Patent ID: 8135478

Claim:
Apparatus comprising: an assembly, said assembly comprising: a housing configured to be applied to a nerve of a subject, the housing shaped to define a chamber, an interior of said chamber being in fluid communication with the nerve when the housing is applied to the nerve, wherein at least one wall of the chamber comprises a membrane that separates the interior of the chamber from a region outside the chamber; at least a first electrode, which is positioned within the chamber; and at least a second electrode, which is positioned in the region outside the chamber, in a vicinity of the membrane; and a control unit, which is configured to: drive a current between the first and second electrodes such that the first electrode has a positive charge, and the second electrode has a negative charge, and the control unit further configured to: configure the current to increase a pH in the interior of the chamber in order to inhibit action potentials traveling in the nerve past the chamber.