Abstract:
An apparatus to stimulate resonant frequencies of mammals, including humans, through transcutaneously applied bipolar micro-current therapeutic frequencies eXclusive OR (XOR) modulated over a variable duty cycle carrier square wave. A Fibonacci number clocked stored-program microcontroller generates a variable duty cycle higher frequency pulse width modulation (PWM) carrier square wave output which is XOR modulated with a lower therapeutic frequency square wave output to control an H-Bridge driver capacitive coupled to an isolation transformer. The preferred embodiment supports one or more user inputs and displaying program and operational information on a suitable display. Further, using an H-Bridge to drive an inductive load with bi-polar pulses creates scalar waves when the H-Bridge&#39;s output is switched from one polarity to the opposite each time the therapeutic low frequency square wave output XOR modulates the higher frequency PWM square wave.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/298,838, filed Jan. 27, 2010. The foregoing application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to transcutaneously applied micro-currents of two or more eXclusive-OR (XOR) mixed resonant frequencies for therapeutic purposes. The therapeutic application of resonant frequencies may be applied, but is not limited to, massage therapy and bodywork, acupuncture and acupressure, Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) and Central Nervous System (CNS) damage from strokes or external trauma, muscle strain and related injuries and post-operative joint replacement and related surgeries. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Over 200 years ago the Italian Galvani discovered electrical current caused muscle cells to contract. Since then electrical currents have been applied in numerous therapeutic applications and methods, and when applied to muscles they have been used to cause similar contractions. This use of electricity has been expanded to support adaptive neuroplasticity for spinal cord injury (SCI) and Central Nervous System (CNS) affected patients, such as stroke survivors. The most prevalent forms of this electrical stimulation are Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulators (TENS), which operate using short pulse durations designed to cause rapid muscle contractions, and Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) which uses longer electrical pulse durations for SCI and CNS stimulation. 
     It is well known in the art that all organisms are energy systems comprised of interrelated organized atoms bound together by molecular electromagnetic forces. These atoms all have unique resonant frequencies caused by the rotation of electrons around a positively charged nucleus. Likewise, every molecule, cell and organ within any organism, including all mammals, has its own resonant frequency. However, the resonant frequencies of those cells and organs can change and become out-of-balance as a result of injury, abuse or illness. Stimulating out-of-balance cells and organs with externally applied resonant frequencies can reveal such instances of injury, abuse or illness. For example, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) relies upon the principle of atomic resonance in order to stimulate the targeted atoms within its imaging field to absorb and then release a burst of radio frequency energy tuned to the specific resonant frequency of the specific type of atom, usually hydrogen, within a given strength of a static magnetic field, thus supporting the concept of resonances in the organic systems. What is desired is a way to aid the damaged tissues in their natural recovery by manipulation of their natural resonant frequencies. The most common forms of this manipulation, TENS and FES, however, do not affect the resonant frequencies of the damaged tissue. Instead TENS treatments use short electrical pulses specifically to create muscle contractions, and FES uses a longer pulse duration to specifically aid SCI and CNS patients. 
     Apparatuses for TENS treatment could possibly be used to affect the resonant frequencies of damaged tissue, but those designed to date have several qualities making such use unlikely and undesirable. First, the particular pulse frequency used must be based on natural healing frequencies, known in the art as Rife frequencies. Second, the electrical pulses should be bipolar, rather than monopolar, such that standing scalar waves are created. Third, the pulses of TENS devices are sufficiently strong to cause muscle contraction, an undesirable effect to achieve resonant frequency stimulation. Finally, there should be mixing of high and low frequency signals to allow for shorter duty cycles coupled with increased energy efficiency. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention disclosed and claimed herein addresses the above and other needs and provides means and systems for stimulating the resonant frequencies of organisms using an apparatus to generate precise frequency stimulation, which is bipolar and has an effective energy of one to two orders of magnitude below that of traditional TENS units. 
     According to the present invention, stimulation of the resonant frequencies of organisms occurs using an apparatus to generate precise frequency stimulation. These precise frequencies are achievable by the XOR modulation of a higher Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) frequency with a desired lower therapeutic frequency using either a full or half H-Bridge MOSFET driver as shown in  FIG. 4   a . Whereas the prior art&#39;s use of a logical AND function to modulate a carrier PWM signal created a monopolar signal, the present invention XOR modulates the higher frequency PWM signal to create a unique bipolar waveform  430  shown in  FIG. 4   b.    
     In addition to creating the unique waveform  430 , the use of either a full or half H-Bridge to drive an inductive load, according to the present invention, causes the creation of standing electromagnetic waves, also known as scalar waves, to be emitted from the inductor upon each XOR modulation of the lower therapeutic frequency as shown by the waveform  440 . When the bi-polar output of the apparatus is switched due to a change in the lower modulating therapeutic frequency, this current reversal causes a collision with the stored current in the inductor and this collision in turn creates a scalar wave component. These scalar waves are created both within Transformer  6 , shown in  FIG. 5 , and within the body of the connected mammal, as the body of a mammal presents an inductive load to the output of Transformer  6  through electrical Contacts  7  and  8 . 
     The possible therapeutic frequencies are stored and executed within a microcontroller. This microcontroller supports the independent generation of a PWM square wave with a duty cycle that can be changed while the program is running, and thereby supports the ability to maintain a constant duty cycle with each transition of the therapeutic frequency. The duty cycle changes also support the adjustment of the effective power level of the frequency stimulation presented to the mammal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  show the typical prior art and resulting waveforms 
         FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b  show the prior art with a PWM signal added 
         FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  show the prior art with load moved between the two driving elements 
         FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  show the XOR arrangement of the present invention 
         FIG. 5  is schematic representation of the preferred embodiment 
         FIG. 6  is the software flowchart for the embodiment&#39;s microcontroller 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1   a  presents the basic prior art used in the output stage to generate an electrical pulse to cause muscle contractions in TENS types of devices and for frequency stimulus generators that use square wave pulses to drive an inductor or similar electromagnetic coil used to generate electromagnetic flux or for those that generate high voltage E-Fields. The prior art in  FIG. 1   a  consists of some positive voltage (+V)  100  and a ground potential  101 , input  103  from the signal generator which biases NPN Transistor  106 . Alternatively, N-Channel MOSFET  107  may be used as driven by input  103   a . When a positive signal  110  is applied at  103  or  103   a , Transistor  106 , or MOSFET  107  respectively, will conduct current and thus supply a ground potential across load  108  which is connected to +V  100 .  FIG. 1   b  shows the relevant signal  110  used to operate the prior art in  FIG. 1   a  and resultant output waveform  130  when driving a resistive load  108  and waveform  140  when driving an inductive load  108 . 
       FIG. 2   a  represents prior art similar to  FIG. 1   a  with an additional Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) input  202  or  202   a  used to bias an additional NPN Transistor  204  or N-Channel MOSFET  205  which is connected in a logical AND configuration with Transistor  206  or MOSFET  207  respectively. The additional Transistor  206  or MOSFET  207  forms a logical AND gate function with its respective series connected transistor  204  or MOSFET  205 , such that when desired therapeutic modulation frequency input signal  210  is applied to input  203  or  203   a  is high, AND high frequency PWM input signal  220  is applied to  202  or  202   a  is also high, a Boolean one or True exists, then the load  208  will be connected across both +V  200  and Ground potential  201 .  FIG. 2   b  shows the relevant lower therapeutic modulation frequency waveform  210  driving input signal  203  or  203   a , and the higher frequency PWM waveform  220  driving input signal  202  or  202   a . The use of a PWM signal is generally designed to vary the duty cycle of the resultant pulsed waveform  230  that is used to pulse Load  208 . Waveform  240  shows the results if an inductive Load  208  is driven instead of a purely resistive load as shown in waveform  230 . 
       FIG. 3   a  shows a typical variation of  FIG. 2   a  where Load  308  is connected between a PNP Transistor  306  or P-Channel MOSFET  307  to supply +V  300  and an NPN Transistor  304  or N-Channel MOSFET  305  to supply the ground potential  301 . When the lower therapeutic modulation frequency signal  310  at input  303  or  303   a  is low and the higher frequency PWM signal  320  input at  302  or  302   a  is high then both series connected transistors or MOSFETs conduct the current to power Load  308 . This is still a logical AND function, but with an inverted input on desired therapeutic modulation frequency input  303  or  303   a .  FIG. 3   b  shows the relevant lower therapeutic modulation frequency waveform  310  driving input signal  303  or  303   a  and higher frequency PWM waveform  320  driving input signal  302  or  302   a . Waveform  330  shows the resulting PWM AND modulated output driving a purely resistive load  308  and waveform  340  shows the resulting PWM AND modulated output driving an inductive load  308 . 
       FIG. 4   a  shows the output portion of the present invention in contrast to the Prior Art in  FIGS. 1   a  through  3   b  inclusive to illustrate the use of the XOR modulation of the two square waves to achieve the unique wave forms and scalar components. H-Bridge  404  is shown in a half H-Bridge connection scheme such that the gate inputs of the N-Channel MOSFET and P-Channel MOSFET on the left side are connected together and form high frequency PWM input  402 , as are the gate inputs of N-Channel MOSFET and P-Channel MOSFET on the right side connected together and form lower therapeutic frequency input  403 . This is sometimes called a half H-Bridge configuration and is used in the preferred embodiment as it reduces the number of controlling lines needed on the microcontroller. A full H-Bridge is also covered by the present invention. When  402  and  403  are both high, logical ones, their respective P-Channel MOSFETs are turned off and their respective N-Channel MOSFETs are turned on and as a result a ground potential  401  is presented to both sides of load  408  and no current is conducted. The inverse is true when  402  and  403  are both low, logical zeroes, +V  400  is presented to both sides of load  408  and no current is conducted. Only when inputs  402  and  403  are opposite (XOR) of each other, does the logical one side of the H-Bridge conducts its side of load  408  to +V  400  and the logical zero side of the H-Bridge conducts its side of load  408  to ground  401 . Thus the H-Bridge only conducts current across load  408  when the inputs  402  and  403  are valid for an XOR logical function. 
     The driving inputs and resultant outputs waveforms are shown in  FIG. 4   b . Signal  410  is the lower therapeutic frequency. Signal  420  is the higher PWM frequency whose duty cycle is varied under programmatic control, and is XOR&#39;d with signal  410  to create the resulting bipolar output signal  430  and  440 . Waveform  440  includes scalar components  444  and  445 , which occur when an inductive load is driven and signal  410  switches its input polarity causing a reversal in the stored energy in the driven inductor. 
       FIG. 5  presents the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the present invention Microcontroller  3  is capable of generating a variable duty cycle higher frequency pulse width modulation (PWM) square wave  12  which is XOR modulated with the lower therapeutic frequency square wave  11  using a half H-Bridge  5  which consists of 2 N-Channel semiconductors and 2 P-Channel semiconductors arranged so that the current across a connected Load  6  can be switched in polarity. Alternatively a full H-Bridge can be used requiring four controlling outputs from Microcontroller  3 . All frequencies are derived from a quartz crystal timing element  4  with a fundamental frequency which deviates less than 1% from a Fibonacci number. In the preferred embodiment the crystal frequency selected is 24,000,000 Hz which is 0.66% from the Fibonacci number 24,157,817. 
     The higher frequency PWM square wave  12  in the preferred embodiment is selected to be 20,000 Hz. The PWM frequency can be a higher or lower frequency and should be at least 4 times higher than the highest desired therapeutic frequency and no higher than the rated bandwidth of step-up isolation Transformer  6 . Transformer  6  is used to both increase the driving voltage from the apparatus&#39; power supply  1  to a sufficient level to overcome the galvanic resistance of mammalian skin when attached through electrical Contacts  7  and  8 , and to provide isolation between the apparatus and the subject connected to contacts  7  and  8 . An audio band step-up transformer is used in the preferred embodiment as the bandwidth frequency of most power transformers is 50 to 60 Hz, which is inefficient for higher PWM frequencies, resulting in poor coupling and excessive heat generation in the windings of the transformer. The output of H-Bridge  5  is capacitive coupled through two polarized Capacitors  13  connected with either their positive or negative ends together to the input of the audio band step-up Transformer  6  to reduce the DC resistance load on H-Bridge  5  and to reduce the DC current carried by Transformer  6 . Alternatively a non-polarized capacitor  13  could be used. Suitable electrical contacts  7  and  8  are used to make transcutaneous connection with the skin of the mammal. Voltage Regulator  2  conditions the voltage from power supply  1 , which may be a battery or other suitable power supply source, to be appropriate for operating microcontroller  3 . Microcontroller  3  contains a stored program for the both the operating software as well as the programmatic frequencies used. Display  9  provides status and operational information to the user and may be any combination of indicators and/or information displays as required. User input  10  may be any combination of switches, potentiometers, touch sensors, or other typical human input devices used to control the operation of the apparatus. 
       FIG. 6  presents a flow chart of the stored program in Microcontroller  3  of  FIG. 5 . The process flow begins at the Start step  20 . Initialization  21  verifies the hardware is functional and preset all program variables to their appropriate idle state. At step  23  Microcontroller  3  loads the desired therapeutic program  23   a  that contains one or more steps and each step contains the frequency and duration for that step. In step  24  the first therapeutic program step is loaded and its duration timer is started. At step  25  the PWM frequency is started at the desired duty cycle and the step&#39;s frequency timer is started at step  26  when a logical ‘1’ is output on the modulated frequency output line. At step  27  microcontroller  3  waits for an interrupt to occur and at step  28  determines the interrupt type. If it is the step duration the program branches to step  34  to determine if the step is completed and if so the program branches to step  35  to determine if this was the last step. If this was the last step then the program restarts at  20 . If it is not the last step then the program branches to step  36  and the next step is loaded and control continues at step  26  to repeat. If at step  28  the interrupt was a modulation frequency interrupt the program branches to step  29  where the interrupt is restarted and the modulation output is toggled from either a ‘1’ to a ‘0’ or from a ‘0’ to a ‘1’ using a logical XOR function on that specific port pin of the microprocessor. Control passes to step  30  where If the modulated output went to a ‘0’ then control is passed to step  33  and the PWM duty cycle is inverted to maintain the same duty cycle with the inverted modulated output. If the modulated output went to a ‘1’ then control is passed to step  32  and the PWM duty cycle is returned to its normal setting. In either case, control is passed to step  27  where it waits for the next interrupt. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Definition List 1 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Term 
                 Definition 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 CNS 
                 Central Nervous System 
               
               
                   
                 DC 
                 Direct Current 
               
               
                   
                 Hz 
                 Hertz - Cycles Per Second 
               
               
                   
                 PWM 
                 Pulse Width Modulation 
               
               
                   
                 MOSFET 
                 Metal Oxide Substrate Field Effect 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Transistor 
               
               
                   
                 MRI 
                 Magnetic Resonance Imaging 
               
               
                   
                 SCI 
                 Spinal Cord Injury 
               
               
                   
                 TENS 
                 Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Stimulator 
               
               
                   
                 XOR 
                 eXclusive OR logical function