Claims
- 1. A method of exercising muscles during sleep, the method comprising the steps of:
implanting at least one microstimulator so as to be in contact with muscular or nerve tissue; and externally generating power and command signals and transmitting it to the at least one microstimulator while a patient sleeps.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of externally generating further comprises transmitting the power and signal commands through at least one inductive coil positioned inside or adjacent to the mattress on which a patient sleeps.
- 3. The method of claim 1 whereby the command signal is selected to generate a pattern of pulses so as to therapeutically condition muscles.
- 4. A method of exercising muscles during sleep, the method comprising the steps of:
implanting at least one microstimulator so as to be in contact with muscular or nerve tissue; generating a command signal within an external transmitter; transmitting the command signal to at least one of a plurality of inductive coils; energizing at least one microstimulator upon alignment with the at least one inductive coil by further transmitting the command signal to the microstimulator; receiving the command signal at the microstimulator; and generating pulses at the microstimulator in response to the received command signal thereby activating local muscle and nerve tissues.
- 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the plurality of inductive coils are disposed within a sleeping surface in an overlapping pattern so that both vertically and horizontally oriented magnetic fields can be generated over any portion of the sleeping surface.
- 6. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of emitting a response signal from the microstimulator to the external transmitter, acknowledging receipt of the command signal.
- 7. A system for exercising muscles while a patient sleeps, the system comprising:
at least one microstimulator implanted into the body of said patient; at least one inductive coil placed within or on top of a surface upon which said patient sleeps; and an external controller for transmitting power and commands to the at least one microstimulator through the at least one inductive coil.
- 8. The system of claim 5 wherein the microstimulator further emits a signal in response to the commands and the signal is detected by the controller.
- 9. The system of claim 5 wherein the controller can switch among a multiplicity of inductive coils to find at least one which can be used successfully to transmit commands to a given microstimulator.
- 10. The system of claim 5 wherein the inductive coils can be disposed in an overlapping pattern so that both vertically and horizontally oriented magnetic fields can be generated over any portion of the sleeping surface.
- 11. A system for exercising muscles while a patient sleeps, the system comprising:
at least one microstimulator implanted into the body of said patient; a plurality of inductive coils placed within or on top of a surface upon which said patient rests; and an external controller for transmitting power and commands to the at least one microstimulator by selectively transmitting through one or more of the plurality of inductive coils.
- 12. A mattress for use in exercising muscles during sleep; the mattress comprising:
a plurality of inductive coils located within said mattress; and a controller for generating power and command signals selectively to at least one of the plurality of inductive coils so as to energize a microstimulator implanted into a patient.
- 13. A method of exercising muscles during sleep, the method comprising the steps of:
implanting at least one microstimulator so as to be in contact with muscular or nerve tissue; generating a command signal within an external transmitter; transmitting the command signal to at least one inductive coil; energizing at least one microstimulator upon alignment with the at least one inductive coil by further transmitting the command signal to the microstimulator; receiving the command signal at the microstimulator; and generating pulses at the microstimulator in response to the received command signal thereby activating local muscle and nerve tissues.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the filing date benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/232,131, filed on Sep. 13, 2000, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Conditioning Muscles During Sleep”, the contents of which are incorporated herein.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60232131 |
Sep 2000 |
US |