Electrode characterization for programming guidance

1 . A system comprising:

processing circuitry configured to:

determine, for each respective electrode combination of a plurality of electrode combinations of a plurality of electrodes, a respective metric using a sensed electrical signal from the respective electrode combination;

determine, for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, a subset of electrode combinations of the plurality of electrode combinations, each electrode combination of the subset of electrode combinations comprising the single respective electrode, wherein the subset of electrode combinations comprises at least two electrode combinations;

calculate, for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, a respective composite metric using the respective metrics of the subset of electrode combinations determined using the sensed electrical signals from the respective electrode combinations;

select, based on the respective composite metrics calculated for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, at least one electrode for at least one of sensing subsequent electrical signals or delivering electrical stimulation; and

control at least one of:

sensing, via sensing circuitry, the subsequent electrical signals using the selected at least one electrode, or

delivering, via stimulation generation circuitry, electrical stimulation using the selected at least one electrode.

2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising the sensing circuitry, wherein the sensing circuitry is configured to generate the sensed electrical signals from the plurality of electrode combinations, wherein each single electrode of the plurality of electrodes is carried by a medical lead.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein for each respective electrode combination, the sensed electrical signal comprises a local field potential.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine each of the respective metrics using a signal strength of each of the local field potentials.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the signal strength comprises a spectral power of a Beta frequency band of local field potentials.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine each of the respective composite metrics by averaging the respective metrics of the corresponding subset of electrode combinations.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein each single electrode of the plurality of electrodes is carried by a medical lead, and wherein the subset of electrode combinations comprises at least one horizontal electrode combination and at least one vertical electrode combination, wherein the at least one horizontal electrode combination comprises at least two electrodes located at different positions around a perimeter of the medical lead and located at the same axial positions along a length of the medical lead, and wherein the at least one vertical electrode combination comprises at least two electrodes located at the same positions around the perimeter of the medical lead and located at different axial positions along the length of the medical lead.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each single electrode of the plurality of electrodes is carried by a medical lead, and wherein the subset of electrode combinations comprises:

a first electrode combination comprising:

a first electrode at a first circumferential position around a perimeter of the medical lead; and

a second electrode at a second circumferential position around the perimeter of the medical lead, the second circumferential position being different than the first circumferential position; and

a second electrode combination comprising:

the first electrode at the first circumferential position around the perimeter of the medical lead; and

a third electrode at a third circumferential position around the perimeter of the medical lead, the third circumferential position being different than the first circumferential position and the second circumferential position.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a ranking of the plurality of electrodes based on the respective composite metrics; and

select, based on the ranking, the at least one electrode for delivering the electrical stimulation.

10 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an implantable medical device comprising the processing circuitry.

11 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an external programmer comprising the processing circuitry, and wherein the external programmer is configured to transmit the selected at least one electrode to an implantable medical device.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate, for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, the respective composite metric by at least applying a mathematical operation to the respective metrics of the subset of electrode combinations.

13 . A method comprising:

determining, by processing circuitry and for each respective electrode combination of a plurality of electrode combinations of a plurality of electrodes, a respective metric using a sensed electrical signal from the respective electrode combination;

determining, by the processing circuitry and for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, a subset of electrode combinations of the plurality of electrode combinations, each electrode combination of the subset of electrode combinations comprising the single respective electrode, wherein the subset of electrode combinations comprises at least two electrode combinations;

determining, by the processing circuitry and for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, a calculated respective composite metric using the respective metrics of the subset of electrode combinations determined using the sensed electrical signals from the respective electrode combinations;

selecting, by the processing circuitry and based on the calculated respective composite metrics of each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, at least one electrode for at least one of sensing subsequent electrical signals or delivering electrical stimulation; and

controlling, by the processing circuitry, at least one of:

sensing, via sensing circuitry, the subsequent electrical signals using the selected at least one electrode, or

delivering, via stimulation generation circuitry, electrical stimulation using the selected at least one electrode.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein each single electrode of the plurality of electrodes is carried by a medical lead, and wherein the subset of electrode combinations comprises at least one horizontal electrode combination and at least one vertical electrode combination, wherein the at least one horizontal electrode combination comprises at least two electrodes located at different positions around a perimeter of the medical lead and located at the same axial positions along a length of the medical lead, and wherein the at least one vertical electrode combination comprises at least two electrodes located at the same positions around the perimeter of the medical lead and located at different axial positions along the length of the medical lead.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry determines the respective composite metric by calculating a weighted average, wherein the weighted average is, at least in part, calculated by multiplying the respective metric of the at least one horizontal electrode combination by a first weight and multiplying the respective metric of the at least one vertical electrode combination by a second weight.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising generating, by the sensing circuitry, the sensed electrical signals from the plurality of electrode combinations, wherein each single electrode of the plurality of electrodes is carried by a medical lead.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein for each respective electrode combination, the sensed electrical signal comprises a local field potential, the method further comprising:

determining, by the processing circuitry, each of the respective metrics using a signal strength of each of the local field potentials, the signal strength comprising a spectral power of a Beta frequency band of the local field potentials.

18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining, by the processing circuitry, a ranking of the respective composite metrics of the plurality of electrodes.

19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause processing circuitry to:

determine, for each respective electrode combination of a plurality of electrode combinations of a plurality of electrodes, a respective metric using a sensed electrical signal from the respective electrode combination;

determine, for each single respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, a subset of electrode combinations of the plurality of electrode combinations, each electrode combination of the subset of electrode combinations comprising the respective electrode, wherein the subset of electrode combinations comprises at least two electrode combinations;

determine, for each respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, a calculated respective composite metric using the respective metrics of the subset of electrode combinations determined using the sensed electrical signals from the respective electrode combinations;

select, based on the calculated respective composite metrics of each respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes, at least one electrode for at least one of sensing subsequent electrical signals or delivering electrical stimulation; and

control at least one of:

sensing, via sensing circuitry, the subsequent electrical signals using the selected at least one electrode, or

delivering, via stimulation generation circuitry, electrical stimulation using the selected at least one electrode.