CN118490986A

CN118490986A - Wireless communication method for nerve stimulator, electronic equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN118490986A
Application number: CN202410954683.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张叔晗; 王守东
Original assignee: Hangzhou Shenluo Medical Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Hangzhou Shenluo Medical Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2024-07-16
Filing date: 2024-07-16
Publication date: 2024-08-16

Abstract

The present specification provides a wireless communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium for a neurostimulator, the method comprising: determining all end moments when the power supply state changes first and all start moments when the power supply state changes second in a continuous time period in the process that the program controller supplies power to the nerve stimulator; wherein the first change indicates that the neurostimulator stops outputting electrical stimulation pulses at the end time, and the second change indicates that the neurostimulator begins outputting electrical stimulation pulses at the start time; determining an available communication period based on at least one end time and at least one start time, wherein the neurostimulator does not generate an electrical stimulation pulse during the available communication period; determining target data to be transmitted in the available communication time period, and transmitting the target data to the nerve stimulator in the available communication time period.

Description

Wireless communication method for nerve stimulator, electronic equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a wireless communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium for a neural stimulator.

Background

A neurostimulator is a device for delivering electrical signals to a specific nerve region, the main objective of which is to achieve a therapeutic effect by modulating the electrical activity of neurons. They play an important role in the fields of neuroscience and biomedical engineering, in particular in pain management, dyskinesias, epilepsy and the like.

In the related art, since the neurostimulator is surgically implanted into human tissue and electrically stimulates muscle or nerve tissue according to the condition of a patient, the volume of the neurostimulator is as small as possible to reduce the risk of surgery, and in order to reduce the volume of the neurostimulator, the neurostimulator implements a scheme of simultaneously performing wireless power supply and wireless communication on one receiving coil through a modulation/demodulation technology, so as to simplify an energy storage unit and a communication unit inside the neurostimulator.

However, the new technical problem is also brought about by the scheme, namely, the modulation/demodulation can influence the stability of the receiving voltage of the receiving coil, particularly when the modulation depth is large, the receiving voltage can generate obvious fluctuation, the working circuit in the nerve stimulator depends on the stable power supply voltage to maintain normal operation, and when the receiving voltage of the receiving coil fluctuates, the power supply management module can not completely smooth the fluctuation, so that the power supply voltage of the nerve stimulator also fluctuates. The stimulation pulse generation circuit of the nerve stimulator is very sensitive to the power supply voltage, and the fluctuation of the power supply voltage can directly influence the working state of elements (such as an operational amplifier, a transistor and the like) in the pulse generation circuit, so that the output stimulation pulse is finally caused to fluctuate, and the treatment effect is influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome the problems in the related art, the present specification provides a wireless communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium for a neural stimulator.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present specification, there is provided a method of wireless communication for a neurostimulator, the method being applied to a programmer controlling the neurostimulator, the neurostimulator being provided with a receive coil for both wireless communication and wireless powering between the neurostimulator and the programmer, the method comprising:

Determining all end moments when the power supply state changes first and all start moments when the power supply state changes second in a continuous time period in the process that the program controller supplies power to the nerve stimulator; wherein the first change indicates that the neurostimulator stops outputting electrical stimulation pulses at the end time, and the second change indicates that the neurostimulator begins outputting electrical stimulation pulses at the start time;

Determining an available communication period based on the at least one end time and the at least one start time;

Determining target data to be transmitted in the available communication time period, and transmitting the target data to the nerve stimulator in the available communication time period.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present specification, there is provided an electronic device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the processor implementing the steps of the method according to the first aspect when the program is executed.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present specification, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which when executed by a processor performs the steps of the method according to the first aspect.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the specification can comprise the following beneficial effects:

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the programmer predicts the available communication time period in which the neurostimulator does not generate the electrical stimulation pulse by determining all the end times of the first change in the power supply state and all the start times of the second change in the power supply state of the programmer in the continuous time period during the power supply to the neurostimulator, and sends the target data to the neurostimulator in the available communication time period. Therefore, the output state of the nerve stimulator is actively determined by the program controller according to the specific change of the power supply state at one side of the program controller, the time period of stopping outputting the electric stimulation pulse by the nerve stimulator is predicted according to the output state of the nerve stimulator and is used as the available communication time period for sending data to the nerve stimulator, the determining process of the available communication time period does not need to interact with the nerve stimulator, and the determining logic is simple and efficient. Because the program controller only communicates with the nerve stimulator in the time period when the nerve stimulator does not output the electric stimulation pulse, and does not communicate in any time period when the nerve stimulator outputs the electric stimulation pulse, the negative influence of the fluctuation of the power supply voltage of the nerve stimulator, which is caused by communication, on the stability of the electric stimulation pulse is effectively avoided.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the specification and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the specification.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario illustrating interaction between a neurostimulator and a programmer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of wireless communication for a neurostimulator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a power supply assembly of a related art programmer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a power supply assembly of a programmer of the application, shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a power supply assembly of another programmer of the application shown in this specification according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a power supply assembly of another programmer of the application shown in this specification according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a power supply assembly of another programmer of the application shown in this specification according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a manner in which an available communication period is determined according to an exemplary embodiment of the present description.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating another manner in which the available communication time period may be determined according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of one manner in which the present description relates to determining measured time intervals, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present description.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a wireless communication device for a neurostimulator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1, the neurostimulator 10 is implanted in a patient by a physician and includes electrodes positioned near a target nerve and a pulse generator by which electrical stimulation pulses are generated to the target nerve. Programmer 11 includes, but is not limited to, functions for controlling the configuration and adjustment of parameters of neurostimulator 10, data transmission, and providing power to neurostimulator 10. Programmer 11 may refer broadly to any electronic device having the above functions, e.g., if one electronic device has the above functions, it may be used as programmer 11 in the present specification. In practice, programmer 11 may adjust the operating parameters of neurostimulator 10, such as amperage, frequency, pulse width, and stimulation mode. During operation of the neurostimulator 10, the programmer 11 may also receive feedback information (e.g., electrode resistance change, internal state, etc.) sent by the neurostimulator 10, so that the programmer 11 may adjust the operating parameters of the programmer 10 according to the feedback information. Illustratively, the neurostimulator 10 includes, but is not limited to, a spinal cord neurostimulator (SCS), a Peripheral Neurostimulator (PNS), and a Tibial Neurostimulator (TNS).

The neurostimulator 10 is provided with a receiving coil for two-way wireless communication between the neurostimulator 10 and the programmer 11 at the same time, and the neurostimulator 10 receives the power supplied from the programmer 11 through the receiving coil. Specifically, the receiving coil of the programmer 11 generates an alternating magnetic field by high-frequency alternating current, and the receiving coil of the neurostimulator 10 is in the alternating magnetic field, and based on the principle of electromagnetic induction, an induced current is generated in the receiving coil to power the pulse generator. The programmer 11 may superimpose a modulation signal on the power supply signal while transmitting the power supply signal, and the demodulation circuit of the neurostimulator 10 extracts the modulation signal, that is, the data transmitted by the programmer 11, from the received power supply signal, and then transmits the demodulated data to the microprocessor of the neurostimulator 10 for processing, so as to adjust the working parameters of the neurostimulator 10. The modulation/demodulation technique applied to the neurostimulator 10 may be specifically an ASK/AM modulation technique. When the ASK/AM modulation technology is used for wireless communication, the modulation depth determines the amplitude variation range of the carrier signal, and a larger amplitude depth means that the amplitude variation amplitude of the carrier signal is larger, so that the voltage fluctuation of the receiving end of the rectifying circuit is more obvious. For example, assuming that the carrier signal voltage is 5V and the modulation depth is 0.6, the modulated voltage range varies between 2V and 8V. If the modulation depth is increased to 0.8, the voltage range becomes 1V to 9V, and the fluctuation is larger. As the supply voltage of the neurostimulator 10 fluctuates, the current output by the neurostimulator 10 also fluctuates, and the fluctuation may cause the amplitude of the stimulation pulse to change, thereby affecting the stimulation effect. For other modulation techniques, such as Frequency Modulation (FM) and Phase Modulation (PM), although no AM modulation mode has a large impact on voltage, voltage fluctuations are also introduced during demodulation by the neurostimulator 10, thereby affecting the stimulation effect. Thus, during the communication between the programmer 11 and the neurostimulator 10, fluctuations in the supply voltage of the neurostimulator 10 caused by the communication may have a negative effect on the stability of the output electrical stimulation pulses.

As described in the foregoing embodiments, the problem that the voltage fluctuation of the receiving coil of the neurostimulator 10 caused by the modulation/demodulation signal during the communication process of the neurostimulator 10 and the programmer 11 indirectly causes the fluctuation of the electrical stimulation pulse output by the neurostimulator 10 is solved. The present disclosure proposes a new wireless communication scheme, that is, the communication between the neural stimulator 10 and the programmer 11 is implemented only in a period of time when the neural stimulator 10 does not generate an electrical stimulation pulse, so as to avoid possible negative effects of power supply voltage fluctuation at the end of the neural stimulator 10 caused by communication on stability of the electrical stimulation pulse.

Next, embodiments of the present specification will be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method for a neural stimulator, which is applied to the programmer 11 of fig. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and includes steps 201-203:

step 201: during the power supply of the program controller to the nerve stimulator, all end moments when the power supply state changes first and all start moments when the power supply state changes second in a continuous time period are determined.

During the power supply of the neurostimulator 10 by the neurostimulator 11, the neurostimulator 10 is equivalent to the load device of the neurostimulator 11, and during the working process of the neurostimulator 10, the load of the neurostimulator 11 also changes correspondingly. At the moment when the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse and stops to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the power supply state of the programmer 11 is also changed specifically. For example, at the moment when the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the total load of the neurostimulator 10 suddenly increases, and the current output by the power supply module of the programmer 11 also correspondingly increases. Similarly, at the moment when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulses, the total load of the neurostimulator 10 suddenly decreases (the load of the module responsible for outputting the electrical stimulation pulses in the neurostimulator 10 decreases to 0, and the load of the other modules is substantially unchanged, so that the total load decreases), and the current output by the power supply module of the programmer 11 also correspondingly decreases sharply. Accordingly, it is possible to determine the start timing at which the neurostimulator 10 starts outputting the electrical stimulation pulses and the stop timing at which the output of the electrical stimulation pulses is stopped, according to the timings of the specific changes (i.e., the first change and the second change) that occur in the power supply state of the programmer 11 during the power supply of the neurostimulator 10 by the programmer 11.

As shown in fig. 3, power supply components in the related art programmer that supply power to the neurostimulator include, but are not limited to, a power supply module 110, an inverter circuit 111, and a transmitting coil 112. The power supply module 110 is configured to provide a dc current according to a current electrical stimulation mode of the neurostimulator, and convert the dc current output from the power supply module 110 into a high-frequency ac current through the inverter circuit 111, then the transmitting coil 112 converts the high-frequency ac current into a wireless electromagnetic wave, and the receiving coil of the neurostimulator receives the electromagnetic wave of the transmitting coil 112 through electromagnetic induction and generates a high-frequency ac current, and converts the high-frequency ac current into a dc current through the rectifier circuit for use by an internal circuit of the neurostimulator.

Since the neurostimulator generates a specific change at the moment of starting to output the electrical stimulation pulse and stopping to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the dc voltage or the dc current output by the power supply module 110 and the ac current/ac voltage output by the inverter circuit 111 can reflect the output state of the electrical stimulation pulse of the neurostimulator. Therefore, the present solution proposes to determine the time when the neurostimulator starts to output the electrical stimulation pulses and stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulses by detecting the time of a specific change in the power supply state of the programmer on the basis of the power supply assembly of fig. 3. See in particular the following examples:

In an illustrated embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the output terminal of the power supply module 110 of the programmer 11 is connected to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 111, the output terminal of the inverter circuit 111 is connected to the input terminal of the transmitting coil 112, the output terminal of the transmitting coil 112 is connected to the input terminal of the first envelope detection module 410, and the output terminal of the first envelope detection module 410 is connected to the input terminal of the first power supply state detection module 411.

In this embodiment, the first envelope detection module 410 is configured to identify an envelope of a transmit waveform of the transmit coil 112. The first envelope detection module 410 may be a simple diode envelope detector, and of course, elements such as an amplifier may be added to the diode envelope detector to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of detection. The first power supply state detection module 411 detects a change in the power supply state based on the envelope signal output from the first envelope detection module 410. The first power supply state detection module 411 may specifically include a voltage sampling sub-module and a detection sub-module, where an input end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to an input end of the first envelope detection module 410 to collect a voltage waveform after envelope detection, and an output end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to the detection sub-module to determine a change of the power supply state according to the voltage waveform collected by the voltage sampling sub-module. The voltage sampling submodule can be an analog-to-digital converter and is used for converting the analog voltage waveform after envelope detection into a digital signal so as to facilitate analysis processing by the detection submodule.

For example, when the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly increases, the amplitude of the transmission signal of the transmission coil 112 starts to decrease, so that the envelope of the transmission waveform changes, which is embodied as the momentary decrease of the envelope voltage identified by the first envelope detection circuit 113 from the transmission waveform, the voltage sampling submodule converts the acquired envelope voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection submodule determines whether the change of the power supply state at the current moment indicates that the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse by analyzing the change characteristics of the voltage data.

For another example, when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulses at the instant the load suddenly decreases, the amplitude of the transmit signal of the transmit coil 112 begins to rise, thereby causing the envelope of the transmit waveform to change as well, specifically as the instant the first envelope detection circuit 113 recognizes the envelope voltage from the transmit waveform rises, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the acquired envelope voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines, by analyzing the change characteristics of the voltage data, whether the change in the power supply state at the current moment indicates that the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulses.

In another illustrated embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the output end of the power supply module 110 of the programmer 11 is connected to the input end of the inverter circuit 111, the output end of the inverter circuit 111 is connected to the input end of the first current sampling module 510, the output end of the first current sampling module 510 is connected to the input end of the transmitting coil 112, the input end of the second envelope detection module 511 is connected to the output end of the first current sampling module 510, and the output end of the second envelope detection module 511 is connected to the input end of the second power supply state detection module 512.

The first current sampling module 510 is configured to sample the alternating current output by the inverter circuit 111 and convert the alternating current into a voltage signal that is easy to process. The second envelope detection module 511 is configured to identify an envelope of the alternating current waveform. The second power supply state detection module 512 detects a change in the power supply state based on the envelope output by the second envelope detection module 511. The second envelope detection module 511 is configured to identify an envelope of the alternating current waveform output by the first current sampling module 510, and the second envelope detection module 511 may be a simple diode envelope detector, or may be an element such as an amplifier added to the diode envelope detector to improve sensitivity and accuracy of detection. The second power supply state detection module 512 may specifically include a voltage sampling sub-module and a detection sub-module, where an input end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to an input end of the second envelope detection module 511 to collect a voltage waveform after envelope detection, and an output end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to the detection sub-module to determine a change of the power supply state according to the voltage waveform collected by the voltage sampling sub-module. The voltage sampling submodule may in particular be an analog-to-digital converter.

For example, when the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly increases, and the alternating current output by the inverter circuit 111 suddenly increases, so that the envelope of the current waveform changes, which is embodied as a momentary rise of the envelope edge identified by the second envelope detection circuit 411 from the current waveform, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the acquired envelope voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines, by analyzing the change characteristics of the voltage data, whether the change of the power supply state at the current moment indicates that the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse.

For another example, when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly decreases, and the alternating current output by the inverter circuit 111 suddenly decreases, so that the envelope of the current waveform changes, which is embodied as a momentary decrease in the envelope edge identified by the second envelope detection circuit 411 from the current waveform, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the acquired envelope voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines, by analyzing the change characteristics of the voltage data, whether the change in the power supply state at the current moment indicates that the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse.

In another illustrated embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, a first output terminal of the power supply module 110 of the programmer 11 is connected to an input terminal of the inverter circuit 111, an output terminal of the inverter circuit 111 is connected to an input terminal of the transmitting coil 112, and a second output terminal of the power supply module 110 is connected to the third power supply state detection module 610 to detect a power supply state based on a dc voltage output from the power supply module 110 by the third power supply state detection module 610.

The third power supply state detection module 610 may specifically include a voltage sampling sub-module and a detection sub-module, where an input end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to an input end of the power supply module 110 to collect a dc voltage output by the power supply module 110, and an output end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to the detection sub-module to determine a change of the power supply state according to the dc voltage collected by the voltage sampling sub-module. The voltage sampling submodule may in particular be an analog-to-digital converter.

For example, when the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly increases, the dc voltage output by the power supply module 110 suddenly decreases, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the collected dc voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines whether the change of the power supply state at the current time indicates that the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse by analyzing the change characteristics of the voltage data.

For another example, when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly decreases, the dc voltage output by the power supply module 110 suddenly increases, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the collected dc voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines whether the change of the power supply state at the current time indicates that the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse by analyzing the change characteristics of the voltage data.

In another illustrated embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the output terminal of the power supply module 110 of the programmer 11 is connected to the input terminal of the second current sampling module 710, the first output terminal of the second current sampling module 710 is connected to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 111, the output terminal of the inverter circuit 111 is connected to the input terminal of the transmitting coil 112, and the second output terminal of the second current sampling module 710 is connected to the fourth power supply state detection module 711.

The second current sampling module 710 is configured to sample the dc current output by the power supply module 110, and convert the dc current signal into a voltage signal that is easy to process. The fourth power supply state detection module 711 may specifically include a voltage sampling sub-module and a detection sub-module, where an input end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to the second output end of the second current sampling module 710, and an output end of the voltage sampling sub-module is connected to the detection sub-module, so as to determine a change of the power supply state according to the dc voltage collected by the voltage sampling sub-module. The voltage sampling submodule may in particular be an analog-to-digital converter.

For example, when the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly increases, the dc current output by the power supply module 110 suddenly increases, the second current sampling module 710 samples the dc current output by the power supply module 110 and converts the dc current signal into a voltage signal that is easy to process, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the collected dc voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines whether the change of the power supply state at the current moment indicates that the neurostimulator 10 starts to output the electrical stimulation pulse by analyzing the change characteristic of the voltage data.

For another example, when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse, the load suddenly decreases, the dc current output by the power supply module 110 suddenly decreases, the second current sampling module 710 samples the dc current output by the power supply module 110 and converts the dc current signal into a voltage signal that is easy to process, the voltage sampling sub-module converts the collected dc voltage signal into a digital signal, and the detection sub-module determines whether the change of the power supply state at the current moment indicates that the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse by analyzing the change characteristic of the voltage data.

In the above embodiment, it may be determined that it is the end time when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulses, based on the detected time when the power supply state of the programmer 11 changes first; the detected timing at which the power supply state of the programmer 11 changes in the second manner is determined as the start timing at which the neurostimulator 10 starts outputting the electrical stimulation pulses. It can be seen that the present solution does not require the neurostimulator 10 to send a prompt signal to inform the programmer 11 of the output state of the electrical stimulation pulses thereof, but determines the switching time of the output state of the electrical stimulation pulses of the neurostimulator 10 according to the detected time of the specific change of the power supply state of the programmer 11 side, thereby simplifying the manner of determining the switching time of the output state of the electrical stimulation pulses of the neurostimulator 10 side.

Regarding the timing of determining the start time and the end time, in the illustrated embodiment, in the case where the programmer 11 needs to communicate with the neurostimulator 10, all the end times at which the first change in the power supply state occurs and all the start times at which the second change in the power supply state occurs are determined in a continuous period of time before communication.

In another illustrated embodiment, all end times at which the first change in the power supply state occurs and all start times at which the second change in the power supply state occurs may be determined in a continuous period of time after the start of the power supply when the programmer 11 starts the power supply to the neurostimulator 10. In this embodiment, the data of all the end times and all the start times may be prepared when the programmer 11 starts to supply power to determine all the available communication periods in the future based on at least one end time and at least one start time, so as to avoid the need to repeatedly determine the available communication period once before each communication, and reduce the workload of determining the available communication period.

Step 202: the available communication period is determined based on the at least one end time and the at least one start time.

After step 201 is completed, an available communication period may be determined based on the at least one end time and the at least one start time determined in step 201, wherein the neurostimulator 10 does not generate an electrical stimulation pulse during the available communication period.

In an illustrated embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, it is assumed that at least one available communication period after the second end time (the broken line portion) is predicted based on the time points of the first change and the second change in the power supply state determined within the continuous period (the solid line portion) between the first end time and the second end time. The programmer 11 determines that the power supply state changes first at a first end time, that the power supply state changes second at a first start time, and that the power supply state changes first at a second end time during successive time periods. The duration between the first end time and the second end time is the duration of one complete pulse cycle of the neurostimulator 10, and the time period between the first end time and the first start time indicates that the neurostimulator 10 ceases to output the electrical stimulation pulse during the time period, and the first start time and the second end time indicate that the neurostimulator 10 continues to output the electrical stimulation pulse during the time period. The measured pulse period and the measured pulse width of the neurostimulator 10 in the current electrical stimulation mode can be determined based on the first end time, the first start time and the second end time which are sequentially adjacent, wherein the pulse width is the duration of the electrical stimulation pulse continuously output by the neurostimulator in one pulse period. Because the neurostimulator 10 outputs the electrical stimulation pulses according to the fixed pulse period and pulse width parameters in the same electrical stimulation mode, all available communication time periods after the second end time can be predicted based on the determined second end time, measured pulse period, and measured pulse width. For example, the measured pulse period minus the measured pulse width is the measured interval duration, and based on the second end time, the measured pulse period, and the measured pulse width, a time period between the first available communication time period and the second start time after the measured interval duration can be predicted. Similarly, the starting time of the second available communication time period is the second ending time plus a third ending time after the measured pulse period, and the ending time of the second available communication time period is the second ending time plus a third starting time after the measured pulse period and the measured interval period. Similarly, a third available communication time period, a fourth available communication time period, and so on may be predicted based on the second end time, the measured pulse period, and the measured pulse width.

In another illustrated embodiment, it is assumed that during successive time periods, programmer 11 determines that the power state is changed second at the second start time, that the power state is changed first at the third end time, and that the power state is changed second at the third start time. The measured pulse period and the measured pulse width of the nerve stimulator in the current electrical stimulation mode can be determined based on the second starting time, the third ending time and the third starting time which are adjacent in sequence, the ending time and the adjacent starting time which are positioned after the third starting time are determined according to the third starting time, the measured pulse period and the measured pulse width, and for the determined ending time and the adjacent starting time, the time period between each ending time and the first starting time which is positioned after the determined ending time is determined as the available communication time period corresponding to the ending time. Since the manner of determining the available communication time period in this embodiment is similar to that of fig. 8, reference may be made to the previous embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

In the foregoing two embodiments, all available communication periods (first available communication period, second available communication period, etc.) in the future may be predicted at one time based on all end times at which the first change in the power supply state occurs and all start times at which the second change in the power supply state occurs detected in the continuous period, so that the controller 11 may reasonably arrange the target data required to be transmitted in any one of the available communication periods based on all the predicted available communication periods, and control the controller 11 to transmit the target data to the neurostimulator 10 in the available communication periods.

If different types of clock oscillators are used by the programmer 11 and the neurostimulator 10, the frequencies and the stabilities of the clock oscillators may be different, which may cause clock drift after the two clocks run for a period of time, and as time goes by, the accumulated error between the first clock of the programmer 11 and the second clock of the neurostimulator 10 becomes larger and larger, the larger the error between the actual start time of the available communication time period determined by the first clock and the actual end time when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse becomes (the actual start time and the actual end time should be the same in an ideal state). For example, as shown in fig. 8, the error between the actual start time (i.e., the second end time) of the first available communication period determined by the first clock and the actual end time at which the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse may be 0.01us, and the error between the actual start time (i.e., the third end time) of the second available communication period determined by the first clock and the actual end time at which the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse may be increased to 0.02us. Thus, when the accumulated error exceeds the error threshold, the predicted available communication period may not coincide with the actual period of time during which the neurostimulator ceases to output the electrical stimulation pulses, in other words, some data may be communicated during the period of time during which the neurostimulator 10 outputs the electrical stimulation pulses.

Thus, in one illustrated embodiment, after the available communication period is determined using the foregoing two embodiments, a cumulative error between the first clock of the programmer and the second clock of the neurostimulator may be calculated, and if the cumulative error exceeds the error threshold, the first clock is corrected such that the first clock and the second clock remain synchronized, and the available communication period is redetermined. For example, before the neurostimulator 10 and the programmer 11 are shipped, a maximum clock drift of the neurostimulator 10 and the programmer 11 in a unit time period may be determined from a batch of sample devices, then an accumulated error after the time lapse between a first clock of the programmer 11 and a second clock of the neurostimulator 10 is calculated with the maximum clock drift as an error criterion, and when the accumulated error exceeds an error threshold, the first clock is corrected to keep the first clock and the second clock synchronized, and the available communication period is redetermined. For example, at the current time when the accumulated error exceeds the error threshold, the available communication time period may be redetermined based on the end time when the first change occurs or the start time when the second change occurs that is closest to the current time, and the measured pulse period and the measured pulse width that were previously determined.

In this embodiment, in the case where the accumulated error between the first clock of the programmer 11 and the second clock of the neurostimulator 10 exceeds the error threshold, by re-predicting the available communication time period, the clock error between the available communication time period and the time period in which the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulses can be always kept within the error threshold, so that the adverse effect of the power supply voltage fluctuation of the neurostimulator 10 caused by communication on the stability of the electrical stimulation pulses can be avoided as much as possible.

In addition to the above manner of determining the available communication time period, the present specification also provides another manner of determining the available communication time period, see the following embodiments:

Determining the end time of the first change of the power supply state and the start time of the first second change of the power supply state after the end time of the first change of the power supply state in the continuous time period; and determining the communication time when the power supply state is changed and the actually measured interval duration between the ending time and the starting time, and taking the time period between the communication time and the time which is the actually measured interval duration from the communication time as the available communication time period.

For example, as shown in fig. 9, it is assumed that the programmer 11 determines that the power supply state is changed first at the first end timing and that the power supply state is changed second at the first start timing in the continuous period. The time period between the first start time and the first end time is a time period when the neurostimulator stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse, and the measured interval duration, which is a time interval when the neurostimulator 10 stops outputting the electrical stimulation pulse in the pulse period, may be calculated based on the first start time and the first end time. Then, when detecting that the power supply state of the programmer 11 changes in the first communication time in the future, the time period between the first communication time and the second start time of the measured interval duration of the first communication time can be used as a first available communication time period; similarly, when the first change of the power supply state of the programmer 11 is detected at the second communication time in the future, the time period between the second communication time and the third start time of the measured interval duration from the second communication time may be used as the second available communication time period. Similarly, at each other communication time when the power supply state of the programmer 11 is detected to be changed, other available communication time periods corresponding to the communication time may be determined based on the previously calculated actual measurement interval duration.

In this embodiment, compared with the previous two embodiments for determining the available communication time period, since the determined starting time (i.e., the communication time) of the available communication time period is determined by detecting the first change occurring in the power supply state of the programmer 11 in real time, and is not a predicted result, the available communication time period is not affected by the clock error, and the ending time of the available communication time period is the time when the communication time is distant from the actually measured interval time, and is not affected by the clock error in the case that the communication time is accurate. Therefore, the manner of determining the available communication period according to the present embodiment may not be affected by the clock error, and thus it is not necessary to redetermine the available communication period when the clock accumulated error is greater than the error threshold.

In the event that external disturbances are present in the programmer 11, the external disturbances may affect the accuracy of the programmer 11 in determining all end times at which the first change in power state occurs and all start times at which the second change in power state occurs over successive time periods, which in turn affects the accuracy of determining the available communication time period based on at least one end time and at least one start time. For example, electromagnetic interference affects the clock accuracy inside the programmer 11, which in turn causes a deviation in timing between the end time when the first change in the power supply state occurs and the start time when the second change occurs. Or electromagnetic interference may affect the power supply state of the programmer 11, so that the programmer 11 cannot accurately detect the specific change of the power supply state. Therefore, in the presence of external interference, it is difficult to determine accurate end time and start time, and then an accurate available communication time period cannot be determined based on inaccurate end time and start time.

Therefore, the present specification proposes that, when determining all the end times at which the first change in the power supply state occurs and all the start times at which the second change in the power supply state occurs in the continuous period of time, a verification mechanism may be added to determine whether all the start times and end times currently determined are accurate, i.e., whether the programmer 11 is subject to external interference. The available communication time period may be determined based on the determined at least one end time and the determined at least one start time, if all the start times and the determined end times are determined to be accurate. See in particular the following examples:

In an illustrated embodiment, a measured time interval between any end time and a first start time thereafter within a continuous time period is determined; the preset pulse period and preset pulse width of the current electric stimulation mode in the programmer 11 are acquired, and if the error between the measured time interval and the preset time interval obtained by subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period exceeds the error threshold, the available communication time period is not determined based on all the ending time and all the starting time determined in the continuous time period.

For example, any one of the end timings and the first start timing after that are randomly selected from among all the end timings determined in the continuous period at which the first change in the power supply state occurs and all the start timings at which the second change in the power supply state occurs, and the measured time intervals of the end timings and the start timings are determined. Then, the preset pulse period and preset pulse width parameters of the current electric stimulation mode stored in the programmer 11 are acquired, and a preset time interval after subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period is calculated. By comparing the measured time interval with the preset time interval, if the error between the measured time interval and the preset time interval exceeds 5%, it is indicated that the programmer 11 may be subject to external interference at this time, and the accuracy of determining the time when the power supply state is specifically changed by the programmer 11 may be affected, so that the available communication time period may not be determined based on all the end time and all the start time determined in the current continuous time period. Whether the power supply state is interfered by the outside can be redetermined based on the mode after the preset duration, if the error of the power supply state and the power supply state is not more than 5%, the fact that the program controller 11 is not interfered by the outside at the moment is indicated, and the available communication time period can be determined based on all ending time and all starting time determined in the continuous time period; if the error between the two is still more than 5%, it may be determined again whether external interference is still present based on the above manner after the preset period of time, until it is determined that external interference is not present, the available communication period is determined based on all the end times and all the start times determined in the continuous period of time.

If the external interference is intermittent, i.e. only occurs in certain time periods, and the time period of the actual measurement time interval selected in the above embodiment is just within the time range of the external interference suspension phase, the external interference cannot be identified based on the above method. Thus, in response to this problem, the present specification proposes another modified embodiment:

In a further exemplary embodiment, a respective measured time interval between a predetermined number of end times and a first start time following the end times is determined from all end times and all start times within the determined continuous time period; and acquiring a preset pulse period and a preset pulse width of the current electric stimulation mode in the program controller, and if the error between any actual measurement time interval and the preset time interval obtained by subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period exceeds an error threshold value, determining the available communication time period not based on the ending time and the starting time determined in the continuous time period.

For example, as shown in fig. 10, all the end times and all the start times in the determined continuous time period are a first end time, a first start time, a second end time, a second start time, a third end time, a third start time, and a fourth end time, and a preset number of measured time intervals of 3 are determined, which are a first measured time interval between the first end time and the first start time, a second measured time interval between the second end time and the second start time, and a third measured time interval between the third end time and the third start time, respectively. The preset pulse period and preset pulse width parameters of the current electric stimulation mode stored in the programmer 11 are acquired, and a preset time interval is calculated after the preset pulse period minus the preset pulse width. By comparing each measured time interval with a preset time interval, if the error between the measured time interval and the preset time interval exceeds 5%, it is indicated that the programmer 11 may be subjected to external interference during the time period in which the measured time interval is located, and the available communication time period is not determined based on all the ending time and all the starting time determined during the continuous time period. It may be re-determined whether the power supply state is subject to external interference based on the above manner after a preset period of time. If the error between any measured time interval and the preset time interval does not exceed 5%, it indicates that the programmer 11 is not interfered by external interference at this time, and the available communication time period can be determined based on all the ending moments and all the starting moments determined in the continuous time period; if the error between the two is still more than 5%, it may be determined again whether external interference is still present based on the above manner after the preset period of time, until it is determined that external interference is not present, the available communication period is determined based on all the end times and all the start times determined in the continuous period of time.

In this embodiment, based on the above manner, not only the continuously occurring external interference can be effectively identified, but also the external interference generated intermittently can be effectively identified, so that the accuracy of identifying the external interference is improved.

When determining the plurality of measured time intervals in the continuous time period, the adjacent two measured time intervals may be time intervals of not adjacent electric stimulation pulse periods or time intervals of adjacent electric stimulation pulse periods, which is not limited in this specification.

In addition to the above-described manner of determining whether the programmer 11 is subject to external interference by comparing the error between the actually measured time interval and the preset time interval, the programmer 11 may also be determined whether the programmer 11 is subject to external interference by comparing the actually measured pulse period and/or the actually measured pulse width with the preset pulse period and/or the preset pulse width parameter in the programmer 11, which is not limited in this specification.

The electrical stimulation mode of the neurostimulator 10 refers to various electrical parameter configurations used by the neurostimulator 10 to excite the nervous system, including not only pulse periods and pulse widths, but also different electrical stimulation parameters such as voltage intensity, current intensity, and stimulation frequency of stimulation. The neurostimulator 10 does not always operate in a fixed electrical stimulation mode, but adjusts the different electrical stimulation modes according to the needs of the patient. For example, a chronic pain patient may experience increased pain during daytime activity, when switching from a low frequency stimulation mode to a high frequency stimulation mode to provide rapid pain relief. And when the night rest, switching back to the low-frequency mode for long-term management. After the electrical stimulation mode of the neural stimulator 10 is switched, parameters such as a pulse period and a pulse width used by the operation of the neural stimulator 10 are also changed, which may cause the actual measurement pulse period and the pulse width of the neural stimulation mode before the switching to be unavailable, which are inferred based on the specific change of the power supply state, so that the available communication time period determined based on the actual measurement pulse period and the pulse width determined before the switching is also unavailable.

Thus, in an illustrated embodiment, in the event of a switch in the electrical stimulation mode of the neurostimulator 10, all end times at which a first change in the power state occurs and all start times at which a second change in the power state occurs over a continuous period of time are redetermined, and the available communication time period is determined based on the redetermined at least one end time and at least one start time.

In this embodiment, in the case that the electrical stimulation mode of the neurostimulator 10 is changed, by timely redefining the available communication time period, it can be ensured that the redetermined available communication time period can adapt to the change of the electrical stimulation mode, so that the programmer 11 communicates with the neurostimulator 10 in the correct available communication time period.

Step 203: determining target data to be transmitted in the available communication time period, and transmitting the target data to the nerve stimulator in the available communication time period.

In this embodiment, the present embodiment only performs communication in the available communication time period when the neurostimulator 10 does not generate the electrical stimulation pulse, but does not perform any communication in the time period when the neurostimulator 10 outputs the electrical stimulation pulse, thereby effectively avoiding the possible negative influence of the power supply voltage fluctuation of the neurostimulator 10 caused by communication on the stability of the electrical stimulation pulse.

Regarding the meaning of the target data, two cases are classified in this scheme:

The first case is that the target data is complete data to be transmitted, and the data amount of the data to be transmitted is less than or equal to the maximum data amount of the data to be communicated with the neurostimulator 10 in the first communicable time period. The complete data to be transmitted may be transmitted to the neurostimulator 10 for the available communication period.

The second case is that the data amount of the data to be transmitted is larger than the maximum data amount of the data to be communicated with the neural stimulator 10 in the available communication time period, that is, the complete data to be transmitted cannot be completely transmitted to the neural stimulator 10 in the available communication time period. At this time, the maximum data amount that the programmer 11 can complete communication with the neurostimulator 10 in the available communication period may be determined, and then, the partial data having the maximum data amount among the data to be transmitted is transmitted as target data to the neurostimulator 10, so as to ensure that the target data can be transmitted to the neurostimulator 10 in the available communication period. And for the rest data which is not transmitted in the data to be transmitted currently, the data to be transmitted can be continuously transmitted in the available communication time period of the next electric stimulation pulse period until the data to be transmitted are completely transmitted. For example, it may be assumed that the maximum data size that can be communicated with the neurostimulator 10 in the available communication time period of each electrical stimulation pulse period is 30 bytes, and if the data size of the data to be transmitted is 50 bytes, then in the current electrical stimulation pulse period, part of the data of 30 bytes in the data to be transmitted may be transmitted to the neurostimulator 10 according to a preset transmission sequence; after the next electrical stimulation pulse period, the remaining 20 bytes of data are sent to the neurostimulator 10. Accordingly, after receiving all the messages (of the data to be transmitted), the neurostimulator 10 may parse the messages and recover the complete data, i.e. the complete data to be transmitted (of course, the data has already been transmitted).

The target data refers to data determined to be transmitted by the programmer 11 during the available communication time period. When the data amount to be transmitted is less than or equal to the maximum communication data amount, the target data is the complete data to be transmitted. When the data to be transmitted is larger than the maximum communication data, the target data is part of the data to be transmitted, which accords with the maximum communication data.

In one embodiment, in determining the maximum amount of data to complete communication with neurostimulator 10 during the available communication period, the transmission duration of a single symbol by programmer 11 to neurostimulator 10 may be determined, e.g., based on a theoretical transmission rate (e.g., baud rate) between programmer 11 and neurostimulator 10, such that the transmission duration of a single symbol is 1 second divided by the theoretical transmission rate. The transmission duration of a single symbol may be roughly calculated without consideration of environmental interference (e.g., electromagnetic interference) and other factors (retransmission mechanism, protocol overhead, etc.), so that the ratio of the duration of the available communication time period to the transmission duration is rounded and then determined as the maximum data size. The transmission duration for transmitting a single symbol need only be calculated once.

Corresponding to the embodiments of the aforementioned method, the present specification also provides embodiments of the apparatus and the terminal to which it is applied.

As shown in fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device 1100 according to an exemplary embodiment shown in the present specification. At the hardware level, the device includes a processor 1102, an internal bus 1104, a network interface 1106, memory 1108, and non-volatile storage 1110, although other hardware requirements for other services are possible. One or more embodiments of the present description may be implemented in a software-based manner, such as by the processor 1102 reading a corresponding computer program from the non-volatile storage 1110 into the memory 1108 and then running. Of course, in addition to software implementation, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure do not exclude other implementation manners, such as a logic device or a combination of software and hardware, etc., that is, the execution subject of the following processing flow is not limited to each logic module, but may also be a hardware or logic device.

As shown in fig. 12, fig. 12 is a wireless communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The device can be applied to the electronic device 1100 shown in fig. 11 to implement the technical solution of the present specification. The electronic device 1100 may be a programmer that controls a neurostimulator configured with a receive coil for both wireless communication and wireless power between the neurostimulator and the programmer. The device comprises:

a time determining module 1202, configured to determine, during the power supply from the programmer to the neurostimulator, all end times when the power supply state changes first and all start times when the power supply state changes second in a continuous period of time; wherein the first change indicates that the neurostimulator stops outputting electrical stimulation pulses at the end time and the second change indicates that the neurostimulator begins outputting electrical stimulation pulses at the start time.

An available communication time period determining module 1204, configured to determine an available communication time period based on at least one end time and at least one start time, wherein the neurostimulator does not generate an electrical stimulation pulse during the available communication time period.

A target data transmitting module 1206, configured to determine target data that needs to be transmitted during the available communication time period, and transmit the target data to the neurostimulator during the available communication time period.

Optionally, the time determining module 1202 is specifically configured to determine, when the programmer begins to supply power to the neurostimulator, all end times when the power supply state changes first and all start times when the power supply state changes second in a continuous period after the power supply begins; or in the case that the programmer needs to communicate with the neurostimulator, determining all end moments of the first change of the power supply state and all start moments of the second change of the power supply state in a continuous time period before communication.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a first available communication time period redetermining module 1208 for redefining all end moments when the first change in the power supply state occurs and all start moments when the second change in the power supply state occurs in a continuous time period in case of a switching of the electrical stimulation mode of the neurostimulator, and determining the available communication time period based on the redetermined at least one end moment and at least one start moment.

Optionally, the available communication time period determining module 1204 is specifically configured to determine an actually measured pulse period and an actually measured pulse width of the neurostimulator in the current electrical stimulation mode based on a first end time, a first start time and a second end time that are sequentially adjacent, and determine an end time located after the second end time and an adjacent start time thereof according to the second end time, the actually measured pulse period and the actually measured pulse width; or determining an actual measurement pulse period and an actual measurement pulse width of the nerve stimulator in a current electric stimulation mode based on a second starting time, a third ending time and a third starting time which are adjacent in sequence, and determining an ending time and an adjacent starting time thereof after the third starting time according to the third starting time, the actual measurement pulse period and the actual measurement pulse width; and for the determined end time and the adjacent start time, determining the time period between each end time and the first start time after the end time as the available communication time period corresponding to the end time.

Optionally, the second available communication time period redetermining module 1210 is specifically configured to calculate an accumulated error between the first clock of the programmer and the second clock of the neurostimulator after determining the available communication time period; and if the accumulated error exceeds an error threshold, correcting the first clock so as to keep the first clock and the second clock synchronous, and redefining the available communication time period.

Optionally, the time determining module 1202 is specifically configured to determine an end time when the first change in the power supply state occurs and a start time when the second change in the power supply state occurs after the end time when the first change in the power supply state occurs in a continuous period. The available communication time period determining module 1204 is specifically configured to determine a communication time when the power supply state changes first, and an actual measurement interval duration between the end time and the start time, and take a time period between the communication time and a time distant from the communication time by the actual measurement interval duration as an available communication time period.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises an external interference determination module 1212 for determining a measured time interval between any end time and a first start time thereafter within the continuous time period; acquiring a preset pulse period and a preset pulse width of a current electric stimulation mode in a program controller, and if the error between the actual measurement time interval and the preset time interval obtained by subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period exceeds an error threshold value, determining an available communication time period not based on all ending moments and all starting moments determined in the continuous time period; or determining each measured time interval between a preset number of end moments and the first start moment after the preset number of end moments from all end moments and all start moments in the determined continuous time period; and acquiring a preset pulse period and a preset pulse width of the current electric stimulation mode in the program controller, and if the error between any actual measurement time interval and the preset time interval obtained by subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period exceeds an error threshold value, determining an available communication time period not based on all ending moments and all starting moments determined in the continuous time period.

The implementation process of the functions and roles of each module in the above device is specifically shown in the implementation process of the corresponding steps in the above method, and will not be described herein again.

For the device embodiments, reference is made to the description of the method embodiments for the relevant points, since they essentially correspond to the method embodiments. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the modules illustrated as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as modules may or may not be physical, i.e., may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network modules. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purposes of the present description. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and implement the present invention without undue burden.

The present specification also provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which when executed by a processor performs the steps of any one of the foregoing wireless communication methods provided by the present application.

In particular, computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices), magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disk or removable disks), magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication for a neurostimulator, the method being applied to a programmer controlling the neurostimulator, the neurostimulator being configured with a receive coil for both wireless communication and wireless powering between the neurostimulator and the programmer, the method comprising:

Determining an available communication period based on at least one end time and at least one start time, wherein the neurostimulator does not generate an electrical stimulation pulse during the available communication period;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining all end times at which the first change in the power state occurs and all start times at which the second change in the power state occurs over the continuous period of time comprises:

determining all end moments of a first change of the power supply state and all start moments of a second change of the power supply state in a continuous time period after the power supply starts when the programmer starts to supply power to the nerve stimulator; or alternatively

And under the condition that the program controller needs to communicate with the nerve stimulator, determining all ending moments of the first change of the power supply state and all starting moments of the second change of the power supply state in a continuous time period before communication.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

And under the condition that the electric stimulation mode of the nerve stimulator is switched, all ending moments of the first change of the power supply state and all starting moments of the second change of the power supply state in the continuous time period are redetermined, and the available communication time period is determined based on the redetermined at least one ending moment and at least one starting moment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the available communication time period based on the at least one end time and the at least one start time comprises:

Determining an actual measurement pulse period and an actual measurement pulse width of the nerve stimulator in a current electric stimulation mode based on a first end time, a first start time and a second end time which are adjacent in sequence, and determining an end time and an adjacent start time thereof after the second end time according to the second end time, the actual measurement pulse period and the actual measurement pulse width; or alternatively

Determining an actual measurement pulse period and an actual measurement pulse width of the nerve stimulator in a current electric stimulation mode based on a second starting time, a third ending time and a third starting time which are adjacent in sequence, and determining an ending time and an adjacent starting time which are positioned after the third starting time according to the third starting time, the actual measurement pulse period and the actual measurement pulse width;

And for the determined end time and the adjacent start time, determining the time period between each end time and the first start time after the end time as the available communication time period corresponding to the end time.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

After determining the available communication period, calculating an accumulated error between a first clock of the programmer and a second clock of the neurostimulator;

and if the accumulated error exceeds an error threshold, correcting the first clock so as to keep the first clock and the second clock synchronous, and redefining the available communication time period.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the position of the substrate comprises,

The determining all end moments when the power supply state changes first and all start moments when the power supply state changes second in the continuous time period comprises: determining the end time of the first change of the power supply state and the start time of the first second change of the power supply state after the end time of the first change of the power supply state in the continuous time period;

The determining the available communication time period based on the at least one end time and the at least one start time includes: and determining the communication time when the power supply state is changed in a first mode and the actual measurement interval duration between the ending time and the starting time, and taking the time period between the communication time and the time which is separated from the communication time by the actual measurement interval duration as the available communication time period.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

Determining a measured time interval between any end time and a first start time thereafter within the continuous time period; acquiring a preset pulse period and a preset pulse width of a current electric stimulation mode in a program controller, and if the error between the actual measurement time interval and the preset time interval obtained by subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period exceeds an error threshold value, determining an available communication time period not based on all ending moments and all starting moments determined in the continuous time period; or alternatively

Determining each measured time interval between a preset number of end moments and the first start moment after the preset number of end moments from all end moments and all start moments in the determined continuous time period; and acquiring a preset pulse period and a preset pulse width of the current electric stimulation mode in the program controller, and if the error between any actual measurement time interval and the preset time interval obtained by subtracting the preset pulse width from the preset pulse period exceeds an error threshold value, determining an available communication time period not based on all ending moments and all starting moments determined in the continuous time period.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein,

The program controller further comprises a first envelope detection module and a first power supply state detection module, wherein the input end of the first envelope detection module is connected to the output end of a transmitting coil of the program controller and is used for identifying the envelope of the transmitting waveform of the transmitting coil, and the output end of the first envelope detection module is connected to the input end of the first power supply state detection module so as to detect the power supply state based on the envelope output by the first envelope detection module by the first power supply state detection module; or alternatively

The program controller further comprises a second envelope detection module, a first current sampling module and a second power supply state detection module, wherein the input end of the second envelope detection module is connected to the output end of the first current sampling module between the inversion circuit of the program controller and the transmitting coil of the program controller and used for collecting the envelope of the alternating current waveform on the first current sampling module, and the output end of the second envelope detection module is connected to the input end of the second power supply state detection module so as to detect the power supply state by the second power supply state detection module based on the envelope output by the second envelope detection module; or alternatively

The program controller further comprises a third power supply state detection module, wherein a first output end of the power supply module of the program controller is connected to an input end of the inverter circuit, an output end of the inverter circuit is connected to a transmitting coil of the program controller, and a second output end of the power supply module is connected to an input end of the third power supply state detection module so that the third power supply state detection module detects the power supply state based on the direct current voltage output by the power supply module; or alternatively

The program controller further comprises a second current sampling module and a fourth power supply state detection module, wherein the output end of the power supply module of the program controller is connected to the input end of the second current sampling module, the first output end of the second current sampling module is connected to the input end of the inverter circuit, the output end of the inverter circuit is connected to the input end of the transmitting coil of the program controller, and the second output end of the second current sampling module is connected to the input end of the fourth power supply state detection module so that the fourth power supply state detection module detects the power supply state based on the direct current collected by the second current sampling module.

9. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the processor implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when the program is executed.

10. A computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, characterized in that the program, when being executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.