Claims
- 1. A method of attracting lymphocytes to a selected location in the body of a patient, the method comprising:
- contacting the location with an electrode array comprising at least one stimulating electrode and one stabilizing electrode, the electrodes being rigidly connected by a non-conducting material, each electrode being connected to an external current delivery and recording system, and
- applying electrical stimulation through the electrode at an intensity below that which will physically damage cells and which is at a level sufficient to attract lymphocytes to the selected location.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrical stimulation is applied in charge balanced pulses.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the stimulation frequency is less than 1000 Hertz and the pulses are between 25 .mu.sec-1000 msec each.
- 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the charge density of the pulses is between 0-5000 .mu.coulomb/cm.sup.2.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrode configuration is selected from the configurations plate, mesh or cylindrical.
- 6. A method of reducing the number of tumor cells in a patient comprising attracting lymphocytes to a selected location in the patient's body by contacting the location with an electrode array comprising at least one stimulating electrode and one stabilizing electrode, the electrodes being rigidly connected by a non-conducting material, and each electrode being connected to an external current delivery and recording system and applying electrical stimulation through the electrode at an intesity below that which will physically damage cells and which is at a level sufficient to attract lymphocytes to the selected location.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the electrical stimulation is applied in charge balanced pulses.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the stimulation frequency is less than 1000 Hertz and the pulses are between 25 .mu.sec--1000 msec each.
- 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the charge density of the pulses is between 0-5000 .mu.C/cm.sup.2.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/062177 filed Oct. 16, 1997.
Government Interests
This invention was made with government support under Contract #N 01NS-82388 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention.
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