Patent Application
20230277114
The invention is a system used to investigate the effect of applying a variety of stimuli to an individual while measuring the frequency and severity of neural-disorder symptoms.
People who have such neural disorders as stammering (e.g. stuttering) or facial tics, when exposed to various stimuli such as heat, cold, vibration, electrical shock will exhibit varying degrees of frequency and severity of those disorders.
By applying various stimuli at specific intensities and durations, it has been found that each individual will respond to some combination so as to exhibit a significant decrease in frequency and severity of a particular neural-disorder symptom.
By carefully investigating the effect of different stimuli on an individual and his/her neural-disorder symptom frequency and severity, one can find a combination of stimuli, with specific, fixed intensity and duration, that will significantly mitigate the frequency and severity of a neural-disorder symptom.
Once an individual's response to various stimuli at specific intensities and durations has been investigated, it is possible to find a set of stimuli at specific intensities and durations that minimize the frequency and severity of a neural-disorder symptoms.
By using the stimuli and settings that produce minimized frequency and severity of a neural-disorder symptom, one can then make use of that set of stimuli and its settings as a means of therapy aimed at reducing the frequency and severity of such neural-disorder symptoms.
The invention is a system that enables a user to investigate various stimuli at various settings of intensity and duration while monitoring pulse rate, blood pressure, and brain activity to ensure that any adverse reaction is quickly noted, and by observing the frequency and severity of neural-disorder symptoms and resistance to body motion. In this way, the use of stimuli and body motion to mitigate neural-disorder symptoms can be investigated while ensuring that patient safety is carefully monitored.
Once a set of stimuli and specific intensities and durations are correlated with significant neural-disorder symptom mitigation, that stimuli and its settings may be used as a therapeutic aid for reducing neural-disorder symptom frequency and severity overall.
The system comprises an electronic control subsystem interfaced with transducers that can provide such stimuli as heat, cold, vibration, and/or mild electrical shock applied directly to an individual while concurrently monitoring blood pressure, pulse rate, body-motion resistance and brain activity.
Once an optimal set of stimuli and their settings has been found, the settings can be programmed into the electronic controller to apply those specific stimuli, intensities and durations as a therapeutic means of mitigating neural-disorder symptoms.
Many people suffer with such neural disorders as stammering (or stuttering) and facial tics. The symptoms of such disorders can be debilitating.
It was found that people suffering from such symptoms would exhibit lower frequency and severity during therapy sessions where stimuli, such as coldness, heat, vibration and mild electrical shock was applied to them for specific intensity and duration. In addition, it was found that resistance to requested body motions could also be correlated to symptom mitigation.
Using a cobbled-together system of stimuli generators, investigators found that individuals would benefit from specific stimuli set at specific intensities for specific durations, but that there was significant differences in those settings among individuals. Thus, it was necessary, first, to investigate how different stimuli applied for different durations at different intensities affected the frequency and severity of neural-disorder symptoms.
Once an individual's response to various stimuli and intensity/duration settings was explored, and a combination was found to markedly reduce frequency and severity of symptoms, those stimuli and settings could then be used for therapeutic purposes on that individual.
The invention herein disclosed is a system comprising electronic control of a variety of stimulation transducers combined with constant monitoring of an individual's blood pressure, pulse rate, brain activity, and resistance to body motion. In essence, it creates a closed-loop system wherein various stimuli at different intensities and durations are explored while monitoring an individual for frequency/severity of neural-disorder symptoms, and monitoring an individual for adverse changes in vital indications.
The same system can be used for essentially two purposes: investigating application of stimuli to an individual while capturing changes in neural-disorder symptom frequency and severity; and for applying specific stimuli at specific settings of intensity and duration, therapeutically, based upon finding combinations that produce marked decrease in symptom frequency and severity.
The benefits in having both the investigation and therapy applications enabled by the same system are consistency and speed of set up and use, and ensuring that there is consistency in the accuracy of settings in the transition from investigation to therapy.
The same transducer can be used to convert a signal from the control system to application of cold or warm stimulus. For example, an invention from University of California San Diego is a device that is worn like a wrist band that is reversible in terms of inner and outer layer. When worn with one side touching the skin, control signals can produce a safe feeling of coldness (e.g. a nominal temperature of 45 degrees F.), and when reversed, control signals can produce a safe feeling of heating (e.g. a nominal temperature of 105 degrees F.). Similarly, there are transducers that can apply safe levels of vibration and mild electrical shock (e.g. electro-stimulation) based on control signals.
Electrodes that are attached to the scalp (102) can provide electroencephalography (EEG) signals showing changes in brain activity; and a cuff (103) worn on an arm can, under signal control, provide pulse and blood pressure signals. The camera/microphone/wireless headset peripheral (e.g. a webcam and wireless headset subsystem) provides visual and audible feedback as investigation or therapy methods are invoked. The body-joint-cuffs (114 and 115) are worn over the elbows and knees and can detect the dynamics of arm folding and knee flexing so as to provide objective measures of resistance to such body motion.
After the investigation has been completed, the therapy method embodiment shown in
It should be noted that the invention is intended to be used so as to avoid a practitioner making physical contact with an individual during either investigation or therapy. The practitioner may be in the same room or remotely located. Where the practitioner is remotely located, the wireless interface can convey signals to and from the practitioner via the Internet using WiFi and virtual-private-network (VPN) link to ensure HIPAA privacy regulations are preserved. Vital sensors and body-joint-cuff sensors may be separate components or integrated into a garment or garments. The drawing shows discrete conductive paths for each sensor and transducer but an integrated subsystem can be added wherein the interface to the control subsystem comprises fewer conductive paths using a digitized serial data stream.
It should be noted that the disclosure and drawings comprise stimuli of heat, cold, vibration and mild electrical shock but other stimuli, such as visual images and colors, or sounds, may be found to have therapeutic value. In such case, the same system can be used to apply visual or auditory stimuli using an appropriate transducer. Thus, the drawings and exemplary descriptions should not be seen as limiting the invention scope or content.
