Patent ID: 9314399
Filing Date: 2016-04-19
CPC Classification: A61F,A61H,A61N,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method for treating obesity or dyslipidemia of a patient using a small, thin, leadless, implantable electroacupuncture device (IEAD) powered by a small disc battery having an impedance of at least 5 ohms, the IEAD having a maximum linear dimension of no more than 25 mm in a first plane, and a maximum height of no more than 2.5 mm in a second plane orthogonal to the first plane, the IEAD being configured, using electronic circuitry housed within the IEAD, to generate electroacupuncture (EA) pulses in accordance with a specified stimulation regimen and apply the EA stimulation pulses through at least two electrodes/arrays located on a housing of the IEAD to the patient's body tissue at or near at least one selected target tissue stimulation site, said at least two electrodes/arrays comprising at least one central electrode/array of a first polarity, having a maximum width of no more than 7 mm, centrally located on a first surface of the small IEAD housing, and at least one annular electrode/array of a second polarity spaced apart from the central electrode/array by at least 5 mm measured from the edge of the annular electrode/array closest to the central electrode/array to the center of the central electrode/array, said method comprising the steps of: (a) implanting the IEAD below the skin surface of the patient at or near at least one selected target stimulation site, with the first surface of the IEAD facing inwardly into the patient's body tissue at the selected target stimulation site; and (b) enabling the EA device to generate stimulation sessions at a duty cycle that is less than or equal to 0.05, wherein each stimulation session comprises a series of stimulation pulses, wherein the duty cycle is the ratio of T3/T4, where T3 is the duration of each stimulation session, and T4 is the duration between stimulation sessions.