal cord stimulation therapies and procedures. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims (49)

1. A neuro-stimulation system, comprising:

an electrode array having an implantable support member configured to be implanted into a patient and a plurality of therapy electrodes carried by the support member;

a pulse system operatively coupled to the therapy electrodes, the pulse system delivering a stimulus to the therapy electrodes; and

a controller operatively coupled to the pulse system, the controller including a computer operable medium containing instructions that generate command signals that define the stimulus delivered by the pulse system and determine a desired configuration for the therapy electrodes and/or a desired stimulus to be delivered to the therapy electrodes based upon feedback input to the controller.

2. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the therapy electrodes are independently coupled to the pulse system such that the pulse system can activate and/or deactivate individual therapy electrodes.

3. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the pulse system and the electrode array are components of an integrated unit configured to be implanted in the patient at a stimulation site.

4. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the electrode array is configured to be implanted at a stimulation site in the patient and the pulse system is separate from the electrode array and configured to be implanted at a site in the patient remote from the stimulation site, and the pulse system being coupled to the electrode array by a conductive line implanted in the patient.

5. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the controller is configured to be external to the patient and the pulse system is configured to be implanted in the patient, and wherein the pulse system is linked to the controller via a direct link or an indirect link such that the controller can direct the pulse system to activate and/or deactivate the electrodes independently.

6. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a sensing device configured to be attached to a sensing location of the patient, the sensing device generating response signals defining the feedback input into the controller; and wherein the computer operable medium contains instructions that evaluate the response signals from the sensing device.

7. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the sensing device comprises a sense electrode configured to be attached to the patient at a sense location to sense a response to the stimulus applied to the therapy electrodes.

8. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the sensing device comprises a sense electrode configured to be attached to the patient at a sense location and an EMG unit coupled to the sense electrode.

9. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the sensing device comprises a functional MRI device that detects locations of neural-activity in the brain.

10. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the computer operable medium of the controller comprises a computer readable medium containing instructions causing the controller to perform the following method:

applying an electrical stimulus having a plurality of stimulus parameters to a selected configuration of the therapy electrodes;

sensing a response to the applied electrical stimulus using the sensing device;

determining whether the response is within a desired range or an improvement over a previous sensed response from a different electrical stimulus and/or a different configuration of therapy electrodes;

selecting an alternate configuration of the therapy electrodes and/or an alternate electrical stimulus;

repeating the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures using the alternate configuration of the therapy electrodes and/or the alternate electrical stimulus; and

choosing a configuration of therapy electrodes and/or an electrical stimulus corresponding to a sensed response that is within a desired range and/or is an improvement compared to other sensed responses.

11. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the computer operable medium of the controller comprises a computer readable medium containing instructions causing the controller to perform the following method:

sending a command signal from the controller to the pulse system;

delivering an electrical pulse from the pulse system to a configuration of the therapy electrodes;

sensing a response to the electrical pulse using the sensing device;

receiving a response signal from the sensing device at the controller;

in the controller, determining whether the signal is within a desired range or an improvement over a previous response signal from another electrical pulse and/or another configuration of the therapy electrodes, and selecting an alternate configuration of the therapy electrodes and/or an alternate electrical pulse;

repeating the sending, delivering, sensing, receiving, and determining procedures using the alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and/or the alternate electrical pulse; and

in the controller, identifying an effective pulse therapy electrode configuration and/or electrical pulse; and

storing the effective therapy electrode configuration and/or electrical parameter in a memory of the controller.

12. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the computer operable medium of the controller comprises a computer readable medium containing instructions causing the controller to perform the following method:

installing the electrode array at a therapy site of a patient;

installing the sensing device at a sense location of the patient;

selecting a setup configuration of the therapy electrodes and a control stimulus of electrical parameters;

applying the control stimulus to the therapy electrodes;

sensing a response in the patient with the sensing device and generating a response signal;

in the controller, evaluating the response signal by comparing the response signal with at least one of a desired response signal and/or an antecedent response signal sensed by the sensing device that have been stored in a memory of the controller;

in the controller, automatically choosing an alternate configuration of therapy electrodes according to the evaluation of the response signal with the desired response signal and/or the antecedent response signal;

reapplying the control stimulus to the alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and sensing a response signal using the sensing device; and

repeating the evaluating, choosing and reapplying procedures until the response signal is within a desired range and/or a desired number of therapy electrode configurations have been tested.

13. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the computer operable medium of the controller comprises a computer readable medium containing instructions causing the controller to perform the following method:

installing the electrode array at a therapy site of a patient;

installing the sensing device at a sense location of the patient;

applying an electrical stimulus having a plurality of stimulus parameters to a control configuration of therapy electrodes;

sensing a response in the patient with the sensing device and generating a response signal;

in the controller, evaluating the response signal by comparing the response signal with at least one of a desired response signal and/or an antecedent response signal sensed by the sensing device stored in a memory of the controller;

in the controller, automatically choosing an alternate set of stimulus parameters according to the evaluation of the response signal with the desired response signal and/or the antecedent response signal;

reapplying the alternate set of stimulus parameters to the setup configuration of therapy electrodes and sensing a response signal using the sensing device; and

repeating the evaluating, choosing and reapplying procedures until the response signal is within a desired range and/or a desired number of stimulus parameters have been tested.

14. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the computer operable medium of the controller comprises a computer readable medium containing instructions causing the controller to perform the following method:

selecting an initial set of stimulation parameters for an initial electrical stimulus;

applying the initial electrical stimulus to a configuration of the therapy electrodes at a target stimulation site of the patient;

sensing a response signal at a sensing site of the patient that corresponds to the initial electrical stimulus applied to the therapy electrodes;

independently adjusting a current intensity until a threshold electrical stimulus is identified, the threshold electrical stimulus having a threshold current intensity at which a response is first identified in a population of neurons of the target site; and

applying a sub-threshold electrical stimulus to the configuration of therapy electrodes, the sub-threshold electrical stimulus having a current intensity less than the current intensity of the threshold electrical stimulus.

15. In a computer, a method of automatically determining a favorable neuro-stimulation program for a patient, comprising:

applying an electrical stimulus having a plurality of stimulus parameters to a selected configuration of the therapy electrodes that have been installed at a target therapy site of a patient;

sensing a response to the applied electrical stimulus at a sensing device that has been installed at a sense location of the patient;

determining whether the response is within a desired range or an improvement over a previous sensed response from a different electrical stimulus and/or a different configuration of therapy electrodes;

selecting an alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and/or an alternate electrical stimulus;

repeating the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures using the alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and/or the alternate electrical stimulus; and

choosing a configuration of therapy electrodes and/or an electrical stimulus corresponding to a sensed response that is within a desired range and/or provides a better result compared to other sensed responses.

16. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the selecting procedure comprises computing an alternate stimulus parameter while maintaining a constant electrode configuration, and wherein computing the alternate stimulus parameter comprises correlating a plurality of different stimuli applied to the constant electrode configuration with corresponding sensed responses to determine a stimulus/response trend and estimating a new stimulus parameter that is expected to improve the efficacy according to the stimulus/response trend.

17. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the selecting procedure comprises computing an alternate electrode configuration while maintaining constant stimulus parameters, and wherein computing the alternate electrode configuration comprises correlating a plurality of sensed responses with corresponding electrode configurations to which the constant stimulus parameters were applied to determine an electrode-configuration/response trend and estimating a new electrode configuration that is expected to improve the efficacy according to the electrode-configuration/response trend.

18. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the selecting procedure comprises increasing a stimulus parameter when a stimulus/response trend indicates that an increase in the stimulus parameter improves the efficacy of the stimulus.

19. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the selecting procedure comprises decreasing a stimulus parameter when a stimulus/response trend indicates that a decrease in the stimulus parameter improves the efficacy of the stimulus.

20. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the applying, sensing, determining, selecting, repeating and choosing procedures are repeated on the same patient within a period not greater than one week.

21. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the applying, sensing, determining, selecting, repeating and choosing procedures are repeated on the same patient on consecutive days.

22. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures are completed in a time period not greater than approximately 300 seconds.

23. The method ofclaim 15 wherein two iterations of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures are repeated in a time period not greater than approximately 90 seconds.

24. The method ofclaim 15 wherein two iterations of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures are repeated in a time period not greater than approximately 180 seconds.

25. The method ofclaim 15 wherein two iterations of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures are repeated in a time period of approximately 20-90 seconds.

26. The method ofclaim 15 wherein a single iteration of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures is completed in a time period not greater than approximately 45 seconds.

27. The method ofclaim 15 wherein a single iteration of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures is completed in a time period of approximately 10-30 seconds.

28. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the sensing procedure comprises attaching EMG sensors to a sense site of the patient, detecting peripheral responses to the stimuli applied to the electrodes, and automatically sending the detected peripheral responses to the controller.

29. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the sensing procedure comprises detecting data related to neural activity using a functional MRI and automatically sending the data to the controller.

30. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the data comprises coordinates of neural activity relative to the therapy electrodes.

31. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the data comprises intensity levels of neural activity.

32. In a computer, a method of automatically determining a favorable a neuro-stimulation program for a patient, comprising:

sending a command signal from a controller to a pulse system operatively coupled to the controller;

delivering an electrical pulse from the pulse system to a configuration of therapy electrodes in a therapy electrode array installed at a target stimulation site of a patient;

sensing a response to the electrical pulse at a sensing device installed at a sense location of the patient;

receiving a response signal from the sensing device at the controller;

in the controller, determining whether the signal is within a desired range or an improvement over a previous response signal from another electrical pulse and/or another configuration of therapy electrodes, and selecting an alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and/or an alternate electrical pulse;

repeating the sending, delivering, sensing, receiving, and determining procedures using the alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and/or the alternate electrical pulse; and

in the controller, identifying an effective pulse therapy electrode configuration and/or electrical pulse; and

storing the effective therapy electrode configuration and/or electrical pulse in a memory of the controller.

33. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the selecting procedure comprises computing an alternate stimulus parameter while maintaining a constant electrode configuration, and wherein computing the alternate stimulus parameter comprises correlating a plurality of different stimuli applied to the constant electrode configuration with corresponding sensed responses to determine a stimulus/response trend and estimating a new stimulus parameter that is expected to improve the efficacy according to the stimulus/response trend.

34. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the selecting procedure comprises computing an alternate electrode configuration while maintaining constant stimulus parameters, and wherein computing the alternate electrode configuration comprises correlating a plurality of sensed responses with corresponding electrode configurations to which the constant stimulus parameters were applied to determine an electrode-configuration/response trend and estimating a new electrode configuration that is expected to improve the efficacy according to the electrode-configuration/response trend.

35. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the selecting procedure comprises increasing a stimulus parameter when a stimulus/response trend indicates that an increase in the stimulus parameter improves the efficacy of the stimulus.

36. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the selecting procedure comprises decreasing a stimulus parameter when a stimulus/response trend indicates that a decrease in the stimulus parameter improves the efficacy of the stimulus.

37. The method ofclaim 32 wherein two iterations of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures are repeated in a time period not greater than approximately 90 seconds.

38. The method ofclaim 32 wherein two iterations of the applying, sensing, determining and selecting procedures are completed in a time period not greater than approximately 180 seconds.

39. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the sensing procedure comprises attaching EMG sensors to a sense site of the patient, detecting peripheral responses to the stimuli applied to the electrodes, and automatically sending the detected peripheral responses to the controller.

40. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the sensing procedure comprises detecting data related to neural activity using a functional MRI and automatically sending the data to the controller.

41. A method of automatically determining a favorable neuro-stimulation program for a patient, comprising:

installing an electrode array having a plurality of therapy electrodes at a therapy site of a patient;

installing a sensing device at a sense location of the patient;

selecting a setup configuration of therapy electrodes and a control stimulus of electrical parameters;

applying the control stimulus to the therapy electrodes;

sensing a response in the patient with the sensing device and generating a response signal;

in the controller, evaluating the response signal by comparing the response signal with at least one of a desired response signal and/or an antecedent response signal sensed by the sensing device that have been stored in a memory of the controller;

in the controller, automatically choosing an alternate configuration of therapy electrodes according to the evaluation of the response signal with the desired response signal and/or the antecedent response signal;

reapplying the control stimulus to the alternate configuration of therapy electrodes and sensing a response signal using the sensing device; and

repeating the evaluating, choosing and reapplying procedures until the response signal is within a desired range and/or a desired number of therapy electrode configurations have been tested.

42. A method of automatically determining a favorable neuro-stimulation program for a patient, comprising:

installing an electrode array having a plurality of therapy electrodes at a therapy site of a patient;

installing a sensing device at a sense location of the patient;

applying an electrical stimulus having a plurality of stimulus parameters to a control configuration of therapy electrodes;

sensing a response in the patient with the sensing device and generating a response signal;

in the controller, evaluating the response signal by comparing the response signal with at least one of a desired response signal and/or an antecedent response signal sensed by the sensing device stored in a memory of the controller;

in the controller, adjusting at least one of the stimulus parameters according to the evaluation of the response signal with the desired response signal and/or the antecedent response signal;

reapplying the adjusted stimulus parameters to the setup configuration of therapy electrodes and sensing a response signal using the sensing device; and

repeating the evaluating, choosing and reapplying procedures until the response signal is within a desired range and/or a desired number of stimulus parameters have been tested.

43. A method of automatically determining a favorable sub-threshold neuro-stimulation program for a patient, comprising:

selecting a set of stimulation parameters for an electrical stimulus;

applying the electrical stimulus to a configuration of therapy electrodes at a target stimulation site of the patient;

sensing a response signal at a sensing site of the patient that corresponds to the electrical stimulus applied to the therapy electrodes;

independently adjusting a current intensity until a threshold electrical stimulus is identified, the threshold electrical stimulus having a threshold current intensity at which a response is first identified in a population of neurons of the target site; and

applying a sub-threshold electrical stimulus to the configuration of therapy electrodes, the sub-threshold electrical stimulus having a current intensity less than the current intensity of the threshold electrical stimulus.

44. The method ofclaim 43 wherein applying a sub-threshold stimulus comprises applying a sub-threshold current intensity of approximately 40-99% of the threshold current intensity.

45. The method ofclaim 43 wherein applying a sub-threshold stimulus comprises applying a sub-threshold current intensity of approximately 60-80% of the threshold current intensity.

46. The method ofclaim 43 wherein applying a sub-threshold stimulus comprises applying a sub-threshold current intensity of approximately 68-72% of the threshold current intensity.

47. The method ofclaim 43 wherein:

applying a sub-threshold stimulus comprises applying a sub-threshold current intensity of approximately 40-99% of the threshold current intensity; and

the method further comprises determining whether the application of the sub-threshold current intensity decreased a membrane activation threshold for a population of neurons subject to the sub-threshold stimulus.

48. The method ofclaim 43, further comprising decreasing the sub-threshold current intensity to a lower level and re-applying the decreased sub-threshold stimulus with the lower current intensity to the neurons, and further determining whether the application of the decreased sub-threshold current intensity further decreased the membrane activation threshold for the population of neurons.

49. The method ofclaim 43, further comprising repeating (a) decreasing the sub-threshold current intensity to a lower level, (b) re-applying the decreased sub-threshold stimulus with the lower current intensity to the neurons, and (c) further determining whether the application of the decreased sub-threshold current intensity further decreased the membrane activation threshold for the population of neurons until the membrane activation threshold does not decreased by a desired amount.

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