Devices and methods for remote therapy and patient monitoring
Systems and methods for remote therapy and patient monitoring are provided. A method comprises contacting an outer skin surface of a patient with a contact surface of a stimulator and transmitting an electrical impulse from the stimulator transcutaneously through the outer skin surface to a nerve within the patient. Data related to parameters of the electrical impulse applied to the nerve is stored and transmitted to a remote source. The data may include duration of treatment, amplitude of the electrical impulse, compliance with a prescribed therapy regimen or other relevant data related to the therapy. The method may further include collecting patient status data, such as symptoms of a medical condition (e.g., severity of a headache) before, during and/or after stimulation. The patient status data is correlated with the treatment data to monitor compliance and/or the effectiveness of the therapy.
1. A method for treating a patient with a medical condition, the method comprising:
contacting an outer skin surface of a patient with a contact surface of a stimulator;
generating an electrical impulse;
transmitting the electrical impulse from the stimulator transcutaneously through the outer skin surface to a nerve within the patient;
storing data related to parameters of the electrical impulse applied to the nerve;
transmitting the data to a remote source;
detecting a heart rate variability of the patient and comparing the heart rate variability with the data related to parameters of the electrical impulse; and
providing a therapy regimen that includes transmitting the electrical impulses for a time period of about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes as a single dose, wherein each single dose is applied one or two times on a daily basis.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data is stored within the stimulator.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising wirelessly transmitting the data to a mobile device and storing the data within the mobile device.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the parameters include a duration of time the electrical impulse is transmitted to the nerve.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the parameters include an amplitude of the electrical impulse transmitted to the nerve.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining motion data of the stimulator while the electrical impulse is transmitted to the nerve and transmitting the motion data to a remote source.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising collecting user status data from the patient and comparing the user status data with the data related to parameters of the electrical impulse.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the user status data comprises symptoms from a medical condition.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the symptoms include a severity of a headache.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrical impulse is sufficient to modulate a nerve within the patient to treat the medical condition.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the nerve is a vagus nerve.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medical condition comprises headache.
13. A system for treating a patient with a medical condition, the system comprising:
a stimulator comprising an electrode for contacting an outer skin surface of a patient;
an energy source coupled to the electrode and configured to generate an electrical impulse and to transmit the electrical impulse transcutaneously through the outer skin surface to a nerve within the patient;
a storage device for storing data related to parameters of the electrical impulse;
a software application configured for downloading onto a mobile device coupled to the stimulator for receiving the data related to parameters of the electrical impulse; and
a sensor for detecting a heart rate variability of the patient, wherein the processor is configured to compare the heart rate variability with parameters of the electrical impulse, wherein the parameters comprises a therapy regimen that includes transmitting the electrical impulses for a time period of about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes as a single dose, wherein each single dose is applied one or two times on a daily basis.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the storage device is disposed within the stimulator.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the parameters include a duration of time the electrical impulse is transmitted to the nerve.
16. The system of claim 13 , further comprising a user interface configured to receive user status data of the patient.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the software application is configured to compare the user status data to parameters of the electrical impulse.