Helical radial spacing of contacts on a cylindrical lead

1. A device for deep brain stimulation, comprising:

a non-bifurcated lead having a longitudinal surface, a proximal end and a distal end; and

a plurality of electrodes disposed along the longitudinal surface of the lead near the distal end of the lead, the plurality of electrodes comprising at least four segmented electrodes having exposed surfaces, each exposed surface having a center point, wherein all of the segmented electrodes of the device are arranged in either one single helix or one double helix and each electrode is separately activatable;

wherein the at least four segmented electrodes are configured and arranged so that each of the center points are disposed at different longitudinal positions and at different radial positions about the longitudinal surface of the distal end of the lead.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the center points of the at least four segmented electrodes are uniformly distributed about a portion of the longitudinal surface of the lead.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the center points of the at least four segmented electrodes are disposed radially 72 degrees apart from a nearest one of the segmented electrodes.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the center points of the at least four segmented electrodes are disposed radially 90 degrees apart from a nearest one of the segmented electrodes.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein adjacent center points of the at least four segmented electrodes are disposed radially 120 degrees apart from a nearest one of the segmented electrodes.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the center point of each of the segmented electrodes is equidistant from the center points of the four closest segmented electrodes to that segmented electrode.

7. The device of claim 5 , wherein the center point of each of the segmented electrodes ranges from about 2 to 2.6 mm from the center points of the four closest segmented electrodes.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprises eight segmented electrodes.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the segmented electrodes are diamond shaped.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the center points are arranged about the longitudinal surface of the lead such that within a predefined longitudinal span a shortest distance between the center points of any two contacts is maximized.

11. A device for deep brain stimulation, comprising:

a non-bifurcated lead having a longitudinal surface, a proximal end and a distal end; and

a plurality of electrodes disposed along the longitudinal surface of the lead near the distal end of the lead, the plurality of electrodes comprising at least four segmented electrodes having exposed surfaces, each exposed surface having a center point;

wherein the center points of the at least four segmented electrodes are disposed on a substantially helical path about the longitudinal surface of the lead wherein all of the segmented electrodes of the device are arranged in either one single helix or one double helix and each electrode is separately activatable.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the at least four segmented electrodes are disposed in an arrangement that comprises at least one full revolution about the longitudinal surface.

13. The device of claim 11 , wherein the at least four segmented electrodes are disposed in an arrangement that comprises two full revolutions about the longitudinal surface.

14. The device of claim 11 , wherein the at least four segmented electrodes are configured and arranged so that the center points are uniformly distributed about a portion of the longitudinal surface of the lead.

15. The device of claim 11 , wherein the center point of each of the at least four segmented electrodes is equidistant from the center points of the four closest segmented electrodes to that segmented electrode.

16. The device of claim 11 , wherein the center points are disposed on the distal end of the lead along a predetermined longitudinal span and arranged about the longitudinal surface of the lead such that the shortest distance between the center points of any two contacts is maximized.

17. An implantable stimulation device, comprising:

the device of claim 11 ; and

a control module coupleable to the lead.

18. The implantable stimulation device of claim 17 , wherein the implantable stimulation device is a deep brain stimulator.

19. A method for brain stimulation, the method comprising:

inserting the device of claim 11 into a cranium of a patient; and

producing at least one of an anodic current or a cathodic current at the plurality of electrodes to stimulate a target neuron using the plurality of electrodes.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising modifying a parameter of the anodic and cathodic currents to stimulate a target neural tissue.