U.S. patent application number 12/691650 was filed with the patent office on 2010-05-20 for minimally invasive system for selecting patient-specific therapy parameters.
Invention is credited to John F. Harris, Kent W. Leyde, Jaideep Mavoori.
Application Number | 20100125219 12/691650 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38834405 |
Filed Date | 2010-05-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100125219 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Harris; John F. ; et
al. |
May 20, 2010 |
MINIMALLY INVASIVE SYSTEM FOR SELECTING PATIENT-SPECIFIC THERAPY
PARAMETERS
Abstract
The present invention provides systems and methods for
ambulatory, long term monitoring of a physiological signal from a
patient. At least a portion of the systems of the present invention
may be implanted within the patient in a minimally invasive manner.
In preferred embodiments, brain activity signals are sampled from
the patient and are transmitted to a handheld patient communication
device for further processing.
Inventors: |
Harris; John F.; (Bellevue,
WA) ; Leyde; Kent W.; (Sammamish, WA) ;
Mavoori; Jaideep; (Bellevue, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NEUROVISTA / SHAY GLENN
2755 CAMPUS DRIVE, SUITE 210
SAN MATEO
CA
94403
US
|
Family ID: |
38834405 |
Appl. No.: |
12/691650 |
Filed: |
January 21, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11766760 |
Jun 21, 2007 |
7676263 |
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12691650 |
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60805710 |
Jun 23, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
600/544 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61N 1/37229 20130101;
A61N 1/36064 20130101; A61B 5/369 20210101; A61B 2560/0214
20130101; A61B 5/0031 20130101; A61B 5/4094 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
600/544 |
International
Class: |
A61B 5/0476 20060101
A61B005/0476 |
Claims
1. A method for selecting a therapy for a patient suffering from a
neurological or psychiatric condition, the method comprising:
implanting a monitoring device between at least one layer of the
scalp and the skull; commencing a first therapy; monitoring a
physiological signal from the patient with the implanted device for
a first time period after commencement of the first therapy;
commencing a second therapy; monitoring a physiological signal from
the patient with the implanted device for a second time period
after commencement of the second therapy; processing the
physiological signals from the first time period and second time
period; and analyzing the processed physiological signals to select
an appropriate therapy for the patient.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/766,760, filed Jun. 21, 2007 to Harris et
al., entitled "Minimally Invasive System for Selecting
Patient-Specific Therapy Parameters", which claims the benefit of
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/805,710, filed Jun.
23, 2006, to Harris et al., entitled "Implantable Ambulatory Brain
Monitoring System," the complete disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0002] All publications and patent applications mentioned in this
specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same
extent as if each individual publication or patent application was
specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates generally to systems and
methods for sampling one or more physiological signals from a
patient. More specifically, the present invention relates to long
term, ambulatory monitoring of one or more neurological signals for
selecting therapy parameters for a patient.
[0004] Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by
chronic, recurring seizures. Seizures are a result of uncontrolled
discharges of electrical activity in the brain. A seizure typically
manifests itself as sudden, involuntary, disruptive, and often
destructive sensory, motor, and cognitive phenomena. Seizures are
frequently associated with physical harm to the body (e.g., tongue
biting, limb breakage, and burns), a complete loss of
consciousness, and incontinence. A typical seizure, for example,
might begin as spontaneous shaking of an arm or leg and progress
over seconds or minutes to rhythmic movement of the entire body,
loss of consciousness, and voiding of urine or stool.
[0005] A single seizure most often does not cause significant
morbidity or mortality, but severe or recurring seizures (epilepsy)
results in major medical, social, and economic consequences.
Epilepsy is most often diagnosed in children and young adults,
making the long-term medical and societal burden severe for this
population of patients. People with uncontrolled epilepsy are often
significantly limited in their ability to work in many industries
and usually cannot legally drive an automobile. An uncommon, but
potentially lethal form of seizure is called status epilepticus, in
which a seizure continues for more than 30 minutes. This continuous
seizure activity may lead to permanent brain damage, and can be
lethal if untreated.
[0006] While the exact cause of epilepsy is often uncertain,
epilepsy can result from head trauma (such as from a car accident
or a fall), infection (such as meningitis), or from neoplastic,
vascular or developmental abnormalities of the brain. Most
epilepsy, especially most forms that are resistant to treatment
(i.e., refractory), are idiopathic or of unknown causes, and is
generally presumed to be an inherited genetic disorder.
[0007] While there is no known cure for epilepsy, the primary
treatment for these epileptic patients are a program of one or more
anti-epileptic drugs or "AEDs." Chronic usage of anticonvulsant and
antiepileptic medications can control seizures in most people. An
estimated 70% of patients will respond favorably to their first AED
monotherapy and no further medications will be required. However,
for the remaining 30% of the patients, their first AED will fail to
fully control their seizures and they will be prescribed a second
AED--often in addition to the first--even if the first AED does not
stop or change a pattern or frequency of the patient's seizures.
For those that fail the second AED, a third AED will be tried, and
so on. Patients who fail to gain control of their seizures through
the use of AEDs are commonly referred to as "medically
refractory."
[0008] For those patients with infrequent seizures, the problem is
further compounded by the fact that they must remain on the drug
for many months before they can discern whether there is any
benefit. As a result, physicians are left to prescribe AEDs to
these patients without clear and timely data on the efficacy of the
medication. Because these drugs are powerful neural suppressants
and are associated with undesirable side-effects and sedation, it
is important to minimize the use and dosage of these drugs if the
patient is not experiencing benefit.
[0009] A major challenge for physicians treating epileptic patients
is gaining a clear view of the effect of a medication or
incremental medications on the patient's condition. Presently, the
standard metric for determining efficacy of the medication is for
the patient or for the patient's caregiver to keep a diary of
seizure activity. However, it is well recognized that such
self-reporting is often of poor quality because patients often do
not realize when they have had a seizure, or fail to accurately
record seizures. In addition, patients often have "sub-clinical"
seizures where the brain experiences a seizure, but the seizure
does not manifest itself clinically, and the patient has no way of
making note of such seizures. Due to such deficiencies in assessing
the efficacy of the AEDs, patients and physicians are unable to
reliably determine the effectiveness of the AEDs. Consequently,
patient's are often given dosages and dosing schedules that are
much more than needed, and the patient is subject to the unwanted
side effects associated with the AEDs.
[0010] Consequently, what are needed are methods and systems that
are capable of long-term, out-patient monitoring of epileptic
patients. It would further be desirable if the long-term monitoring
could be processed into appropriate metrics that can quantify the
clinical benefit of the medication or other therapies and allow for
intelligent titration of the medications. It would also be
desirable to have system that could record seizure activity, to
enable the meaningful study of patients with infrequent
seizures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention provides methods and systems for
monitoring one or more physiological signals from the patient. In
preferred embodiments, the present invention provides
minimally-invasive systems that provide for the long-term,
ambulatory monitoring of patient's brain activity. The systems of
the present invention will typically include one or more
implantable devices that are capable of sampling and transmitting a
signal that is indicative of the patient's brain activity to a data
collection device that is external to the patient's body. The
ambulatory systems of the present invention provide for
substantially continuous sampling of brain wave electrical signals
(e.g., electroencephalography or "EEG" and electrocorticogram
"ECoG", which are hereinafter referred to collectively as
"EEG").
[0012] A patient could wear their external data collection device
at all times of the day (except while showering, etc.). At the
physicians' office, the data from the external data collection
device could be uploaded into a physician's computer, which could
then automatically analyze the stored EEG data and calculate
certain metrics that would provide insight into the patient's
condition and the efficacy of their therapy. For example, such
metrics may allow the epileptologist to assess seizure frequency,
monitor for sub-clinical seizures, determine the efficacy of
treatment, determine the effect of adjustments of the dosage of the
AED, determine the effects of adjustments of the type of AED,
adjust parameters of electrical stimulation, or the like.
[0013] The systems of the present invention typically include one
or more low power implantable devices for sampling the patient's
EEG signal. The implantable devices are in communication with a
device that is external to the patient's body. The external device
is typically configured to transmit power into the implantable
device and to store the EEG signal that is sampled by the
implantable device. The implantable device and the external device
will be in communication with each other through a wireless
communication link. While any number of different wireless
communication links may be used, in preferred embodiments the
systems of the present invention uses a high-frequency
communication link. Such a communication link enables transmission
of power into the implantable device and facilitates data transfer
to and from the implantable device
[0014] In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for
selecting a therapy for a patient suffering from a neurological or
psychiatric condition. The method comprises implanting a monitoring
device between at least one layer of the scalp and the skull and
commencing a first therapy. A physiological signal from the patient
is monitored with the implanted device for a first time period
after commencement of the first therapy. A second therapy is
commenced and a physiological signal from the patient is monitored
with the implanted device for a second time period after
commencement of the second therapy. The physiological signals from
the first time period and second time period are processed and
analyzed to select an appropriate therapy for the patient.
[0015] In one preferred embodiment, the neurological condition
comprises epilepsy and the first and second therapy comprises
different pharmacological agents. In other embodiments, the therapy
may comprise electrical stimulation of the same or different
portions of the nervous system (e.g., deep brain, cortical surface,
cranial nerve, peripheral nerve, etc.)
[0016] In some embodiments processing of the physiological signals
from the first time period and second time period comprises
measuring seizure activity data from each of the time periods.
Seizure activity data comprises a number a clinical seizures during
the first time period, a number of sub-clinical seizures during the
first time period, seizure duration, seizure patterns, seizure
frequency, and time of day of seizure occurrence, or any
combination thereof.
[0017] The monitoring devices implanted in the patient may take a
variety of different forms, but in some configurations the devices
are leadless. The leadless devices may have an internal power
source, but they may also be devoid of a power source and
externally powered via a signal (e.g., radiofrequency signal)
generated in an external device. The signal from the external
device may power the implanted devices and interrogate the
electronic components to facilitate sampling of the physiological
signals. Data indicative of the sampled physiological signals may
be encoded in a data signal that is wirelessly transmitted to the
external device. The physiological signals may thereafter be stored
in a memory that is external to the patient's body.
[0018] In another aspect, the present invention provides a method
for optimizing parameters of a selected therapy for patient having
a neurological or psychiatric condition. The method comprises
implanting a device in between a patient's skull and at least one
layer of the scalp and commencing a therapy. A physiological signal
is sampled from the patient with the implanted device after
commencement of the therapy for a first time period. At least one
parameter of the therapy is changed and the physiological signal is
sampled from the patient with the implanted device for a second
time period after the at least one parameter of the therapy is
changed. The physiological signal from the first time period and
second time period are processed. The processed physiological
signals from the first and second time periods are thereafter
analyzed to determine desirable parameters for the patient's
therapy.
[0019] In one configuration, the neurological condition is epilepsy
and processing comprises measuring seizure activity data from the
first and second time periods. Seizure activity data typically
comprises at least one of a number a clinical seizures during the
first and second time period, a number of sub-clinical seizures
during the first and second time period, seizure duration during
the first and second time period, seizure patterns during the first
and second time period, seizure frequency during the first and
second time period, and time of seizure occurrence during the first
and second time period.
[0020] The monitoring devices implanted in the patient may take a
variety of different forms, but in some configurations the devices
are leadless. The leadless devices may have an internal power
source, but they may also be externally powered via a signal (e.g.,
radiofrequency signal) generated in an external device. The signal
from the external device may power the implanted devices and
interrogate the electronic components to facilitate sampling of the
physiological signals. Data indicative of the sampled physiological
signals may be encoded in a data signal that is wirelessly
transmitted to the external device. The physiological signals may
thereafter be stored in a memory in the external device.
[0021] To help facilitate selection of the appropriate parameters
for the particular patient, the methods of the present invention
may generate a report for the physician and/or patient. The report
may indicate the seizure activity data for the first and second
time period, a chart/graph and/or an analysis of the differences in
the seizure activity data for the different time periods, and a
recommendation for the parameters of the patient-specific
therapy.
[0022] The therapy may be a pharmacological therapy (such as an
AED, for patient's suffering from epilepsy). The parameters that
may be varied include at least one of a dosage, dosage frequency,
form of the AED, and formulation of the AED. In other embodiments,
the therapy may be electrical stimulation (such as deep brain
stimulation, cortical stimulation, cranial nerve stimulation,
peripheral nerve stimulation, or the like). The parameters that may
be varied for such therapy includes at least one of frequency,
pulse amplitude, pulse width, pulses per burst, burst frequency,
burst/no-burst, and duty cycle.
[0023] In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method
for titrating parameters of a pharmacological agent for treating a
patient having epilepsy. The method comprises implanting a leadless
device in between a patient's skull and at least one layer of the
scalp and commencing an anti-epileptic drug therapy. Sampling of an
EEG signal from the patient is performed with the implanted device
after commencement of the anti-epileptic drug therapy. A data
signal that is encoded with the sampled EEG signal is transmitted
from the implanted device to a portable external device for a first
time period. At least one parameter of the anti-epileptic drug
therapy is modified and An EEG signal from the patient is sampled
with the implanted device after commencement of the anti-epileptic
drug therapy with the at least one adjusted parameter. The data
signal that is encoded with the sampled EEG signal is transmitted
from the implanted device to a portable external device for a
second time period. The sampled EEG signals from the first time
period and second time period are processed to generate seizure
activity data. The seizure activity data from the first and second
time periods are analyzed to determine desirable parameters for the
patient's therapy.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The novel features of the invention are set forth with
particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the
features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained
by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth
illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention
are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:
[0025] FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified system embodied by the
present invention which comprises one or more implantable devices
in communication with an external device.
[0026] FIG. 1B illustrates simplified methods of operating the
system of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 2A illustrates a bottom view of one embodiment of an
active implantable device that is encompassed by the present
invention.
[0028] FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the active
implantable device of FIG. 2A along lines B-B.
[0029] FIG. 2C is a linear implantable device that comprises a
plurality of electrode contacts in which at least one electrode
contact comprises the active implantable device of FIG. 2A.
[0030] FIG. 2D is a cross sectional view of the implantable device
of FIG. 2C along lines D-D.
[0031] FIG. 2E is a 4.times.4 electrode array that comprises a
plurality of electrode contacts in which at least one electrode
contact comprises the active implantable contact of FIG. 2A.
[0032] FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of
an implantable device that is encompassed by the present
invention.
[0033] FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of
the implantable device in which a conductive can forms a housing
around the electronic components and acts as an electrode.
[0034] FIG. 3C illustrates a simplified plan view of an embodiment
that comprises four electrodes disposed on the implanted
device.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the electronic
components that may be disposed within the implantable device.
[0036] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of
electronic components that may be in the external device.
[0037] FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified trocar or needle-like device
that may be used to implant the implantable device beneath the
patient's skin.
[0038] FIG. 7 illustrates a method of inserting an implantable
device in the patient and wirelessly sampling EEG signals from a
patient.
[0039] FIG. 8 illustrates a method of lateralizing a seizure
focus.
[0040] FIG. 9 illustrates a method of measuring seizure activity
data for clinical and/or sub-clinical seizures.
[0041] FIG. 10 illustrates a method of evaluating efficacy of a
therapy.
[0042] FIG. 11 illustrates a method of titrating an efficacious
therapy.
[0043] FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified method of performing a
clinical trial.
[0044] FIG. 13 illustrates a more detailed method of performing a
clinical trial.
[0045] FIG. 14 is a kit that is encompassed by the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0046] Certain specific details are set forth in the following
description and figures to provide an understanding of various
embodiments of the invention. Certain well-known details,
associated electronics and devices are not set forth in the
following disclosure to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the various
embodiments of the invention. Further, those of ordinary skill in
the relevant art will understand that they can practice other
embodiments of the invention without one or more of the details
described below. Finally, while various processes are described
with reference to steps and sequences in the following disclosure,
the description is for providing a clear implementation of
particular embodiments of the invention, and the steps and
sequences of steps should not be taken as required to practice this
invention.
[0047] The term "condition" is used herein to generally refer to
the patient's underlying disease or disorder--such as epilepsy,
depression, Parkinson's disease, headache disorder, etc. The term
"state" is used herein to generally refer to calculation results or
indices that are reflective a categorical approximation of a point
(or group of points) along a single or multi-variable state space
continuum of the patient's condition. The estimation of the
patient's state does not necessarily constitute a complete or
comprehensive accounting of the patient's total situation. As used
in the context of the present invention, state typically refers to
the patient's state within their neurological condition. For
example, for a patient suffering from an epilepsy condition, at any
point in time the patient may be in a different states along the
continuum, such as an ictal state (a state in which a neurological
event, such as a seizure, is occurring), a pre-ictal state (which
is a neurological state that immediately precedes the ictal state),
a pro-ictal state (a state in which the patient has an increased
risk of transitioning to the ictal state), an inter-ictal state (a
state in between ictal states), a contra-ictal state (a protected
state in which the patient has a low risk of transitioning to the
ictal state within a calculated or predetermined time period), or
the like. A pro-ictal state may transition to either an ictal or
inter-ictal state. A pro-ictal state that transitions to an ictal
state may also be referred to herein as a "pre-ictal state."
[0048] The estimation and characterization of "state" may be based
on one or more patient dependent parameters from the a portion of
the patient's body, such as electrical signals from the brain,
including but not limited to electroencephalogram signals and
electrocorticogram signals "ECoG" or intracranial EEG (referred to
herein collectively as EEG"), brain temperature, blood flow in the
brain, concentration of AEDs in the brain or blood, changes
thereof, etc.). While parameters that are extracted from
brain-based signals are preferred, the present invention may also
extract parameters from other portions of the body, such as the
heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, chemical
concentrations, etc.
[0049] An "event" is used herein to refer to a specific event in
the patient's condition. Examples of such events include transition
from one state to another state, e.g., an electrographic onset of
seizure, end of seizure, or the like. For conditions other than
epilepsy, the event could be an onset of a migraine headache, onset
of a depressive episode, a tremor, or the like.
[0050] The occurrence of a seizure may be referred to as a number
of different things. For example, when a seizure occurs, the
patient is considered to have exited a "pre-ictal state" or
"pro-ictal state" and has transitioned into the "ictal state".
However, the electrographic onset of the seizure (one event) and/or
the clinical onset of the seizure (another event) have also
occurred during the transition of states.
[0051] A patient's "propensity" for a seizure is a measure of the
likelihood of transitioning into the ictal state. The patient's
propensity for seizure may be estimated by determining which
"state" the patient is currently in. As noted above, the patient is
deemed to have an increased propensity for transitioning into the
ictal state (e.g., have a seizure) when the patient is determined
to be in a pro-ictal state. Likewise, the patient may be deemed to
have a low propensity for transitioning into the ictal state when
it is determined that the patient is in a contra-ictal state.
[0052] The methods, devices and systems of the present invention
are useful for long-term, ambulatory sampling and analysis of one
or more physiological signals, such as a patient's brain activity.
In one preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention
may be used to monitor and store one or more substantially
continuously sampled EEG signals from the patient, while providing
a minimal inconvenience to the patient. Attempts at developing
ambulatory monitoring systems in the past have relied on an array
of electrodes being placed on the patient's head and scalp with
adhesive. Unfortunately, such systems are poorly tolerated by
patients and are impractical for the duration of time needed for
the accurate evaluation of the patient's EEG and evaluation of the
efficacy of the treatment the patients are undergoing. Unlike
conventional ambulatory EEG systems, the ambulatory monitoring
systems of the present invention typically include one or more
devices that are implanted in a minimally invasive fashion in the
patient and will be largely unnoticed by a patient as they go about
their day-to-day activities. The implantable devices may be in
wireless communication with an external device that may be carried
by the patient or kept in close proximity to the patient.
Consequently, the ambulatory monitoring systems of the present
invention are conducive to longer, more effective monitoring of the
patient (e.g., one week or longer, one month or longer, two months
or longer, three months or longer, six months or longer, one year
or longer, etc.).
[0053] The methods, devices and systems of the present invention
may also find use in an emergency room or neurological intensive
care units (ICU). For example, the systems may be used to monitor
patients who have complex, potentially life-threatening
neurological illnesses or brain injuries. Neuro ICUs may monitor
patients who have suffered (or thought to have suffered) a stroke
(e.g., cerebral infarction, transient ischemic attacks,
intracerebral hemorrhage, aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage,
arteriovenous malformations, dural sinus thrombosis, etc.), head
trauma, spinal cord injury, tumors (e.g., spinal cord metastases,
paraneoplastic syndromes), infections (e.g., encephalitis,
meningitis, brain abscess), neuromuscular weakness (e.g.,
Guillain-barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis), eclampsia,
neuropleptic malignant syndrome, CNS vasculitis, migraine
headaches, or the like.
[0054] The neuro-ICUs require the ability to monitor the patient's
neurological condition for a long period of time to identify issues
and diagnose the patient before permanent neurological damage
occurs. Because the systems of the present invention are able to
provide real-time monitoring of a patient's EEG and many
embodiments have the ability to detect or predict neurological
events, such systems will be beneficial to patients and the staff
of the ICU to allow the neurologist and support staff to detect
and/or prevent complications that may arise from the patient's
neurological condition, before the patient's condition
deteriorates.
[0055] For example, a patient who is suffering from head trauma may
be outfitted with a system of the present invention and because the
implantable portions are MRI safe, the patient's may still undergo
MRI sessions. Furthermore, the systems of the present invention may
also be used to continuously monitor a patient's response to a drug
therapy while the patient is in the neuro-ICU and when the patient
leaves the neuro-ICU.
[0056] For epilepsy patients in particular, the monitoring systems
of the present invention may be used in conjunction with, or as an
alternative to, the in-patient video-EEG monitoring that occurs in
the EMU. If used as an alternative to in-patient video-EEG
monitoring, in some embodiments it may be desirable to provide one
or more video recorders in the patient's home to provide
time-synced video recording of the patient as they live with their
ambulatory monitoring system. In some embodiments, it may be
desirable to provide a patient-mounted video system so as to allow
video-monitoring of the patient outside of their home. Such a video
system may or may not be in communication with the ambulatory
monitoring system of the present invention; but both the video and
the monitored EEG signals should be time-synced and analyzed
together by the physician to assess the patient's condition and/or
efficacy of any therapy that the patient may be undergoing.
[0057] The systems and methods of the present invention may
incorporate EEG analysis software to estimate and monitor the
patient's brain state substantially in real-time. The EEG analysis
software may include a safety algorithm, a seizure prediction
algorithm and/or a seizure detection algorithm that uses one or
more extracted features from the EEG signals (and/or other
physiological signals) to estimate the patient's brain state (e.g.,
predict or detect the onset of a seizure). Additionally, some
systems of the present invention may be used to facilitate delivery
of a therapy to the patient to prevent the onset of a predicted
seizure and/or abort or mitigate a seizure after it has started.
Facilitation of the delivery of the therapy may be carried out by
outputting a warning or instructions to the patient or
automatically delivering a therapy to the patient (e.g.,
pharmacological, electrical stimulation, etc.). The therapy may be
delivered to the patient using the implanted devices that are used
to collect the ambulatory signals, or it may be delivered to the
patient through a different implanted device. A description of some
systems that may be used to delivery a therapy to the patient are
described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,366,813 and 6,819,956,
U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0021103 (published
Jan. 27, 2005), 2005/0119703 (published Jun. 2, 2005), 2005/0021104
(published Jan. 27, 2005), 2005/0240242 (published Oct. 27, 2005),
2005/0222626 (published Oct. 6, 2005), 2007/0150024 (published Jun.
28, 2007), 2007/0150025 (published Jun. 28, 2007) and 2007/0149952
(published Jun. 28, 2007) and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.
11/282,317 (filed Nov. 17, 2005), the complete disclosures of which
are incorporated herein by reference.
[0058] For patients suspected or known to have epilepsy, the
systems of the present invention may be used to provide data and
other metrics to the patients and physicians that heretofore have
not been accurately measurable. For example, the data may be
analyzed to (1) determine whether or not the patient has epilepsy,
(2) determine the type of epilepsy, (3) determine the types of
seizures, (4) localize or lateralize one or more seizure foci, (5)
assess baseline seizure statistics and/or change from the baseline
seizure statistics (e.g., seizure count, frequency, duration,
seizure pattern, etc.) (6) monitor for sub-clinical seizures,
assess a baseline frequency of occurrence, and/or change from the
baseline occurrence, (7) measure the efficacy of AED treatments,
(8) assess the effect of adjustments of the dosage of the AED, (9)
determine the effects of adjustments of the type of AED, (10)
determine the effect of, and the adjustment to parameters of,
electrical stimulation (e.g., vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), deep
brain stimulation (DBS), cortical stimulation, etc.), (11)
determine "triggers" for the patient's seizures, (12) assess
outcomes from surgical procedures, (13) provide immediate
biofeedback to the patient, (14) screen patients for determining if
they are an appropriate candidate for a seizure advisory system or
other neurological monitoring or therapy system, or the like.
[0059] The systems of the present invention typically include one
or more implantable devices that are in wireless communication with
an external data collection device, typically with a high frequency
communication link. The implantable devices of the present
invention are typically implanted in a minimally invasive fashion
beneath at least one layer of the scalp, above the patient's
skull/calvarium, and over one or more target area of the patient's
brain. As will be described in more detail below, the implantable
devices are typically injected underneath the skin/scalp using an
introducer, trocar or syringe-like device using local anesthesia.
It is contemplated that such a procedure could be completed in 20
to 30 minutes by a physician or neurologist in an out-patient
procedure.
[0060] The implantable devices are typically used to continuously
sample the physiological signals for a desired time period so as to
be able to monitor fluctuations of the physiological signal over
substantially the entire time period. In alternative embodiments,
however, the implantable devices may be used to periodically sample
the patient's physiological signals or selectively/aperiodically
monitor the patient's physiological signals.
[0061] The implantable devices may be permanently or temporarily
implanted in the patient. If permanently implanted, the devices may
be used for as long as the monitoring is desired, and once the
monitoring is completed, because the implanted devices are
biocompatible they may remain permanently implanted in the patient
without any long term detrimental effects for the patient. However,
if it is desired to remove the implanted devices, the devices may
be explanted from the patient under local anesthesia. For ease of
removal, it may be desirable to tether or otherwise attach a
plurality of the implantable devices together (e.g., with a suture
or leash) so that a minimal number of incisions are needed to
explant the implantable devices.
[0062] Exact positioning of the implanted devices will usually
depend on the desired type of monitoring. For patients who are
being monitored for epilepsy diagnosis, the suspected type of
epilepsy may affect the positioning of the implantable devices. For
example, if the patient is thought to have temporal lobe epilepsy,
a majority of the implantable devices will likely be located over
the patient's temporal lobe. Additionally, if the focus of the
seizure is known, it may be desirable to place a plurality of
implantable devices directly over the focus. However, if the focus
has not been localized, a plurality of implantable devices may be
spaced over and around the target area of the patient's brain (and
one or more implantable devices contralateral to the target area)
in an attempt to locate or lateralize the seizure focus.
[0063] The number of implantable devices that are implanted in the
patient will depend on the number of channels that the physician
wants to concurrently monitor in the patient. Typically however,
the physician will implant 32 or less, and preferably between about
2 and about 16 implantable devices, and most preferably between
about 4 and about 8 implantable devices. Of course, in some
instances, it may be desirable to implant more or less, and the
present invention is not limited to the aforementioned number of
implanted devices.
[0064] While the remaining discussion focuses on methods of using
the systems and devices of the present invention for ambulatory
monitoring of EEG signals of patients and patient populations for
the diagnosis of epilepsy and/or evaluation of the efficacy and
dosing of the patient's AEDs, it should be appreciated that the
present invention is not limited to sampling EEG signals for
epilepsy or for monitoring the efficacy of AEDs. For example, the
implanted devices may be implanted under the skin of the patient's
face, within the muscle of the patient's face, within the skull,
above the jaw (e.g., sphenoidal implant that is placed under the
skin just above the jaw to monitor the brain activity in the
temporal lobes), or any other desired place on the patient's body.
Furthermore, in addition to or as an alternative to monitoring EEG
signals from the patient, it may be desired to monitor other
physiological signals from a patient. For example, the system of
the present invention may be used to monitor one or more of a blood
pressure, blood oxygenation, temperature of the brain or other
portion of the patient, blood flow measurements in the brain or
other parts of the body, ECG/EKG, heart rate signals and/or change
in heart rate signals, respiratory rate signals and/or change in
respiratory rate signals, chemical concentrations of medications,
pH in the blood or other portions of the body, other vital signs,
other physiological or biochemical parameters of the patient's
body, or the like.
[0065] Furthermore, the systems of the present invention may be
useful for monitoring and assisting in the analysis of treatments
for a variety of other neurological conditions, psychiatric
conditions, episodic and non-episodic neurological phenomenon, or
other non-neurological and non-psychiatric maladies. For example,
the present invention may be useful for patients suffering from
sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, migraine headaches,
depression, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease, eating disorders,
dementia, attention deficit disorder, stroke, cardiac disease,
diabetes, cancer, or the like. Likewise, the present invention may
also be used to assess the symptoms, efficacy of pharmacological
and electrical therapy on such disorders.
[0066] Referring now to the Figures, FIG. 1A illustrates a
simplified system 10 embodied by the present invention. System 10
includes one or more implantable devices 12 that are configured to
sample electrical activity from the patient's brain (e.g., EEG
signals). The implantable devices may be active (with internal
power source), passive (no internal power source), or semi-passive
(internal power source to power components, but not to transmit
data signal). The implantable devices 12 may be implanted anywhere
in the patient, but typically one or more of the devices 12 may be
implanted adjacent a previously identified epileptic focus or a
portion of the brain where the focus is believed to be located.
Alternatively, the devices 12 themselves may be used to help
determine the location of the epileptic focus.
[0067] The physician may implant any desired number of devices in
the patient. As noted above, in addition to monitoring brain
signals, one or more additional implanted devices 12 may be
implanted to measure other physiological signals from the
patient.
[0068] While it may be possible to implant the implantable devices
12 under the skull and in or on the brain, it is preferred to
implant the implantable devices 12 in a minimally invasive fashion
under at least one layer of the patient's scalp and above the
skull. Implantable devices 12 may be implanted between any of the
layers of the scalp (sometimes referred to herein as "sub-galeal").
For example, the implantable devices may be positioned between the
skin and the connective tissue, between the connective tissue and
the epicranial aponeurosis/galea aponeurotica, between the
epicranial aponeurosis/galea aponeurotica and the loose aerolar
tissue, between the loose aerolar tissue and the pericranium,
and/or between the pericranium and the calvarium. In some
configurations, it may be useful to implant different implantable
devices 12 between different layers of the scalp.
[0069] Implantable devices 12 will typically be configured to
substantially continuously sample the brain activity of the groups
of neurons in the immediate vicinity of the implanted device. In
some embodiments, if placed below the skull and in contact with the
cortical surface of the brain, the electrodes may be sized to be
able to sample activity of a single neuron in the immediate
vicinity of the electrode (e.g., a microelectrode). Typically, the
implantable device 12 will be interrogated and powered by a signal
from the external device to facilitate the substantially continuous
sampling of the brain activity signals. Sampling of the brain
activity is typically carried out at a rate above about 200 Hz, and
preferably between about 200 Hz and about 1000 Hz, and most
preferably at about 400 Hz, but it could be higher or lower,
depending on the specific condition being monitored, the patient,
and other factors. Each sample of the patient's brain activity will
typically contain between about 8 bits per sample and about 32 bits
per sample, and preferably between about 12 bits per sample and
about 16 bits per sample. Thus, if each return communication
transmission to the external device includes one EEG sample per
transmission, and the sample rate is 400 Hz and there are 16
bits/sample, the data transfer rate from the implantable devices 12
to the external device 14 is at least about 6.4 Kbits/second. If
there are 32 implantable devices, the total data transfer rate for
the system 10 would be about 205 Kbits/second. In alternative
embodiments, it may be desirable to have the implantable devices
sample the brain activity of the patient in a non-continuous basis.
In such embodiments, the implantable devices 12 may be configured
to sample the brain activity signals periodically (e.g., once every
10 seconds) or aperiodically.
[0070] Implantable device 12 may comprise a separate memory module
for storing the recorded brain activity signals, a unique
identification code for the device, algorithms, other programming,
or the like.
[0071] A patient instrumented with the implanted devices 12 will
typically carry a data collection device 14 that is external to the
patient's body. The external device 14 would receive and store the
signal from the implanted device 12 with the encoded EEG data (or
other physiological signals). The external device is typically of a
size so as to be portable and carried by the patient in a pocket or
bag that is maintained in close proximity to the patient. In
alternative embodiments, the device may be configured to be used in
a hospital setting and placed alongside a patient's bed.
Communication between the data collection device 14 and the
implantable device 12 typically takes place through wireless
communication. The wireless communication link between implantable
device 12 and external device 14 may provide a communication link
for transmitting data and/or power. External device 14 may include
a control module 16 that communicates with the implanted device
through an antenna 18. In the illustrated embodiment, antenna 18 is
in the form of a necklace that is in communication range with the
implantable devices 12. It should be appreciated however, that the
configuration of antenna 18 and control module 16 may be in a
variety of other conventional or proprietary forms. For example, in
another embodiment control module 16 may be attached around an arm
or belt of the patient, integrated into a hat, integrated into a
chair or pillow, and/or the antenna may be integrated into control
module 16.
[0072] In order to facilitate the transmission of power and data,
the antenna of the external device and the implantable devices must
be in communication range of each other. The frequency used for the
wireless communication link has a direct bearing on the
communication range. Typically, the communication range is between
at least one foot, preferably between about one foot and about
twenty feet, and more preferably between about six feet and sixteen
feet. As can be appreciated, however, the present invention is not
limited to such communication ranges, and larger or smaller
communication ranges may be used. For example, if an inductive
communication link is used, the communication range will be smaller
than the aforementioned range.
[0073] In some situations, it may be desirable, to have a wire
running from the patient-worn data collection device 14 to an
interface (not shown) that could directly link up to the implanted
devices 12 that are positioned below the patient's skin For
example, the interface may take the form of a magnetically attached
transducer, as with cochlear implants. This could enable power to
be continuously delivered to the implanted devices 12 and provide
for higher rates of data transmission.
[0074] In some configurations, system 10 may include one or more
intermediate transponder (not shown) that facilitates data
transmission and power transmission between implantable device 12
and external device 14. The intermediate transponder may be
implanted in the patient or it may be external to the patient. If
implanted, the intermediate transponder will typically be implanted
between the implantable device 12 and the expected position of the
external device 14 (e.g., in the neck, chest, or head). If
external, the transponder may be attached to the patient's skin,
positioned on the patient's clothing or other body-worn assembly
(e.g., eyeglasses, cellular phone, belt, hat, etc.) or in a device
that is positioned adjacent the patient (e.g., a pillow, chair
headrest, etc.). The intermediate transponder may be configured to
only transmit power, only transmit data, or it may be configured to
transmit both data and power. By having such intermediate
transponders, the external device 14 may be placed outside of its
normal communication range from the implanted devices 12 (e.g., on
a patient's belt or in a patient's bag), and still be able to
substantially continuously receive data from the implantable device
12 and/or transmit power to the implantable device 12.
[0075] Transmission of data and power between implantable device 12
and external device 14 is typically carried out through a
radiofrequency link, but may also be carried out through magnetic
induction, electromagnetic link, Bluetooth.RTM. link, Zigbee link,
sonic link, optical link, other types of wireless links, or
combinations thereof.
[0076] One preferred method 11 of wirelessly transmitting data and
power is carried out with a radiofrequency link, similar to the
link used with radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags. As
illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in such embodiments, one or more
radio frequency signals are emitted from the external device 14
through antenna 18 (step 13). If the external device 14 is in
communication range of the implantable devices, at step 15 the
radiofrequency (RF) energy signal illuminates the passive,
implantable devices 12.
[0077] At step 17 the same RF signal interrogates the energized
implantable device 12 to allow the implantable device to sample the
desired physiological signal from the patient (such as an EEG
signal). At step 19, the implantable device samples the
instantaneous EEG signal (or other physiological signal) from the
patient.
[0078] At step 21, the implantable device 12 then communicates a
return RF signal to the external device 14 that is encoded with
data that is indicative of the sampled EEG signal. Typically, the
return RF signal is a based on the RF signal generated by the
external device and includes detectable modifications which
indicate the sampled EEG signal. For example, the return signal is
typically a backscattering of the RF signal from the external
device with the detectable modifications that indicate the sampled
EEG signal. Advantageously, such backscattering does not require
generation of a separate radiating signal and would not require an
internal power source. The return RF signals may also include the
identification code of the implanted device so as to identify which
device the data is coming from. At step 23, the return RF signal
emitted by the internal device 12 is received by the antenna 18,
and the RF signal is decoded to extract the sampled EEG signal. The
sampled EEG signal may thereafter be stored in a memory of the
external device 14. For embodiments in which the method is used to
collect data, such data will be stored until accessed by the
patient. Typically, such data will be analyzed on a separate device
(e.g., physician's computer workstation).
[0079] In alternative embodiments, however, in which the external
device may comprise software to analyze the data in substantially
real-time, the received RF signal with the sampled EEG may be
analyzed by the EEG analysis algorithms to estimate the patient's
brain state which is typically indicative of the patient's
propensity for a neurological event (step 25). The neurological
event may be a seizure, migraine headache, episode of depression,
tremor, or the like. The estimation of the patient's brain state
may cause generation of an output (step 27). The output may be in
the form of a control signal to activate a therapeutic device
(e.g., implanted in the patient, such as a vagus nerve stimulator,
deep brain or cortical stimulator, implanted drug pump, etc.). In
other embodiments, the output may be used to activate a user
interface on the external device to produce an output communication
to the patient. For example, the external device may be used to
provide a substantially continuous output or periodic output
communication to the patient that indicates their brain state
and/or propensity for the neurological event. Such a communication
could allow the patient to manually initiate therapy (e.g., wave
wand over implanted vagus nerve stimulator, cortical, or deep brain
stimulator, take a fast acting AED, etc.) or to make themselves
safe.
[0080] In preferred embodiments, the return RF signal is
transmitted (e.g., backscattered) immediately after sampling of the
EEG signal to allow for substantially real-time transfer (and
analysis) of the patient's EEG signals. In alternate embodiments,
however, the return RF signal may be buffered in an internal memory
and the communication transmission to the external device 14 may be
delayed by any desired time period and may include the buffered EEG
signal and/or a real-time sampled EEG signal. The return RF signal
may use the same frequency as the illumination RF signal or it may
be a different frequency as the illumination RF signal.
[0081] Unlike conventional digital implantable devices that send
large packets of stored data with each return RF communication
transmission, some embodiment of the methods and devices of the
present invention substantially continuously sample physiological
signals from the patient and communicate in real-time small amounts
of data during each return RF signal communication. Because only
small amounts of data (one or a small number of sampled EEG signals
from each implantable device 12) are transmitted during each
communication, a lower amount of power is consumed and the
illumination of the implanted device from the incoming
high-frequency RF signal will be sufficient to power the
implantable device 12 for a time that is sufficient to allow for
sampling of the patient's EEG signal. Consequently, in most
embodiments no internal power source, such as a battery, is needed
in the implantable device 12--which further reduces the package
size of the implantable device 12.
[0082] The implantable devices 12 and the external devices 14 of
the present invention typically use an electromagnetic field/high
frequency communication link to both illuminate the implantable
device and enable the high data transfer rates of the present
invention. Conventional devices typically have an internally
powered implantable device and use a slower communication link
(e.g., that is designed for long link access delays) and transmit
data out on a non-continuous basis. In contrast, some embodiments
of the present invention uses a fast access communication link that
transmits a smaller bursts of data (e.g., single or small number of
EEG sample at a time) on a substantially continuous basis.
[0083] The frequencies used to illuminate and transfer data between
the implantable devices 12 and external device are typically
between 13.56 MHz and 10 GHz, preferably between 402 MHz and 2.4
GHz, more preferably between 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz. While it is
possible to use frequencies above 2.4 GHz, Applicants have found
that it is preferred to use a frequency below 2.4 GHz in order to
limit attenuation effects caused by tissue. As can be appreciated,
while the aforementioned frequencies are the preferred frequencies,
the present invention is not limited to such frequencies and other
frequencies that are higher and lower may also be used. For
example, it may be desirable us use the MICS (Medical Implant
Communication Service band) that is between 402-405 MHz to
facilitate the communication link. In Europe, it may be desirable
to use ETSI RFID allocation 869.4-869.65 MHz.
[0084] While not illustrated in FIG. 1B, the system 10 of the
present invention may also make use of conventional or proprietary
forward error correction ("FEC") methods to control errors and
ensure the integrity of the data transmitted from the implantable
device 12 to the external device 14. Such forward error correction
methods may include such conventional implementations such as
cyclic redundancy check ("CRC"), checksums, or the like.
[0085] If desired, the data signals that are wirelessly transmitted
from implantable device 12 may be encrypted prior to transmission
to the control module 16. Alternatively, the data signals may be
transmitted to the control module 16 as unencrypted data, and at
some point prior to the storage of the data signals in the control
module 16 or prior to transfer of the data signals to the
physician's office, the EEG data may be encrypted so as to help
ensure the privacy of the patient data.
[0086] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate two embodiments of the externally
powered leadless, implantable device 12 that may be used with the
system 10 of the present invention. The implantable devices 12 of
the present invention are preferably passive or semi-passive and
are "slaves" to the "master" external device 14. The implantable
devices will typically remain dormant until they are interrogated
and possibly energized by an appropriate RF signal from the
external device 14. As will be described below, the implantable
device 14 may have minimal electronic components and computing
power, so as to enable a small package size for the implantable
device.
[0087] Advantageously, the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3A and
3B are minimally invasive and may be implanted with an introducer,
trocar or syringe-like device under local anesthesia by a physician
or potentially even a physician's assistant. Typically, the
implanted device of FIG. 3A may have a longitudinal dimension 20 of
less than about 3 cm, and preferably between about 1 cm and about
10 cm, and a lateral dimension 22 of less than about 2 mm, and
preferably between about 0.5 mm and about 10 mm. As can be
appreciated, such dimensions are merely illustrative, and other
embodiments of implanted device may have larger or smaller
dimensions.
[0088] FIG. 3A illustrates an embodiment that comprises a first
electrode 24 and a second electrode 26 that are disposed on
opposing ends of housing 28. The first and second electrodes 24, 26
may be composed of platinum, platinum-iridium alloy, stainless
steel, or any other conventional material. The electrodes may
include a coating or surface treatment such as platinum-iridium or
platinum-black in order to reduce electrical impedance. The first
and second electrodes 24, 26 will typically have a smooth or
rounded shape in order to reduce tissue erosion and may have a
surface area of about 3 mm.sup.2, but other embodiments may be
smaller or larger. Since electrodes 24, 26 are typically adapted to
only sense physiological signals and are not used to deliver
stimulation, the surface area of the electrodes may be smaller than
conventional implantable devices. The smaller electrodes have the
advantage of reducing the overall device size which can be
beneficial for improving patient comfort and reducing the risk of
tissue erosion.
[0089] Housing 28 is typically in the form of a radially
symmetrical, substantially cylindrical body that hermetically seals
electronic components 30 disposed within a cavity 32. Housing 28
may be composed of a biocompatible material, such as glass,
ceramic, liquid crystal polymer, or other materials that are inert
and biocompatible to the human body and able to hermetically seal
electronic components. Housing 28 may have embedded within or
disposed thereon one or more x-ray visible markers 33 that allow
for x-ray localization of the implantable device. Alternatively,
one or more x-ray visible markers may be disposed within the cavity
32. Cavity 32 may be filled with an inert gas or liquid, such as an
inert helium nitrogen mixture which may also be used to facilitate
package leakage testing. Alternatively, it may be desirable to fill
the cavity 32 with a liquid encapsulant (not shown) that hardens
around the electronic components. The liquid encapsulant may
comprise silicone, urethane, or other similar materials.
[0090] While housing 28 is illustrated as a substantially
cylindrical body with the electrodes 24, 26 on opposing ends,
housing may take any desired shape and the electrodes may be
positioned at any position/orientation on the housing 28. For
example, housing 28 may taper in one direction, be substantially
spherical, substantially oval, substantially flat, or the like.
Additionally or alternatively, the body may have one or more
substantially planar surfaces so as to enhance the conformity to
the patient's skull and to prevent rotation of the implantable
device 12. While not shown, housing 28 may optionally include a
conductive electromagnetic interference shield (EMI) that is
configured to shield the electronic components 30 in housing 28.
The EMI shield may be disposed on an inner surface of the housing,
outer surface of the housing, or impregnated within the
housing.
[0091] If desired, housing 28 may optionally comprise an anchoring
assembly (not shown) that improves the anchoring of the implantable
device 12 to the skull or the layers within the scalp. Such
anchoring may be carried out with adhesive, spikes, barbs,
protuberances, suture holes, sutures, screws or the like.
[0092] In the illustrated embodiment, first electrode 24 is
disposed on a first end of housing 28 and is in electrical
communication with the electronic components 30 through a hermetic
feedthrough 34. Feedthrough 34 may be the same material as the
first electrode 24 or it may be composed of a material that has a
similar coefficient of thermal expansion as the housing 28 and/or
the first electrode 24. Feedthrough 34 may make direct contact with
a pad (not shown) on a printed circuit board 36, or any other type
of conventional connection may be used (e.g., solder ball, bond
wire, wire lead, or the like) to make an electrical connection to
the printed circuit board 36.
[0093] Second electrode 26 may be spaced from a second, opposing
end of the housing 28 via an elongated coil member 38. In the
illustrated embodiment, the second electrode 26 typically comprises
a protuberance 39 that is disposed within and attached to a distal
end of the coil member 38. Coil member 38 acts as an electrical
connection between second electrode and the electronic components
30 disposed within housing 28.
[0094] Coil member 38 will typically be composed of stainless
steel, a high strength alloy such as MP35N, or a combination of
materials such as a MP35N outer layer with silver core.
[0095] The illustrated embodiment shows that coil member 38 has a
largest lateral dimension (e.g., diameter) that is less than the
largest lateral dimension (e.g., diameter) of housing 28, but in
other embodiments, the coil may have the same lateral dimension or
larger lateral dimension from housing 28.
[0096] Coil member 38 may also be used as an antenna to facilitate
the wireless transmission of power and data between the implantable
device 12 and the external device 14 (or other device). In
preferred embodiments, coil member 38 may be used to receive and
transmit radiofrequency signals. In alternative embodiments,
however, coil member 38 may be inductively coupled to an external
coil to receive energy from a modulating, alternating magnetic
field. Unlike other conventional implantable devices, the RF
antenna is disposed outside of the housing 28 and extends from one
end of housing 28. It should be appreciated however, that the
present invention is not limited to a substantially cylindrical
antenna extending from an end of the housing 28 and various other
configurations are possible. For example, it may be desirable to
wind the antenna around or within the housing 28. Furthermore, it
may be desirable to use a substantially flat antenna (similar to
RFID tags) to facilitate the transmission of power and data. To
facilitate implantation, such antennas may be rolled into a
cylindrical shape and biased to take the flat shape upon release
from the introducer.
[0097] While not shown, it may also be desirable to provide a
second antenna between the first electrode 24 and the housing 28.
The second antenna may be used for power and downlink using a first
frequency, e.g., 13.56 MHz, while the first antenna may be used for
uplink using a second frequency, e.g., 902-928 MHz. In such
embodiments, however, the implantable devices would need to have an
internal timebase (e.g., oscillator and a frequency synthesizer).
For the embodiments that use only a single frequency for the
downlink and uplink, an internal timebase or frequency synthesizer
is not needed--and the timebase established by the master (e.g.,
external device 14) can be used.
[0098] Coil member 38 may be in electrical communication with the
electronic components 30 with a hermetic feedthrough 42 that
extends through a via 44 in housing 28. Feedthrough 42 is typically
composed of a material that has a coefficient of thermal expansion
that is substantially similar to the material of housing 40.
Because the coil member 38 is outside of the housing 28 the length
of the implantable device 12 will be increased, but the flexible
coil will be better exposed to the RF signals and will be allowed
to conform to the shape of the patient's skull.
[0099] Coil member 38 is typically disposed outside of the housing
28 and disposed within an elongate, substantially flexible housing
40. Compared to the more rigid housing 28, the flexible housing 40
is better able to conform to the shape of an outer surface of the
patient's skull, more comfortable for the patient and reduces the
chance of tissue erosion. Flexible housing 40 may comprise
silicone, polyurethane, or the like In the illustrated embodiment,
flexible housing 40 extends along the entire length of coil member
38, but in other embodiments, flexible housing 40 may extend less
than or longer than the longitudinal length of coil member 38.
Flexible housing 40 will typically have a substantially cylindrical
shape, but if desired a proximal end 46 of the cylindrical housing
may be enlarged or otherwise shaped to substantially conform to a
shape of the housing 28. The shaped proximal end 46 may be adhered
or otherwise attached to the end of the housing 40 to improve the
hermetic seal of the housing and may reduce any potential sharp
edge or transition between the housings 28, 40. While FIG. 3A only
illustrates a single layered flexible housing, if desired, the
flexible housing 40 may comprise a plurality of layers, and the
different layers may comprise different types of materials, have
embedded x-ray markers, or the like.
[0100] A longitudinal length of flexible housing 40 and the
longitudinal length of the rigid housing 28 may vary depending on
the specific embodiment, but a ratio of the longitudinal length of
the flexible housing 40: the longitudinal length of the more rigid
housing 28 is typically between about 0.5:1 and about 3:1, and
preferably between about 1:1 and about 2:1. By having the
longitudinal length of the flexible housing longer than the
longitudinal length of the rigid housing, advantageously the
implantable device will be more comfortable and better able to
conform to the outer surface of the patient's skull. In alternative
embodiments, it may also be desirable to have a longitudinal length
of the rigid housing 28 be longer than the longitudinal length of
the flexible housing 40, or in any other desired configuration.
[0101] Because the implantable devices 12 of the present invention
consume a minimal amount of energy and use a high frequency RF
coupling to power the device and communicate the EEG signals to the
external device, unlike other conventional devices, some of the
implantable devices 12 of the present invention will not need a
ferrite core to store energy, and the electronic components 30 of
the present invention will typically include aluminum or other
MRI-safe material. Consequently, the patient's implanted with the
implantable device 12 may safely undergo MRI imaging.
[0102] FIG. 3B illustrates another embodiment of implantable device
12 that is encompassed by the present invention. The embodiment of
FIG. 3B shares many of the same components as the embodiment of
FIG. 3A, and such components are noted with the same reference
numbers as FIG. 3A. There are, however, a few notable exceptions.
Specifically, instead of having a hermetically sealed housing, the
embodiment of FIG. 3B provides a conductive body 48 that acts as
both the housing for the electronic components 30 and as the second
electrode. Conductive body 48 may be composed of a metallized
polymer, one or more metal or metal alloys, or other conductive
material. Because body 48 is conductive, it may act as an
electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield to the electronic
components disposed within the cavity 32. Electrical connections to
the printed circuit board 36 may be carried out with one or more
conductive spring conductors 50 or other conventional lead
connectors.
[0103] Feedthrough 42 that is connected to the coil member 38
extends from the end of coil member 38 and makes an electrical
connection with a lead on the printed circuit board 36. The
feedthrough 42 works in conjunction with one or more dielectric
seals or spacers 52 to hermetically seal the cavity 32. Similar to
above, the cavity 32 may be filled with an inert gas or an
encapsulant. The proximal end 46 of flexible body 40 may be coupled
to the seals 52 and/or coupled to the conductive body 48.
[0104] As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3B, the surface area of
conductive body 48 (e.g., the first electrode) may be larger than
the surface area of the second electrode 26. In other embodiments,
however, the surface area of the second electrode 26 may have the
substantially same surface area and/or shape as the conductive body
48.
[0105] In most embodiments, the implantable devices shown in FIGS.
3A and 3B function completely independent of the other implantable
devices 12 and there is no physical connection or communication
between the various devices. If desired, however, the implantable
devices 12 may be physically coupled to each other with a
connecting wire or tether and/or in communication with each other.
If the plurality of implanted devices 12 are in communication with
one another, it may be desired to use a communication frequency
between the implanted devices 12 that is different from the
frequency to communicate between the implanted devices and the
external device 14. Of course, the communication frequency between
the implanted devices 12 may also be the same frequency as the
communication frequency with the external device 14.
[0106] While FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a first and second
electrode 24, 26, the implantable devices 12 of the present
invention are not limited to only two electrodes. Any number of
electrodes may be coupled to the implantable device in any
orientation. For example, the electrodes do not have to extend from
ends of the housing, but may be positioned anywhere along a portion
of the housings 28, 40. Furthermore, a plurality of electrodes and
their leads may be disposed along the length of the flexible
housing 40 and/or rigid housing 28 so as to provide more than two
electrodes per implantable device. For example, FIG. 3C illustrates
a simplified embodiment in which there are two additional electrode
24', 26' positioned on the rigid housing 28 and flexible housing
40, respectively. The spacing between the various contacts 24, 24',
26, 26' may vary or be the same distance between each other. The
spacing between electrodes will likely depend on the overall length
of the implantable device, but will typically be between about 2 mm
and about 20 mm and preferably be between about 5 mm and about 10
mm. In addition to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3C, it may be
desirable to have the additional electrodes only on the flexible
housing 40 or only on the rigid housing 28. While only four
electrodes are shown on the implanted device, it should be
appreciated that any desirable number of electrodes (e.g., anywhere
between two electrodes and about sixteen electrodes) may coupled to
the implanted device.
[0107] While FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate some currently preferred
embodiments of the implantable device 12, the present invention
further encompasses other types of minimally invasive implantable
devices 12 that can monitor the brain activity and other
physiological signals from the patient. For example, a plurality of
electrodes might reside on a single lead that could be tunneled
under the scalp from a single point of entry. Examples of such
embodiments are shown in FIGS. 2A-2E.
[0108] Such implantable devices 12 include an active electrode
contact 400 that is in communication with one or more passive
electrode contacts 401. The active electrode contact 400 may be
used to facilitate monitoring of the physiological signals using
the array of active and passive electrode contacts. The arrays of
electrode contacts may be arranged in a linear orientation (FIG.
2C) or in a grid pattern (FIG. 2E), or any other desired pattern
(e.g., circular, star pattern, customized asymmetric pattern, etc.)
For example, if the implantable device comprises two electrode
contacts (e.g., one active contact and one passive contact), such
an embodiment would have a similar configuration as the embodiment
of FIG. 3A. Similarly, if the implantable device were to have four
substantially linearly positioned electrode contacts (e.g., one
active contact and three passive contacts), such an embodiment
would be substantially similar to the configuration shown in FIG.
3C.
[0109] FIG. 2A illustrates a bottom view of an active electrode
contact 400 that may be part of the implantable device 12 of the
present invention. The active electrode contact comprises a base
402 that is coupled to a contact portion 404. The base 402 and
contact portion may be composed of any number of different types of
materials, such as platinum, platinum-iridium alloy, stainless
steel, or any other conventional material. In preferred
embodiments, both the base 402 and contact portion 404 are formed
to their desired shape. The base 402 may comprise a plurality of
hermetic feedthroughs 413 that is implemented using conventional
glass metal seal technology (e.g., pins 408, glass seal 414, and
vias 406). The hermetic feedthroughs 413 may be used to connect to
an antenna (not shown) for communication with the external device
14 or to make an electrical connection with an adjacent passive
electrode contact 401 in the implanted device 12. In the
illustrated embodiment, base 402 comprises four hermetic
feedthroughs 413. But as can be appreciated the base 402 may
comprise any desired number of feedthroughs 413 (e.g., anywhere
between two and sixty four feedthroughs).
[0110] FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the active
electrode contact 400 along lines B-B in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIG.
2B, the contact portion 404 is shaped to as to align the base 402
along a bottom surface defined by flanges 409. Base 402 may be
coupled to the contact portion 404 with a laser weld, glass metal
seal, or other conventional connector 410 along an outer perimeter
of the base 402 to hermetically seal components of the active
electrode contact within a cavity 412 defined by the base 402 and
contact portion 404. If desired, the cavity 412 may be backfilled
with nitrogen and/or helium to facilitate package leak testing.
[0111] A thin or thick filmed microcircuit or a printed circuit
board ("PCB") 416 may be mounted onto an inner surface of the base
402. PCB 416 may have active components 418 (e.g., integrated
circuits, ASIC, memory, etc.) and passive components 420 (e.g.,
resistors, capacitors, etc.) mounted thereto. Leads or bond wires
422 from the active and passive components may be electrically
attached to pads on the PCB (not shown) which make electrical
connections to leads or bond wires 424 that are attached to the
hermetic feedthroughs 413. While not shown in FIG. 2B, the active
electrode contact 400 may comprise a rechargeable or
non-rechargeable power supply (e.g., batteries), and/or x-ray
visible markers (not shown).
[0112] As noted above, the active contacts may be used in
conjunction with one or more passive contacts to form an active
implantable device 12 to facilitate monitoring of the patient's
physiological signals and to communicate with the external device
14. FIGS. 2C and 2D illustrate an embodiment of the implantable
device 12 in which one active contact 400 is housed in a body 426
along with a plurality of passive contacts 401 to form a multiple
contact implantable device 12. The contact portion of the active
contact 400 is exposed through an opening in the body 426 to allow
for sampling of the physiological signals (e.g., EEG) from the
patient. The body 426 may be substantially flexible or rigid and
may have similar dimensions and/or shapes as the embodiments shown
in FIGS. 3A-3C. Body 426 may be composed of a biocompatible
material such as silicone, polyurethane, or other materials that
are inert and biocompatible to the human body. Body 426 may also be
composed of a rigid material such as polycarbonate. The implantable
device may be injected into the patient using the introducer
assembly shown in FIG. 6 and methods shown in FIG. 7.
[0113] As shown in FIG. 2D wire leads 427 may extend from the
passive contacts 401 and be electrically and physically coupled to
one of the hermetic feedthroughs 413 of the active contact 400 to
facilitate sampling of the physiological signals using all four
electrode contacts. For embodiments which use a wireless link
(e.g., RF) to wirelessly transmit data to the external device 14
and optionally to power the device, one of the feedthroughs may be
coupled to an antenna 428 that is configured to wirelessly
communicate with the external device. It should be appreciated,
that while not described herein, the embodiments of FIGS. 2C-2E may
have any of the components or variations as described above in
relation to FIGS. 3A-3B.
[0114] FIG. 2E illustrates an alternative embodiment of the
implantable device 12 in which the implantable device 12 is in the
form of a 4.times.4 grid array of active and passive contacts. At
least one of the electrode contacts may be an active contact 400 so
as to facilitate monitoring of the patient's physiological signals
with the array. In the illustrated embodiment, the contacts in the
leftmost column (highlighted with cross-hatching) are active
electrode contacts 400, and the contacts in remaining column are
electrically connected to one of the active contacts 400. Of
course, any number of active contacts 400 and passive contacts 401
may be in the grid array and the active contact(s) 400 may be
positioned anywhere desired. For example, if the active electrode
contact 400 has sixteen or more hermetic feedthroughs, only one of
the contacts in the array needs to be active and the remaining
fifteen contacts could be passive contacts.
[0115] FIG. 4 illustrates one simplified embodiment of the
electronic components 30 (e.g., active components 418 and passive
components 420 in FIG. 2B) that may be disposed in the implantable
devices 12 as shown in FIGS. 2A-3C. It should be appreciated,
however, that the electronic components 30 of the implantable
device 12 may include any combination of conventional hardware,
software and/or firmware to carry out the functionality described
herein. For example, the electronic components 30 may include many
of the components that are used in passive RF integrated
circuits.
[0116] The first and second electrodes will be used to sample a
physiological signal from the patient--typically an EEG signal 53,
and transmit the sampled signal to the electronic components 30.
While it may be possible to record and transmit the analog EEG
signal to the external device, the analog EEG signal will typically
undergo processing before transmission to the external device 14.
The electronic components typically include a printed circuit board
that has, among others, an amplifier 54, one or more filters 56
(e.g., bandpass, notch, lowpass, and/or highpass) and an
analog-to-digital converter 58. In some embodiments, the processed
EEG signals may be sent to a transmit/receive sub-system 60 for
wireless transmission to the external device via an antenna (e.g.,
coil member 38). Additional electronic components that might be
useful in implantable device 12 may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,193,539, 5,193,540, 5,312,439, 5,324,316, 5,405,367 and
6,051,017.
[0117] In some alternative embodiments of the present invention,
the electronic components 30 may include a memory 64 (e.g., RAM,
EEPROM, Flash, etc.) for permanently or temporarily storing or
buffering the processed EEG signal. For example, memory 64 may be
used as a buffer to temporarily store the processed EEG signal if
there are problems with transmitting the data to the external
device. For example, if the external device's power supply is low,
the memory in the external device is removed, or if the external
device is out of communication range with the implantable device,
the EEG signals may be temporarily buffered in memory 64 and the
buffered EEG signals and the current sampled EEG signals may be
transmitted to the external device when the problem has been
corrected. If there are problems with the transmission of the data
from the implantable device, the external device may be configured
to provide a warning or other output signal to the patient to
inform them to correct the problem. Upon correction of the
problems, the implantable device may automatically continue the
transfer the temporarily buffered data and the real-time EEG data
to the memory in the external device.
[0118] The electronic components 30 may optionally comprise
dedicated circuitry and/or a microprocessor 62 (referred to herein
collectively as "microprocessor") for further processing of the EEG
signals prior to transmission to the external device. The
microprocessor 62 may execute EEG analysis software, such as a
seizure prediction algorithm, a seizure detection algorithm, safety
algorithm, or portions of such algorithms, or portions thereof. For
example, in some configurations, the microprocessor may run one or
more feature extractors that extract features from the EEG signal
that are relevant to the purpose of monitoring. Thus, if the system
is being used for diagnosing or monitoring epileptic patients, the
extracted features (either alone or in combination with other
features) may be indicative or predictive of a seizure. Once the
feature(s) are extracted, the microprocessor 62 may send the
extracted feature(s) to the transmit/receive sub-system 60 for the
wireless transmission to the external device and/or store the
extracted feature(s) in memory 64. Because the transmission of the
extracted features is likely to include less data than the EEG
signal itself, such a configuration will likely reduce the
bandwidth requirements for the communication link between the
implantable device and the external device. Since the extracted
features do not add a large amount of data to the data signal, in
some embodiments, it may also be desirable to concurrently transmit
both the extracted feature and the EEG signal. A detailed
discussion of various embodiments of the internal/external
placement of such algorithms are described in commonly owned U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/322,150, filed Dec. 28, 2005 to
Bland et al., Publication No. 2007/0149952 published Jun. 28, 2007,
the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
[0119] While most embodiments of the implantable device 12 are
passive and does not need an internal power source or internal
clock, in some embodiments, the electronic components 30 may
include a rechargeable or non-rechargeable power supply 66 and an
internal clock (not shown). The rechargeable or non-rechargeable
power supply may be a battery, a capacitor, or the like. The
rechargeable power supply 66 may also be in communication with the
transmit/receive sub-system 60 so as to receive power from outside
the body by inductive coupling, radiofrequency (RF) coupling, etc.
Power supply 66 will generally be used to provide power to the
other components of the implantable device. In such embodiments,
the implanted device may generate and transmit its own signal with
the sampled EEG signal for transmission back to the external
device. Consequently, as used herein "transmit" includes both
passive transmission of a signal back to the external device (e.g.,
backscattering of the RF signal) and internal generation of a
separate signal for transmission back to the external device.
[0120] FIG. 5 is a simplified illustration of some of the
components that may be included in external device 14. Antenna 18
and a transmit/receive subsystem 70 will receive a data signal that
is encoded with the EEG data (or other physiological data) from the
antenna 38 of the implantable device 12 (FIG. 4). As used herein,
"EEG data" may include a raw EEG signal, a processed EEG signal,
extracted features from the EEG signal, an answer from an implanted
EEG analysis software (e.g., safety, prediction and/or detection
algorithm), or any combination thereof.
[0121] The EEG data may thereafter be stored in memory 72, such as
a hard drive, RAM, permanent or removable Flash Memory, or the like
and/or processed by a microprocessor 74 or other dedicated
circuitry. Microprocessor 74 may be configured to request that the
implantable device perform an impedance check between the first and
second electrodes and/or other calibrations prior to EEG recording
and/or during predetermined times during the recording period to
ensure the proper function of the system.
[0122] The EEG data may be transmitted from memory 72 to
microprocessor 74 where the data may optionally undergo additional
processing. For example, if the EEG data is encrypted, it may be
decrypted. The microprocessor 74 may also comprise one or more
filters that filter out high-frequency artifacts (e.g., muscle
movement artifacts, eye-blink artifacts, chewing, etc.) so as to
prevent contamination of the high frequency components of the
sampled EEG signals. In some embodiments, the microprocessor may
process the EEG data to measure the patient's brain state, detect
seizures, predict the onset of a future seizure, generate
metrics/measurements of seizure activity, or the like. A more
complete description of seizure detection algorithms, seizure
prediction algorithms, and related components that may be
implemented in the external device 14 may be found in pending,
commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/321,897
(2007/0150024, published Jun. 28, 2007) and 11/321,898,
(2007/0150025, published Jun. 28, 2007) filed on Dec. 28, 2005, to
Leyde et al. and DiLorenzo et al., and 60/897,551, filed on Jan.
25, 2007, to Leyde et al., the complete disclosures of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
[0123] It should be appreciated, however, that in some embodiments
some or all of the computing power of the system of the present
invention may be performed in a computer system or workstation 76
that is separate from the system 10, and the external device 14 may
simply be used as a data collection device. In such embodiments,
the personal computer 76 may be located at the physician's office
or at the patient's home and the EEG data stored in memory 72 may
be uploaded to the personal computer 76 via a USB interface 78,
removal of the memory (e.g., Flash Memory stick), or other
conventional communication protocols, and minimal processing may be
performed in the external device 14. In such embodiments, the
personal computer 76 may contain the filters, decryption algorithm,
EEG analysis software, such as a prediction algorithm and/or
detection algorithm, report generation software, or the like. Some
embodiments of the present invention may take advantage of a
web-based data monitoring/data transfer system, such as those
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,471,645 and 6,824,512, the complete
disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0124] External device 14 may also comprise an RF signal generator
75 that is configured to generate the RF field for interrogating
and optionally powering the implanted devices 12. RF generator 75
will be under control of the microprocessor 74 and generate the
appropriate RF field to facilitate monitoring and transmission of
the sampled EEG signals to the external device.
[0125] External device 14 will typically include a user interface
80 for displaying outputs to the patient and for receiving inputs
from the patient. The user interface typically comprise outputs
such as auditory devices (e.g., speakers) visual devices (e.g., LCD
display, LEDs to indicate brain state or propensity to seizure),
tactile devices (e.g., vibratory mechanisms), or the like, and
inputs, such as a plurality of buttons, a touch screen, and/or a
scroll wheel.
[0126] The user interface may be adapted to allow the patient to
indicate and record certain events. For example, the patient may
indicate that medication has been taken, the dosage, the type of
medication, meal intake, sleep, drowsiness, occurrence of an aura,
occurrence of a seizure, or the like. Such inputs may be used in
conjunction with the recorded EEG data to improve the analysis of
the patient's condition and determine the efficacy of the
medications taken by the patient.
[0127] The LCD display of the user interface 80 may be used to
output a variety of different communications to the patient
including, status of the device (e.g., memory capacity remaining),
battery state of one or more components of system, whether or not
the external device 14 is within communication range of the
implantable devices 12, brain state indicators (e.g., a warning
(e.g., seizure warning), a prediction (e.g., seizure prediction),
unknown brain state, safety indication, a recommendation (e.g.,
"take drugs"), or the like). Of course, it may be desirable to
provide an audio output or vibratory output to the patient in
addition to or as an alternative to the visual display on the LCD.
In other embodiments, the brain state indicators may be separate
from the LCD display to as to provide a clear separation between
the device status outputs and the brain state indicators. In such
embodiments, the external device may comprise different colored
LEDs to indicate different brain states. For example, a green LED
may indicate a safe brain state, a yellow light may indicate an
unknown brain state, and a red light may indicate either a seizure
detection or seizure prediction.
[0128] External device may also include a medical grade power
source 82 or other conventional power supply that is in
communication with at least one other component of external device
14. The power source 82 may be rechargeable. If the power source 80
is rechargeable, the power source may optionally have an interface
for communication with a charger 84. While not shown in FIG. 5,
external device 14 will typically comprise a clock circuit (e.g.,
oscillator and frequency synthesizer) to provide the time base for
synchronizing external device 14 and the internal device(s) 12. In
preferred embodiments, the internal device(s) 12 are slaves to the
external device and the implantable devices 12 will not have to
have an individual oscillator and a frequency synthesizer, and the
implantable device(s) 12 will use the "master" clock as its time
base. Consequently, it may be possible to further reduce the size
of the implantable devices.
[0129] In use, one or more of the implantable devices are implanted
in the patient. The implanted device is interrogated and powered so
that the EEG signals are sampled from the patient's brain. The EEG
signals are processed by the implanted device and the processed EEG
signals are wirelessly transmitted from the implanted device(s) to
an external device. The EEG signals are stored for future or
substantially real-time analysis.
[0130] As noted above, in preferred embodiments, the implantable
devices are implanted in a minimally invasive fashion under the
patient's scalp and above an outer surface of the skull. FIG. 6
illustrates a simplified introducer assembly 90 that may be used to
introduce the implantable devices into the patient. The introducer
assembly 90 is typically in the form of a cannula and stylet or a
syringe-like device that can access the target area and inject the
implanted device under the skin of the patient. As noted above, the
implantable devices 12 are preferably implanted beneath at least
one layer of the patient's scalp and above the patient's skull.
Because of the small size of the implantable devices 12, the
devices may be injected into the patient under local anesthesia in
an out-patient procedure by the physician or neurologist. Because
the implantable devices are implanted entirely beneath the skin
infection risk would be reduced and there would be minimal cosmetic
implications. Due to the small size of the implantable devices 12,
it may be desirable to have a plurality of implantable devices
pre-loaded into a sterile introducer assembly 90 or into a sterile
cartridge (not shown) so as to minimize the risk of contamination
of the implantable devices 12 prior to implantation.
[0131] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates one example of a minimally
invasive method 100 of implanting the implantable devices for
ambulatory monitoring of a patient's EEG signals. At step 102, an
incision is made in the patient's scalp. At step 104, an introducer
assembly is inserted into the incision and a distal tip of the
introducer assembly is positioned at or near the target site. Of
course, the introducer assembly itself may be used to create the
incision. For example, if the introducer assembly is in the form of
a syringe, the syringe tip may be made to create the incision and
steps 102 and 104 may be consolidated into a single step. At step
106, the introducer assembly is actuated to inject the implantable
device 12 to the target site. If desired, the introducer may be
repositioned to additional target sites underneath the patient's
skin and above the skull. If needed, additional incisions may be
created in the patient's skin to allow for injection of the
implantable device 12 at the additional target sites. After a
desired number of implantable devices are placed in the patient, at
step 108 the introducer assembly is removed from the target site.
At step 110, the implantable devices are activated and used to
perform long term monitoring of the patient's EEG signals from each
of the target sites. At step 112, the sampled EEG signals are then
wirelessly transmitted to an external device. At step 114, the
sampled EEG signals may then be stored in a memory in the external
device or in another device (e.g., personal computer). If desired,
the EEG signals may then be processed in the external device or in
a personal computer of the physician.
[0132] While not shown in FIG. 7, it may also be desirable to
anchor the implantable devices to the patient to reduce the
likelihood that the implantable devices are dislodged from their
desired position. Anchoring may be performed with tissue adhesive,
barbs or other protrusions, sutures, or the like.
[0133] Advantageously, the implantable devices are able to monitor
EEG signals from the patient without the use of burr holes in the
skull or implantation within the brain--which significantly reduces
the risk of infection for the patient and makes the implantation
process easier. While there is some attenuation of the EEG signals
and movement artifacts in the signals, because the implantable
devices are below the skin, it is believed that there will be much
lower impedance than scalp electrodes. Furthermore, having a
compact implantable device 14 below the skin reduces common-mode
interference signals which can cause a differential signal to
appear due to any imbalance in electrode impedance and the skin
provides some protection from interference caused by stray electric
charges (static).
[0134] While FIG. 7 illustrates one preferred method of implanting
the implantable devices in the patient and using the implantable
devices to monitor the patient's EEG, the present invention is not
limited to such a method, and a variety of other non-invasive and
invasive implantation and monitoring methods may be used. For
example, while minimally invasive monitoring is the preferred
method, the systems and devices of the present invention are
equally applicable to more invasive monitoring. Thus, if it is
desired to monitor and record intracranial EEG signals (e.g.,
ECoG), then it may be possible to implant one or more of the
implantable devices inside the patient's skull (e.g., in the brain,
above or below the dura mater, or a combination thereof) through a
burr hole created in the patient's skull.
[0135] Once implanted in the patient, the monitoring systems 10 of
the present invention may be used for a variety of different uses.
For example, in one usage the systems of the present invention may
be used to diagnose whether or not the patient has epilepsy.
Patients are often admitted to video-EEG monitoring sessions in an
EMU to determine if the patient is having seizures,
pseudo-seizures, or is suffering from vaso-vagal syncope, and the
like. Unfortunately, if the patient has infrequent "seizures," it
is unlikely that the short term stay in the EMU will record a
patient's seizure and the patient's diagnose will still be unclear.
Consequently, in order to improve the patient's diagnosis, in
addition to the in-hospital video-EEG monitoring or as an
alternative to the in-hospital video-EEG monitoring, the patient
may undergo an ambulatory, long term monitoring of the patient's
EEG using the system of the present invention for a desired time
period. The time period may be one day or more, a week or more, one
month or more, two months or more, three months or more, six months
or more, one year or more, or any other desired time period in
between. The patient may be implanted with the system 10 using the
method described above, and after a predetermined time period, the
patient may return to the physician's office where the EEG data
will be uploaded to the physician's personal computer for analysis.
A conventional or proprietary seizure detection algorithm may be
applied to the EEG data to determine whether or not a seizure
occurred in the monitoring time period. If it is determined that
one or more seizures occurred during the monitoring period, the
seizure detection algorithm may be used to provide an output to the
physician (and/or generate a report for the patient) indicating the
occurrence of one or more seizures, and various seizure activity
metrics, such as spike count over a period of time, seizure count
over a period of time, average seizure duration over a period of
time, the pattern of seizure occurrence over time, and other
seizure and seizure related metrics. In addition, the software may
be used to display the actual EEG signals from specific events or
selected events for physician confirmation of seizure activity.
Such data may be used as a "baseline" for the patient when used in
assessing efficacy of AEDs or other therapies that the patient will
undergo.
[0136] If the patient has been diagnosed with epilepsy (either
using the system of the present invention or through conventional
diagnosis methods), the present invention may also be used to
determine the epilepsy classification and/or seizure type. To
perform such methods, a desired number of implantable devices may
be implanted in the patient for the long term monitoring of the
patient's pattern of electrical activity in the different portions
of the patient's brain. Such monitoring will be able to provide
insight on whether or not the patient has partial/focal seizures or
generalized seizures. In the event that the patient's epilepsy
classification is already known, the classification may determine
the desired placement for the implantable devices in the patient.
For patients suspected or known to have temporal lobe epilepsy, the
implantable devices will likely be focused over the temporal lobe
and adjacent and/or over the regions of epileptiform activity.
Likewise, for patient's suspected or known to have parietal lobe
epilepsy, some or all of the implantable devices will be positioned
over the parietal lobe and adjacent and/or over the regions of
epileptiform activity. Furthermore, if the seizure focus or foci
are known, at least some of the implantable devices may be
positioned over the seizure focus or foci and some may be
positioned contralateral to the known seizure focus or foci.
[0137] If a seizure focus in the patient has not been lateralized,
the present invention may be used to lateralize the seizure focus.
FIG. 8 illustrates one method 120 of lateralizing a seizure focus
in a patient. At step 122, a set of implantable devices are
implanted beneath at least one layer of the patient's scalp and
above the patient's skull (or below the skull, if desired).
[0138] Preferably, the implantable devices will comprise more than
two electrodes to improve the ability to localize the seizure
focus. For embodiments that only include two electrodes, a very
large number of implantable devices may be required to actually
localize the seizure focus. In one embodiment, implantation may be
carried out using the method steps 102-108 illustrated in FIG. 7.
At step 124, the set of implantable devices are used to sample the
patient's EEG signals. At step 126, each of the EEG signals from
the implantable devices are analyzed over a period of time (e.g.,
with EEG analysis software, such as a seizure detection algorithm)
to monitor the patient's seizure activity and once a seizure has
occurred try to lateralize the seizure focus. At step 128, if the
seizure focus is lateralized, a subset of the implantable devices
that are lateralized to the seizure focus are identified. At steps
130 and 132, the EEG signals from the subset of implantable may
continue to be sampled, and such EEG signals may thereafter be
stored and processed to analyze the patient's brain activity. The
implantable devices that are not lateralized to the focus may be
removed from the patient, disabled, or the EEG signals from such
implantable devices may be ignored or not captured/stored. However,
if desired, such EEG signals may continue to be stored and
processed. The location and/or lateralization o the seizure focus
may thereafter be used by the physicians to determine whether or
not the patient is a candidate for resective surgery or other
procedures.
[0139] In another use, the present invention may be used to
quantify seizure activity statistics for the patient. The most
common method of quantifying a patient's seizure activity is
through patient self reporting using a seizure diary.
Unfortunately, it has been estimated that up to 63% of all seizures
are missed by patients. Patient's missing the seizures are usually
caused by the patients being amnesic to the seizures, unaware of
the seizures, mentally incapacitated, the seizures occur during
sleep, or the like. FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified method 140 of
measuring and reporting a patient's seizure activity statistics. At
step 142, one or more implantable devices are implanted in a
patient, typically in a minimally invasive fashion as shown in FIG.
7. At step 144, the implantable devices are used to substantially
continuously sample EEG signals from the patient. At step 146, the
sampled EEG signals are wirelessly transmitted from the implantable
device to an external device. At step 148, the sampled EEG signals
are stored in a memory. At step 150, the stored EEG signals are
analyzed with EEG analysis software, typically using a seizure
prediction and/or detection algorithm, to derive statistics for the
clinical seizures and/or the sub-clinical seizures for the patient
based on the long-term, ambulatory EEG data. For example, the
following statistics may be quantified using the present
invention:
[0140] Seizure count over a time period--How many clinical and
sub-clinical seizures does the patient have in a specific time
period?
[0141] Seizure frequency--How frequent does the patient have
seizures? What is the seizure frequency without medication and with
medication? Without electrical stimulation and with electrical
stimulation?
[0142] Seizure duration--How long do the seizures last? Without
medication and with medication? Without electrical stimulation and
with electrical stimulation?
[0143] Seizure timing--When did the patient have the seizure? Do
the seizures occur more frequently at certain times of the day?
[0144] Seizure patterns--Is there a pattern to the patient's
seizures? After certain activities are performed? What activities
appear to trigger seizures for this particular patient?
[0145] Finally, at step 152, report generation software may be used
to generate a report based on the statistics for the seizure
activity. The report may include some or all of the statistics
described above, an epilepsy/no epilepsy diagnosis, identification
of a seizure focus, and may also include the EEG signal(s)
associated with one or more of the seizures. The report may include
text, graphs, charts, images, or a combination thereof so as to
present the information to the physician and/or patient in an
actionable format. Advantageously, the systems may be used to
generate a baseline report for the patient, and the system may be
continuously used to record data over a long period of time and
provide a quantification of the patient's change in their condition
and/or the efficacy of any therapy that the patient is undergoing
(described in more detail below).
[0146] As noted above, the present invention enables the
documentation and long term monitoring of sub-clinical seizures in
a patient. Because the patient is unaware of the occurrence of
sub-clinical seizures, heretofore the long term monitoring of
sub-clinical seizures was not possible. Documentation of the
sub-clinical seizures may further provide insight into the
relationship between sub-clinical seizures and clinical seizures,
may provide important additional information relevant to the
effectiveness of patient therapy, and may further enhance the
development of additional treatments for epilepsy.
[0147] FIG. 10 illustrates one exemplary method of how the seizure
activity data may be used to evaluate the efficacy or clinical
benefit of a current or potential therapy and allow for the
intelligent selection of an appropriate therapy for an individual
patient and/or stopping the usage of ineffective therapies.
Currently, effectiveness of the AED therapy is based on
self-reporting of the patient, in which the patient makes entries
in a diary regarding the occurrence of their seizure(s). If the
entries in the patient diary indicate a reduction in seizure
frequency, the AED is deemed to be effective and the patient
continues with some form of the current regimen of AEDs. If the
patient entries in the patient diary do not indicate a change in
seizure frequency, the AEDs are deemed to be ineffective, and
typically another AED is prescribed--and most often in addition to
the AED that was deemed to be ineffective. Because AEDs are
typically powerful neural suppressants and are associated with
undesirable side-effects, the current methodology of assessing the
efficacy of the AEDs often keeps the patient on ineffective AEDs
and exposes the patient to unnecessary side-effects.
[0148] By way of example, a medically refractory patient coming to
an epilepsy center for the first time might first have the system
of the present invention implanted and then asked to collect data
for a prescribed time period, e.g., 30 days. The initial 30 days
could be used to establish a baseline measurement for future
reference. The physician could then prescribe an adjustment to the
patient's medications and have the patient collect data for another
time period, e.g., an additional 30 day period. Metrics from this
analysis could then be compared to the previous analysis to see if
the adjustment to the medications resulted in an improvement. If
the improvement was not satisfactory, the patient can be taken off
of the unsatisfactory medication, and a new medication could be
tried. This process could continue until a satisfactory level of
seizure control was achieved. The present invention provides a
metric that allows physicians and patients to make informed
decisions on the effectiveness and non-effectiveness of the
medications.
[0149] FIG. 10 schematically illustrates one example of such a
method. At step 162, one or more implantable devices are implanted
in the patient, typically in a minimally-invasive fashion. At step
164, the one or more implantable devices are used to monitor the
patient's EEG to obtain a baseline measurement for the patient. The
baseline measurement is typically seizure activity statistics for a
specific time period (e.g., number of seizures, seizure duration,
seizure pattern, seizure frequency, etc.). It should be appreciated
however, that the baseline measurement may include any number of
types of metrics. For example, the baseline metric may include
univariate, bivariate, or multivariate features that are extracted
from the EEG, or the like. In one preferred embodiment, the
baseline measurement is performed while the patient is not taking
any AEDs or using any other therapy. In other embodiments, however,
the patient may be taking one or more AEDs and the baseline
measurement will be used to evaluate adjustments to dosage or
efficacy of other add-on therapies.
[0150] At step 166, the therapy that is to be evaluated is
commenced. The therapy will typically be an AED and the patient
will typically have instructions from the neurologist,
epileptologist, or drug-manufacturer regarding the treatment
regimen for the AED. The treatment regimen may be constant (e.g.,
one pill a day) throughout the evaluation period, or the treatment
regimen may call for varying of some parameter of the therapy
(e.g., three pills a day for the first week, two pills a day for
the second week, one pill a day for the third week, etc.) during
the evaluation period. During the evaluation period, the
implantable device(s) will be used to substantially continuously
sample the patient's EEG and assess the effect that the AED has on
the patient's EEG. The sampled EEG may thereafter be processed to
obtain a follow-up measurement for the patient (Step 168). If the
baseline measurement was seizure statistics for the baseline time
period, then the follow-up measurement will be the corresponding
seizure statistics for the evaluation period. At step 170, the
baseline measurement is compared to the follow-up measurement to
evaluate the therapy. If the comparison indicates that the therapy
did not significantly change the patient's baseline, the therapy
may be stopped, and other therapies may be tried.
[0151] Currently, the primary metric in evaluating the efficacy of
an AED is whether or not the AED reduces the patient's seizure
count. In addition to seizure count, the systems of the present
invention would be able to track any reduction in seizure duration,
modification in seizure patterns, reduction in seizure frequency,
or the like. While seizure count is important, because the present
invention is able to provide much greater detail than just seizure
count, efficacy of an AED may be measured using a combination of
additional metrics, if desired. For example, if the patient was
having a large number of sub-clinical seizures (which the patient
was not aware of) and the AED was effective in reducing or stopping
the sub-clinical seizures, the systems of the present invention
would be able to provide metrics for such a situation. With
conventional patient diary "metrics", the patient and physician
would not be aware of such a reduction, and such an AED would be
determined to be non-efficacious for the patient. However, because
the present invention is able to provide metrics for the
sub-clinical seizures, the efficacious medication could be
continued, if desired.
[0152] At step 172, the epileptologist or neurologist may decide to
change one or more parameters of the therapy. For example, they may
change a dosage, frequency of dosage, form of the therapy or the
like, and thereafter repeat the follow-up analysis for the therapy
with the changed parameter. After the "second" follow up
measurement is complete, the second follow up data may be obtained
and thereafter compared to the "first" follow up measurements
and/or the baseline measurements. While not shown in FIG. 10, the
method may also comprise generating a report that details the
patient's metrics, change in metrics, recommendations, etc.
[0153] In addition to evaluating an efficacy of a therapy for an
individual patient, the metrics that are provided by the present
invention also enable an intelligent titration of a patient's
medications. As shown in FIG. 11, if the patient is on a treatment
regimen of an efficacious therapy, the present invention may be
used to reduce/titrate a dosage or frequency of intake of the AED
or AEDs, or other pharmacological agents. At step 182, one or more
implantable devices are minimally invasively implanted in the
patient. Typically, the patient will already be on a treatment
regimen of the efficacious therapy, but if not, the efficacious
therapy is commenced with the prescribed parameters, e.g.,
"standard" dosage (Step 184). At step 186, the patient's EEG
(and/or other physiological signal) is monitored for a desired time
period to obtain a first patient data measurement for the patient
(e.g., the baseline measurement). Similar to previous embodiments,
the first patient data measurement may be any desired metrics, but
will typically be clinical seizure frequency, clinical seizure
duration, sub-clinical seizure frequency, sub-clinical seizure
duration, medication side effects. At step 188, after the baseline
measurement has been taken, the first efficacious therapy is
stopped and a therapy with at least one changed parameter is
started (referred to as "therapy with second parameters" in FIG.
11). Typically, the changed parameter will be a reduction in
dosage, but it could be changing a frequency of the same dosage, a
change in formulation or form of the same AED, or the like.
[0154] At step 190, the patient's EEG is monitored and processed to
obtain a second patient data measurement for the patient (e.g.,
follow-up data measurement). If the neurologist or epileptologist
is satisfied with the results, the titration may end. But in many
embodiments, the titration process will require more than one
modification of parameters of the therapy. In such embodiments, the
second therapy is stopped (step 192), and a therapy with N.sup.th
parameters (e.g., third, fourth, fifth . . . ) is commenced (step
194). Monitoring and processing of the patient's EEG signals are
repeated (step 196), and the process is repeated a desired number
of times (as illustrated by arrow 197). Once the desired numbers of
modifications to the therapy have been made, the various patient
data measurements may be analyzed (e.g., compared to each other) to
determine the most desirous parameters for the therapy (step 198).
As can be imagined, any number of different analyses or statistical
methods may be performed. In one embodiment, seizure activity
statistics (e.g., clinical seizure frequency, sub-clinical seizure
frequency, seizure rate per time period, seizure duration, seizure
patterns, etc.) may be used to assess the efficacy and differences
between the therapies.
[0155] With the instrumentation provided by the present invention,
the process of selecting appropriate AEDs and the titration of
dosages of such AEDs could occur much faster and with much greater
insight than ever before. Further, the chance of a patient
remaining on an incremental AED that was providing little
incremental benefit would be minimized. Once a patient was under
control, the patient could cease the use of the system, but the
implantable device could remain in the patient. In the future, the
patient might be asked to use the system again should their
condition change or if the efficacy of the AED wane due to
tolerance effects, etc.
[0156] While FIGS. 10 and 11 are primarily directed toward
assessing the efficacy of a pharmacological agent (e.g., AED), such
methods are equally applicable to assessing the efficacy and
optimizing patient-specific parameters of non-pharmacological
therapies. For example, the present invention may also be used to
evaluate and optimize parameters for the electrical stimulation
provided by the Vagus Nerve Stimulator (sold by Cyberonics
Corporation), Responsive Neurostimulator (RNS) (manufactured by
NeuroPace Corporation), Deep Brain Stimulators (manufactured by
Medtronic), and other commercial and experimental neural and spinal
cord stimulators.
[0157] Furthermore, the systems of the present invention will also
be able to provide metrics for the effectiveness of changes to
various electrical parameters (e.g., frequency, pulse amplitude,
pulse width, pulses per burst, burst frequency, burst/no-burst,
duty cycle, etc.) for the electrical stimulation treatments. Such
metrics will provide a reliable indication regarding the
effectiveness of such parameter changes, and could lead to
optimization of stimulation for parameters for individual patients
or the patient population as a whole.
[0158] In addition to facilitating the selection of appropriate
AEDs and titration of dosages of the AEDs for an individual
patient, the present invention may have beneficial use in the
clinical trials for the development of experimental AEDs and other
therapies for the epileptic patient population (and other
neurological conditions). One of the greatest barriers to
developing new AEDs (and other pharmacological agents) is the costs
and difficulties associated with the clinical trials. Presently,
the standard metric for such clinical trials is patient seizure
count. Because this metric is self-reported and presently so
unreliable, to power the study appropriately clinical trials for
AEDs must involve very large patient populations, in which the
patient's must have a high seizure count. At an estimated cost of
$20,000 per patient for pharmacological trials, the cost of
developing a new drug for epilepsy is exceedingly high and may
deter drug companies from developing AEDs.
[0159] The minimally invasive systems of the present invention may
be used to facilitate these clinical trials. Such systems could
result in significantly more reliable data, which would result in
much smaller sample patient populations, and could include a
broader types of patients (e.g., patient's who don't have frequent
seizures) for appropriately powering the study. Improved certainty
in efficacy would also reduce risk to the company, as it moved from
safety studies to efficacy studies. Significantly reducing risk and
improving the economics of these studies by reducing the required
number of study subjects could lead to an increase in the
development of new therapies for this patient population, and other
patient populations.
[0160] It should be appreciated however, that the present invention
is not limited to clinical trials for epilepsy therapies, and the
present invention has equal applicability to other clinical trials
(e.g., cancer therapy, cardiac therapy, therapy for other
neurological disorders, therapy for psychiatric disorders, or the
like.)
[0161] FIGS. 12-13 illustrate some methods of performing clinical
trials that are encompassed by the present invention. The present
invention is applicable to any type of clinical trial, including
but not limited to a randomized clinical trial, e.g., an open
clinical trial, a single-blinded study, a double-blinded study, a
triple-blinded study, or the like.
[0162] FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified method 200 of performing a
clinical trial according to the present invention. At step 201
participants are enrolled in the clinical trial. At step 202,
selected participants in the clinical trial are implanted with one
or more leadless, implantable devices (such as those described
above) in order to sample one or more physiological signal from the
patient. Typically, the physiological signal is an EEG signal. In
preferred embodiments, the EEG signal is sampled substantially
continuously for the entire baseline period for each of the
participants in the clinical trial. In alternative embodiments, it
may be desirable to sample the EEG signals in a non-continuous
basis.
[0163] At step 204, the sampled EEG signals are processed for a
desired time period to obtain a first patient data measurement,
e.g., a baseline data measurement, for each of the participants in
the clinical trial. After the participants have commenced the
experimental therapy (typically by following a prescribed treatment
regimen by the investigator or drug company), the same implantable
devices are used to sample the EEG signals from the participant for
an evaluation period, and the EEG signals are processed to provide
a second patient data measurement, e.g., follow-up measurement
(Step 206, 208). At step 210, the baseline data measurement and the
follow-up data measurement may be compared using conventional
statistical methods in order to evaluate the experimental therapy
on the patient population.
[0164] While not shown in FIG. 12, it may be desirable to have a
"second" evaluation period (and a second follow-up measurement) in
which at least one parameter of the experimental therapy is changed
and the changed experimental therapy is administered to the
patient. Similar to the method of FIG. 11, such a method may
provide guidance to finding the appropriate dosing, formulation,
and/or form of delivery of the experimental therapy.
[0165] The baseline period and the evaluation period are typically
the same time length. The time length may be any desired time, but
is typically at least one week, and preferably between at least one
month and at least three months.
[0166] Evaluation of the experimental therapy may be to evaluate
dosing requirements, evaluate toxicity of the experimental therapy,
evaluate long-term adverse effects of the experimental therapy or
to determine efficacy of the experimental therapy. In one preferred
embodiment, the comparison may simply determine whether there was a
statistically significant change in a seizure count between the
baseline period and the evaluation period. But as noted above, the
baseline data measurement and follow-up data measurement may
include any metric that is extracted from the EEG signals.
[0167] FIG. 13 illustrates a more detailed method of performing a
clinical trial according to the present invention. At step 222
participants are enrolled in the clinical trial. At step 224, the
participants in the clinical trial are implanted with one or more
leadless, implantable devices (such as those described above) in
order to sample one or more physiological signal from the patient.
Typically, the physiological signal is an EEG signal. In preferred
embodiments, the EEG signal is sampled substantially continuously
for the entire baseline period for each of the participants in the
clinical trial.
[0168] At step 226, the sampled EEG signals are processed to obtain
a first patient data measurement, e.g., a baseline data
measurement, for each of the participants in the clinical trial. If
the patients do not have any seizures during the baseline period,
then the patient's will most likely be excluded from the remainder
of the clinical trial. The remaining participants in the clinical
trial are then broken into an intervention group and a control
group. The experimental therapy is commenced in the intervention
group of the patient population (step 228), and a placebo therapy
is commenced in the control group of the patient population (step
230).
[0169] The implantable devices are used to substantially
continuously sample the EEG signals of both the intervention group
and the control group during an evaluation period. The EEG signals
are processed to obtain follow-up seizure activity data (or some
other metric) for both groups (step 232, 234). Thereafter, the
baseline data and the follow up data for both the intervention
group and the control group are analyzed, (e.g., compared with each
other) to evaluate the efficacy of the experimental therapy for the
patient population (step 236). While not shown in FIG. 13, the
method may further include changing one or more parameters of the
experimental therapy and comparing the "second" follow up data to
the baseline data and/or other follow up data.
[0170] While the preferred embodiments described above are directed
toward evaluating experimental AEDs in the clinical trial, the
present invention is equally applicable to clinical trials for
other experimental pharmacological agents, biologics, devices, and
other non-pharmacological therapies. For example, the present
invention may also be used to evaluate the Vagus Nerve Stimulator
(sold by Cyberonics Corporation), Responsive Neurostimulator (RNS)
(manufactured by NeuroPace Corporation), Deep Brain Stimulators
manufactured by Medtronic, and other commercial and experimental
neural and spinal cord stimulators. The minimally invasive systems
of the present invention may be implanted in patients who are
equipped with any of the above stimulators to provide metrics
regarding the efficacy of the electrical stimulation
treatments.
[0171] Furthermore, the systems of the present invention will also
be able to provide metrics for the effectiveness of changes to
various electrical parameters (e.g., frequency, pulse amplitude,
pulse width, pulses per burst, burst frequency, burst/no-burst,
etc.) for the electrical stimulation treatments. Such metrics will
provide a reliable indication regarding the effectiveness of such
parameter changes, and could lead to optimization of stimulation
for parameters for individual patients or the patient population as
a whole.
[0172] FIG. 14 illustrates a packaged system or kit 300 that is
encompassed by the present invention. The packaged system 300 may
include a package 302 that has one or more compartments for
receiving an introducer assembly 304 and one or more implantable
devices 12. The introducer 304 is typically in the form of a
syringe-like device or a cannula and stylet. The implantable device
12 may include any of the embodiments described herein. One or more
of the implantable devices 12 may be pre-loaded within the
introducer 304. In other embodiments, the implantable devices 12
may be loaded in its separate sterile packaging (shown in dotted
lines) for easy loading into the introducer 304. The packaged
system 300 may include instructions for use ("IFU") 306 that
describe any of the methods described herein.
[0173] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those
skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of
example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will
now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the
invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the
embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in
practicing the invention. For example, the present invention also
encompasses other more invasive embodiments which may be used to
monitor the patient's neurological system.
[0174] Alternative embodiments of the implantable device of the
present invention may require a neurosurgeon to create a more
invasive incision in the patient's scalp. For example, it may be
desirable to use a low profile device that is not substantially
cylindrical, but instead is substantially planar or concave so as
to conform to the curvature of the patient's skull. Such
embodiments would likely not be able to be implanted without
general anesthesia and may require a surgeon to implant the
device.
[0175] On the other hand, in some embodiments it may be desirable
to be completely non-invasive. Such embodiments include
"implantable" devices 12 that are not actually implanted, but
instead are "wearable" and may be attached to the outer surface of
the skin with adhesive or a bandage so as to maintain contact with
the patient's skin For example, it may be possible to surface mount
the device 12 behind the ears, in the scalp, on the forehead, along
the jaw, or the like. Because the electrodes are wireless and are
such a small size, unlike conventional electrodes, the visual
appearance of the electrodes will be minimal.
[0176] Furthermore, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to
modify the implantable device 12 to provide stimulation to the
patient. In such embodiments, the implantable device 12 will
include a pulse generator and associated hardware and software for
delivering stimulation to the patient through the first and second
electrodes 24, 26 (or other electrodes coupled to the device. In
such embodiments, the external device 14 will include the hardware
and software to generate the control signals for delivering the
electrical stimulation to the patient.
[0177] While the above embodiments describe that power to the
implanted devices may be derived wirelessly from an external device
and/or from a battery in the implanted device, it should be
appreciated that the internal devices may derive or otherwise
"scavenge" power from other types of conventional or proprietary
assemblies. Such scavenging methods may be used in conjunction with
the external power source and/or the internal power source, or it
may be used by itself to provide the necessary power for the
implanted devices. For example, the implanted devices may include
circuitry and other assemblies (e.g., a microgenerator) that derive
and store power from patient-based energy sources such as kinetic
movement/vibrations (e.g., gross body movements), movement of
organs or other bodily fluids (e.g., heart, lungs, blood flow), and
thermal sources in the body (e.g., temperature differences and
variations across tissue). As can be imagined, such technology
could reduce or eliminate the need for recharging of an implanted
battery, replacement of a depleted battery, and/or the creation of
an external RF field--and would improve the ease of use of the
devices by the patients.
[0178] Some embodiments of the monitoring system may include an
integral patient diary functionality. The patient diary may be a
module in the external device and inputs by the patient may be used
to provide secondary inputs to provide background information for
the sampled EEG signals. For example, if a seizure is recorded, the
seizure diary may provide insight regarding a trigger to the
seizure, or the like. The diary may automatically record the time
and date of the entry by the patient. Entries by the patient may be
a voice recording, or through activation of user inputs on the
external device. The diary may be used to indicate the occurrence
of an aura, occurrence of a seizure, the consumption of a meal,
missed meal, delayed meal, activities being performed, consumption
of alcohol, the patient's sleep state (drowsy, going to sleep,
waking up, etc.), mental state (e.g., depressed, excited,
stressed), intake of their AEDs, medication changes, missed dosage
of medication, menstrual cycle, illness, or the like. Thereafter,
the patient inputs recorded in the diary may also be used by the
physician in assessing the patient's epilepsy state and/or
determine the efficacy of the current treatment. Furthermore, the
physician may be able to compare the number of seizures logged by
the patient to the number of seizures detected by the seizure
detection algorithm.
[0179] It is intended that the following claims define the scope of
the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of
these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.
* * * * *