CN-114616026-B - Electrical stimulation of tissue

Abstract

A method for stimulating a set of nerves includes placing at least one electrode in contact with the skin of a subject, applying an electrical signal to the subject through the at least one electrode, wherein the electrical signal includes a series of pulses, and continuously randomly varying at least one of (i) a duration of each pulse, (ii) a time interval between each pair of pulses, and (iii) an energy value of each pulse, while maintaining the number of pulses per second of the electrical signal above a predetermined minimum number of pulses per second, and maintaining the energy value per pulse above a predetermined minimum energy value.

Inventors

• 1. Benyesha
• Z. Nahong

Assignees

• 艾斯奎尔先进医疗设备有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20200910

Priority Date

20190911

Claims (20)

1. 1. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising: An electrostimulator comprising at least one electrode configured to be placed in contact with the skin of a subject; A signal generator configured to provide an electrical signal for application to the subject via the at least one electrode, wherein the electrical signal comprises a plurality of series of pulses, and A control processor configured to continuously randomly and independently vary each of the pulses with respect to at least one of the following signal parameters: (i) The duration of each of the pulses, and (Ii) The time interval between each pair of pulses, Wherein the plurality of series of pulses comprises: At least one first series of pulses comprising at least 250 positive pulses and at least 250 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 0.5-13 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 0.25ms and 0.5ms and (iii) an average energy of 1-4 microjoules, and At least one second series of pulses comprising at least 100 positive pulses and at least 100 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 0.005-7 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 0.05ms and 0.25ms, and (iii) an average energy of 0.02-1 microjoules.
2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrical signal comprises an equal number of positive polarity pulses and negative polarity pulses.
3. 3. The device of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the total charge delivered to the subject by the electrical signal is equal to zero.
4. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control processor is configured to continuously randomly vary all of the signal parameters.
5. 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the series of pulses comprises discrete pulses.
6. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the signal has a waveform selected from the group consisting of sine waves, square waves, and triangular waves.
7. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control processor is configured to repeat the pattern of signal parameters no more than once within a predetermined duration.
8. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the predetermined duration is 0.2 seconds.
9. 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrical signal is a random AC signal.
10. 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode comprises at least two electrodes.
11. 11. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode is placed in contact with the intact skin of the subject.
12. 12. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode is placed in contact with the skin of the subject near a wound in the skin.
13. 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode comprises at least two electrodes, and wherein the at least two electrodes are configured to be placed on two opposite sides of a wound in the skin.
14. 14. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode is placed in contact with the skin of the subject in a location subject to oxygenation damage.
15. 15. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode is placed upstream of an afferent axon leading to the spinal cord.
16. 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control processor is configured to mix the first series of pulses and one or more of the second series of pulses at random intervals between the pulses.
17. 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of series of pulses further comprises at least one third series of pulses comprising at least 150 positive pulses and at least 150 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 1-20 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 0.5ms and 1ms, and (iii) an average energy of 2-10 microjoules.
18. 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of series of pulses further comprises at least one third series of pulses comprising at least 30 positive pulses and at least 30 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 2-40 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 1ms and 2.5ms, and (iii) an average energy of 4-20 microjoules.
19. 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of series of pulses further comprises at least one third series of pulses comprising at least 0.5 positive pulses and at least 0.5 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 10-250 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 2.5ms and 10ms, and (iii) an average energy of 20-200 microjoules.
20. 20. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embedded therein, the program instructions being executable by at least one hardware processor to: Operating a signal generator to provide an electrical signal for application to a subject via at least one electrode in contact with the skin of the subject, wherein the electrical signal comprises a plurality of series of pulses, and Continuously varying randomly and independently of each other the energy value of each of said pulses and at least one of the following signal parameters: (i) The duration of each of the pulses, and (Ii) The time interval between each pair of pulses, Wherein the plurality of series of pulses comprises: At least one first series of pulses comprising at least 250 positive pulses and at least 250 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 0.5-13 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 0.25ms and 0.5ms and (iii) an average energy of 1-4 microjoules, and At least one second series of pulses comprising at least 100 positive pulses and at least 100 negative pulses per second, the pulses having (i) an energy level of 0.005-7 microjoules, (ii) a pulse duration between 0.05ms and 0.25ms, and (iii) an average energy of 0.02-1 microjoules.

Description

Electrical stimulation of tissue Cross Reference to Related Applications The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/898,602 filed on 11, 9, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field Some applications of the present invention relate generally to medical devices and more particularly to apparatus and methods for electrically stimulating tissue. Background Chronic wounds are wounds that do not heal in a manner that would most of the wound heal within a predictable amount of time. Wounds are considered chronic when the wound measurement does not decrease by about 10% per week or by about 50% for one month. The wound healing process is a highly coordinated series of mechanisms involving a large number of cellular and biological cascades. The current of skin cells and the damage mechanism is an interesting topic due to its impact on chronic wounds. Electrostimulation therapy aids wound healing by affecting the electrochemical wound process. Intact skin has a transepithelial potential, the skin surface contains negative charges from chloride ions, while the dermis maintains a positive charge through sodium ions. Ulcers and wounds can lead to transepithelial potential abnormalities and strong electrical activity is measured on the skin across the wound, possibly due to neural activity that may promote wound healing. Chronic wounds lose current and therefore healing speed decreases. Electrical stimulation therapy reintroduces current and assists in the healing process. The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations associated therewith are intended to be illustrative rather than exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings. Disclosure of Invention The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools, and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. According to some applications of the present invention, devices and methods for applying electrical stimulation therapy to a subject are disclosed. Generally, an apparatus is provided that includes an electrical stimulator including at least one electrode configured to be placed in contact with skin of a subject, a signal generator configured to provide an electrical signal for application to the subject through the at least one electrode, and a control processor. Optionally, but not necessarily, the signal generator is configured to provide the electrical signal in an automatic non-user-controllable manner. Accordingly, in one embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes an electrical stimulator including at least one electrode configured to be placed in contact with skin of a subject, a signal generator configured to provide an electrical signal for application to the subject via the at least one electrode, wherein the electrical signal includes a series of pulses, and a control processor configured to continuously randomly vary at least one of (i) a duration of each pulse, (ii) a time interval between each pair of pulses, and (iii) an energy value of each pulse, while maintaining the number of pulses per second of the electrical signal above a predetermined minimum number of pulses per second, and maintaining the energy value per pulse above a predetermined minimum energy value. In one embodiment, a method for stimulating a set of nerves is also provided, the method comprising placing at least one electrode in contact with the skin of a subject, applying an electrical signal to the subject through the at least one electrode, wherein the electrical signal comprises a series of pulses, and continuously randomly varying at least one of (i) a duration of each pulse, (ii) a time interval between each pair of pulses, and (iii) an energy value of each pulse, while maintaining a number of pulses per second of the electrical signal above a predetermined minimum number of pulses per second, and maintaining an energy value per pulse above a predetermined minimum energy value. In one embodiment, there is further provided a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embedded therein, the program instructions executable by at least one hardware processor to operate a signal generator to provide an electrical signal for application to a subject through at least one electrode in contact with the skin of the subject, wherein the electrical signal comprises a series of pulses, and continuously randomly varying at least one of (i) a duration of each pulse, (ii) a time interval between each pair of pulses, and (iii) an energy value of each pulse while maintaining the number of pulses per second of the electrical signal above a predetermined minimum number of pulses per second and maintaining the energy value per