Patent ID: 7890185

Claim:
Apparatus for treating a condition of a subject, comprising: a plurality of electrode devices, configured to be coupled to respective longitudinal sites of longitudinal nervous tissue of the subject having first and second types of nerve fibers, through which body-generated action potentials propagate at first and second velocities, respectively, wherein two of the plurality of electrode devices are configured to be coupled at adjacent ones of the longitudinal sites that are separated by at least 2 mm; and a control unit, configured to: sequentially drive the electrode devices to apply to the nervous tissue respective currents, with delays between driving each of the electrode devices that are timed to the first velocity of the propagation of the body-generated action potentials so as to minimize undesired blocking of the body-generated action potentials propagating through the first type of nerve fibers, configure the currents to induce respective first orthodromic electrode-generated action potentials that propagate in the nervous tissue in a first direction, so as to treat the condition, configure the currents to suppress respective second electrode-generated action potentials from propagating in the nervous tissue in a second direction opposite to the first direction, repeatedly, during a series of temporally non-contiguous periods, induce the first orthodromic electrode-generated action potentials and suppress the second electrode-generated action potentials, and substantially withhold, during respective times between the non-contiguous periods, the inducing of the first orthodromic electrode-generated action potentials and the suppressing of the second electrode-generated action potentials.