Patent ID: 8825172

Claim:
A neurostimulation system, comprising: at least one stimulation lead carrying at least one electrode; stimulation output circuitry coupled to the at least one stimulation lead, the stimulation output circuitry configured for outputting electrical stimulation energy to the at least one electrode in accordance with a set of stimulation parameters; a controller/processor configured for placing the stimulation system between a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) operating mode and a normal operating mode; and monitoring circuitry configured for acquiring electrical parameter measurements at each of the at least one electrode in response to the placement of the stimulation system in the MRI mode; wherein the controller/processor is further configured for determining an electrode-tissue coupling efficiency based on at least one of the repeatedly acquired electrical parameter measurements, comparing the determined electrode-tissue coupling efficiency to a reference electrode-tissue coupling efficiency, and generating a new set of stimulation parameters based on the comparison, wherein the stimulation output circuitry is configured for outputting electrical stimulation energy to the at least one electrode in accordance with the new set of stimulation parameters.