Patent ID: 7974697
Filing Date: 2011-07-05
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
1. A method for providing an adaptive stimulation using an implantable medical device, comprising: providing a first stimulation signal comprising a first signal characteristic; applying said first stimulation signal to an extracranial portion of a cranial nerve for modulation of a target portion of a patient's brain associated with a disorder; before applying said first stimulation signal, generating a first brain map comprising data relating to states of multiple different portions of the brain, including said target portion of the brain, during a time period prior to application of said first stimulation signal to said cranial nerve, wherein the operation of generating said first brain map comprises acquiring medical imaging data using a medical imaging device selected from the group consisting of a computed axial tomography (CAT) device, a phototron emission tomography (PET) device, a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) device, a magneto encephalography (MEG) device, a diffuse optical tomography device (DOT), a functional transcranial doppler device, and a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) device; after beginning application of said first stimulation signal, generating a second brain map comprising data relating to states of multiple different portions of the brain, including said target portion of the brain, during a time period after application of said first stimulation signal has begun; comparing said first brain map to said second brain map to compute a brain-map difference; generating a third brain map comprising data relating to said brain-map difference, said third brain map indicating whether said target portion of the brain was modulated as a result of said first stimulation signal and whether a non-target portion of the brain was modulated as a result of said first stimulation signal; determining whether said first stimulation signal sufficiently modulated said target portion of the brain, based at least in part on said third brain map; modifying said first signal characteristic to generate a second stimulation signal in response to a determination that said target portion of the brain was not sufficiently modulated as a result of said first stimulation signal; in response to a determination that said target portion of the brain was not sufficiently modulated as a result of said first stimulation signal, determining which region of the brain was affected by said first stimulation signal, based at least in part on said third brain map; and iteratively modifying stimulation signals and computing brain map differences to guide stimulation effects through multiple portions of the brain, until sufficient modulation of said target portion of the brain is detected, to determine stimulation signal characteristics suitable to modulate said target portion of the brain; wherein said first, second, and third brain maps provide substantially three-dimensional representations.