Sympathetic ganglion stimulation apparatus for treatment of hyperhidrosis, Raynauds phenomenon, cerebral ischemia, asthma and hypertension
Apparatuses for treatment of hyperhidrosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, cerebral ischemia and asthma and hypertension by nerve stimulation are disclosed. In particular, the invention relates to the improvement of these conditions by stimulating at least one ganglion selected from the group consisting of T-1 through T-4 ganglia, cervical ganglia, renal nerve or combinations thereof with an implantable, wireless, battery-less and lead-less stimulator. Stimulations of the ganglion may be carried out with pulsed radiofrequency, thermal energy or optical irradiation.
1 . A stimulator for treating a disease of a patient diagnosed with at least one of hyperhidrosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, cerebral ischemia, asthma or hypertension, the stimulator comprises:
a remote controller;
a plurality of electrodes;
a telemetry circuit configured for bilateral data transmission that provides pulsed radiofrequency via the plurality of electrodes to stimulate at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain;
a coil that allows the telemetry circuit to be wirelessly controlled and charged by the remote controller; and
an electrical sensor means that monitors the electrical states of the at least one ganglion and the telemetry circuit wherein the stimulation parameters of the pulsed radiofrequency are adjusted based on the monitored electrical states.
2 . The stimulator as in claim 1 , wherein the at least one ganglion is selected from the group consisting of T-1 through T-4 ganglia, stellate ganglia, renal ganglia and combinations thereof.
3 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation parameters comprise the pulse frequency, pulse width duration, current amplitude, voltage amplitude, duty cycle and waveform of the pulsed radio frequency.
4 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the telemetry circuit is implemented with CMOS technology.
5 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the remote controller comprises a Class-E power amplifier.
6 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the telemetry circuit is wirelessly controlled and charged by near field inductive coupling, electro-magnetic induction coupling, resonate inductive coupling, capacitive coupling, light or radio frequency spectrum charging.
7 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the electrical states of the at least one ganglion comprise the bio-impedance of the ganglion being stimulated.
8 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the electrical states of the telemetry circuit comprise the voltage level, current amplitude, impedance and temperature of the telemetry circuit.
9 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the telemetry circuit is configured to transmit the monitored electrical states to the remote controller.
10 . The stimulator of claim 9 , wherein the remote controller is configured to adjust the stimulation parameters based on the monitored electrical states.
11 . The stimulator of claim 9 , wherein the remote controller is further configured to deliver a pulsed radiofrequency dose to the telemetry circuit based on the monitored electrical states.
12 . The stimulator of claim 9 , wherein the remote controller is further configured to display the monitored electrical states.
13 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the remote controller is implemented in a preexisting device such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop computer or any mobile equipment.
14 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the stimulator is lead-less.
15 . The stimulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes, the telemetry circuit, the coil and the electrical sensor means are configured in one stand-alone package.
16 . The stimulator of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of electrodes is configured to spread around the stand-along package for optimal contact with the at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain.
17 . The stimulator of claim 15 , wherein the one stand-alone package is sutured to the at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain.
18 . The stimulator of claim 15 , wherein the one stand-alone package is secured to the at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain by a fastening means.
19 . The stimulator of claim 1 , further comprising a bio-compatible material encapsulating the stimulator.
20 . The stimulator of claim 1 , further comprising a physiological sensor means that monitors the physiological states of the patient.
21 . The stimulator of claim 20 , wherein the physiological states comprise the heart rate, body and tissue temperatures, blood pressure and blood oxygen level of the patient.
22 . The stimulator of claim 20 , wherein the stimulation parameters of the pulsed radiofrequency are adjusted based on the monitored physiological states
23 . The stimulator of claim 20 , wherein the telemetry circuit is configured to transmit the monitored physiological states to the remote controller.
24 . The stimulator of claim 23 , wherein the remote controller is configured to adjust the stimulation parameters of the pulsed radio frequency based on the monitored physiological states.
25 . The stimulator of claim 23 , wherein the remote controller is further configured to deliver a pulsed radiofrequency dose to the telemetry circuit based on the monitored physiological states.
26 . The stimulator of claim 20 , further comprising a measuring means that clamps to a blood vessel near the ganglion to monitor the physiological states of the patient.
27 . A stimulator for treating a disease of a patient diagnosed with at least one of hyperhidrosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, cerebral ischemia, asthma or hypertension, the stimulator comprises:
a remote controller;
a plurality of thermal conductors;
a telemetry circuit configured for bilateral data transmission that provides thermal energy via the plurality of thermal conductors to stimulate at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain;
a coil that allows the telemetry circuit to be wirelessly controlled and charged by the remote controller; and
an electrical sensor means that monitors the electrical states of the at least one ganglion and the telemetry circuit wherein the stimulation parameters of the thermal energy are adjusted based on the monitored electrical states.
28 . A stimulator of claim 27 , wherein the telemetry circuit is further configured to provide cooling effect to the at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain.
29 . A stimulator for treating a disease of a patient diagnosed with at least one of hyperhidrosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, cerebral ischemia, asthma or hypertension, the stimulator comprises:
a remote controller;
a plurality of diodes;
a telemetry circuit configured for bilateral data transmission that provides optical irradiation via the plurality of diodes to stimulate at least one ganglion along the sympathetic nerve chain;
a coil that allows the telemetry circuit to be wirelessly controlled and charged by the remote controller; and
an electrical sensor means that monitors the electrical states of at least one ganglion and the telemetry circuit wherein the stimulation parameters of the optical irradiation are adjusted based on the monitored electrical states.
30 . A stimulator of claim 29 , wherein the plurality of diodes is low-level, pulsed near infrared laser diode.