Devices and methods for treating craniofacial pain

1 . A method for treating craniofacial pain in a patient's body, the method comprising:

placing a battery-less, wirelessly powered passive device using an introducer device passed through a skin opening in a patient to a target site in a head or neck region of the patient's body, the wirelessly powered passive device comprising one or more dipole antennas configured to non-inductively receive an input signal from an external antenna;

positioning the wirelessly powered passive device such that one or more electrodes of the wireless powered passive device are positioned near a nerve at the target site;

delivering neural modulation to the nerve by causing one or more stimulation pulses created from electrical energy contained in the input signal to be applied through the one or more electrodes of the wirelessly powered passive device; and

withdrawing the introducer device from the patient's body after the one or more stimulation pulses have been applied through the one or more electrodes to deliver the neural modulation.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing the wirelessly powered passive device comprises:

placing the wirelessly powered passive device percutaneously into the patient's body.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein positioning the wirelessly powered passive device comprises:

withdrawing the introducer device after the wirelessly powered passive device is positioned subcutaneously in the patient's body.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wirelessly powered passive device is no larger than 0.8 mm in diameter.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the nerve includes one or more of: an occipital nerve or branches thereof, a trochlear nerve or branches thereof, a vagus nerve or branches thereof, a trigeminal nerve or branches thereof, a glossopharyngeal nerve or branches thereof, a mandibular nerve or branches thereof, an alveolar nerve or branches thereof, a lingual nerve or branches thereof, a maxillary nerve or branches thereof, a ciliary nerve or branches thereof, a sphenopalatine ganglion or branches thereof, or a supratrochlear nerve or branches thereof.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

using X-Ray fluoroscopy or ultrasound sonography to guide positioning of the wirelessly powered passive device adjacent to or near the nerve at the target site.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the neural modulation comprises:

causing the input signal to be transmitted from the external antenna outside the patient's body, the input signal including electrical power and stimulation parameters to drive the one or more electrodes of the wirelessly powered passive device;

causing the input signal to be received by one or more antennas on the wirelessly powered passive device;

causing the electrical power and the stimulation parameters to be extracted from the input signal; and

using the electrical power and the stimulation parameters, causing the stimulation pulses to be delivered according to the stimulation parameters to the one or more electrodes on the wirelessly powered passive device.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wirelessly powered passive device includes electronic circuitry coupled to each of the one or more dipole antennas and configured to extract electric power and stimulation information encoding the one or more stimulation pulses from the input signal received by the one or more dipole antennas.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the external antenna is housed in an external pulse generator.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the external antenna is configured to be worn outside of the patient's body.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wirelessly powered passive device is powered using a power source external to the patient's body.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the introducer device comprises a needle with an inner lumen configured to transport the wirelessly powered passive device to the target site.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the one or more stimulation pulses results in substantially zero net charge.

14 . A method for treating craniofacial pain in a patient's body, the method comprising:

positioning a non-inductively powered passive device in a head or neck region of the patient's body such that one or more electrodes of the non-inductively powered passive device are positioned near a nerve in the head or neck region;

providing an input signal via non-inductive coupling to power the non-inductively powered passive device from a transmitter external to the patient's body; and

delivering stimulation pulses created using power contained in the input signal through the one or more electrodes of the non-inductively powered passive device.

15 . The method of claim 14 wherein the non-inductively powered passive device comprises one or more dipole antennas configured to receive the input signal from the external transmitter.

16 . The method of claim 14 wherein the input signal includes electrical power and stimulation parameters to drive the one or more electrodes of the non-inductively powered passive device, the method further comprising:

using the electrical power and the stimulation parameters, delivering the stimulation pulses according to the stimulation parameters to the one or more electrodes on the non-inductively powered passive device.

17 . A method for treating craniofacial pain in a patient's body, the method comprising:

providing a wirelessly powered passive device with an internal antenna;

positioning the wirelessly powered passive device in a head or neck region of the patient's body such that one or more electrodes of the wirelessly powered passive device are positioned near a nerve in the head or neck region;

positioning an external antenna external to the patient's body;

non-inductively coupling the external antenna and the internal antenna of the wirelessly powered passive device, such that the wirelessly powered passive device non-inductively receives input signals containing electrical power and stimulation parameters to drive the one or more electrodes of the wirelessly powered passive device; and

delivering stimulation pulses created using the electrical power and stimulation parameters from the input signals through the one or more electrodes of the wirelessly powered passive device.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the internal antenna comprises one or more dipole antennas.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the external antenna comprises one or more second dipole antennas.

20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the wirelessly powered passive device includes electronic circuitry coupled to the internal antenna and configured to extract the electrical power and stimulation parameters encoding the stimulation pulses from the input signals received by the wirelessly powered passive device.