GB2420079A

GB2420079A - Electrostimulation diagnosis apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2420079A
Application number: GB0523244A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ricardo Cuminetti; Rodney Stuart Robinson
Original assignee: BIOPHYSICAL MEDICINES Ltd
Current assignee: BIOPHYSICAL MEDICINES Ltd
Priority date: 2004-11-16
Filing date: 2005-11-15
Publication date: 2006-05-17
Also published as: GB0523244D0; GB0425222D0

Abstract

Apparatus for facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques comprising means for enabling interrogation of a data bank of protocols representing a plurality of treatment protocols to establish a subset of the treatment relating to a particular medical condition perceived as a result of symptons exhibited by a person to be treated, means for producing for each of the protocols included in the subset an electrical signal characteristic of its associated protocol, applying said electric signals to the person to be treated to test the response of such person to the applied signals, and means for enabling adjustment of the parameters of the signals so as to accord with a suitable response from the person to be treated when the adjusted signals are used for treatment purposes.

Description

MEASUREMENT APPARATUS

This invention relates to electronic measurement apparatus.

More particularly the present invention relates to electronic apparatus for use with the medical therapeutic procedures involving transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS or TNS).

This form of treatment involves the passage of electrical pulses into the body by means of electrodes applied to regions of the surface/skin, and has historically been adopted for the for the control of chronic pain and also in other pain related circumstances such as in the control of acute pain as can arise in relation to arthritic joint disorders and during childbirth.

Beneficial results have been obtained following utilisation of electrostimulation as a treatment activity in the management of symptoms associated with a persons attempts at withdrawal from usage of a variety/range of addictive substances.

In particular, whilst the effectiveness of utilisation of electrostimulation in 1 5 treating opiate addiction may be regarded as being in its infancy even though clinical reports published, for example, during the 1970s have indicated that electrostimulation administered as electroacupuncture could be effective However, ongoing assessments of such applications of electrostimulation have hitherto been hampered by the non availability of apparatus/equipment specifically directed to the establishment of the appropriate electrical stimulatory signals required for any particular treatment apparatus, and the establishment of the interrelationships between the appropriate therapeutic electrostimulation procedures required arising from the utilisation of diagnostic and therapeutic methods broadly recognised under the general heading alternative medicine and which are presently making inroads into the arena of traditional medicine by advocating drug free electrostimulation in activities such as the above mentioned treatment of withdrawal symptoms suffered by persons endeavouring to abstain from the use of the various addictive substances such as are commonly used today.

On such alternative medicine therapeutic and treatment regime involving electrostimulation as its central activity is collectively presently known under the name Biophysical Solutions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means and methods for facilitating the utilisation of electrostimulation and particularly in relation to Biophysical Solutions.

Broadly, according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques, the method involving the steps of interrogating a person to whom treatment is to be applied to establish 1 5 the condition to be treated, to establish, from a data bank of protocols each associated with an electrical signal(s) and each relating to medical conditions to which electrostimulation techniques have proved appropriate, a first subset of possible signals appropriate to the condition diagnosed, using the signals of the first subset to effect test measurements to establish on the basis of such measurements a second subset of electrical signals suitable for actual use for the condition to be treated.

Preferably the method includes the steps of interrogating the person to be treated to establish the nature of the condition to be treated and establishing from the data bank of protocols a subset of protocols relating to the perceived medical condition to be treated.

Conveniently, the method includes the step of producing an electrical signal representative of each such protocol of the subset, and applying the signals to a person to be treated to assess the reaction of the person to each such signal Preferably the interrogation involves a question and answer relationship between the person to be treated and the person undertaking the treatment, and a further question and answer relationship between the person undertaking the treatment and a computer generated display serving to provide suggestions and indications of the merits of the particular treatment protocols proposed so as to provide guidance to the person undertaking the treatment throughout a treatment process.

In practice the parameters of the electrical signals are adjusted so that each signal it is proposed to use accords with the person's response As an aspect of the invention the adjustment of the signal parameters involves adjustment of the current, voltage, and/or frequency of the electrical signals in such manner as to establish for each signal its required parameters.

1 5 In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques comprising means for enabling interrogation of a data bank of protocols representing a plurality of treatment protocols to establish a subset of the treatment relating to a particular medical condition perceived as a result of symptons exhibited by a person to be treated, means for producing for each of the protocols included in the subset an electrical signal characteristic of its associated protocol, applying said electric signals to the person to be treated to test the response of such person to the applied signals, and means for enabling adjustment of the parameters of the signals so that they accord with a suitable response from the person to be treated when the adjusted signals are used for treatment purposes.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how to carry the same into effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 schematically illustrates in simple block diagrammatic form apparatus incorporating the concepts of the invention, and Figure 2 illustrates diadrammatically a sequence of operational stages involved in the use of the apparatus of Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure I, the apparatus of the invention incorporates a microcontroller unit 1, a display unit 2 connected to receive output from an output 3 of the microcontroller unit. The apparatus also includes an operator control panel 4 incorporating a number of operator control buttons 5 identified as schematically indicated in the Figure, the buttons being separately coupled to the unit I, by input lines 6.

The microcontroller unit and the display receive operational power from an appropriate electrical supply 7. In practice, this can comprise a battery or an 1 5 appropnate interface (not shown) whereby the power can be obtained from an electricity supply mains.

If desired a printer 8 can connected to receive output via an output 9 from the microcontroller unit 1.

The electrical treatment signals derived from the microcontroller bay way of an output cable 10 connect with at least on signal application electrode 11 by means of which such output signals can be applied to a surface/skin region of a person.

The Figure 1 schematically illustrates a group of four such electrodes 11. (not shown) Each electrode is adapted for electrically coupling with said body surface/skin region. The connection of the electrodes II to a person can include a flexible portion that can be attached to a patient's skin in such manner that the electrode is located at a desired position. The microcontroller unit I inter aba includes electrical circuitry not separately shown) for producing electrical input signals of selectable voltage/current intensity levels in combination with electable frequency levels In addition, means are provided for enabling combinations of the voltage, current intensity and frequency levels to be adjusted so as to be appropriate signals for a particular treatment regime involved with the use of the equipment In addition, the unit I Incorporates a data storage facility for storing a plurality of reference signals each such reference signal being characteristic of a defined protocol or a range of protocols involved with a selected treatment regime for the body region or regions to which electrostimulation is to be applied 11 will he understood that appropriate software will be provided to enable the production of 1 5 signals in accordance with programmed protocols.

The apparatus also incorporates means whereby the signals being applied to a body region can be continuously compared with the stored protocol signal levels and characteristics, and means for enabling adjustment of the input signals being applied to said regions so as to bring such signals into concordance with protocol signal levels that have been determined as suitable for the person being treated In order to be able to monitor and effect such signal comparison in the apparatus, the apparatus as shown incorporates a display unit 4 to which the outputs corresponding to the input signals being produced at the electrodes from the unit I are applied by way of a connection line 5. The display unit 4 incorporates means for producing a visual and/or audible indication of the electrostimulation signals level being used also incorporates means that enables the input signals to be modified where necessary to bring them into concordance with the reference protocol signals.

The display unit includes controls for enabling such adjustment of the signals being used. In the Figure the controls are schematically illustrated as a series of push buttons 5, these being individually identified in the Figure as Y N 1 2 3.

These buttons are associated with circuitry which enables suitable control of the output signals being produced by the microprocessor unit and being fed to the electrodes in such manner that they can be adjusted to bring them into line with a required associated protocol signal level(s)/characteristic(s) It will be appreciated that whilst a group of controls has been indicated as being push buttons any suitable form of control facility can be used such as, for example, a keyboard, a touch screen, a voice response control system etc. The apparatus as so far considered is broadly used in the following manner.

Initially a question and answer dialogue is undertaken between the operator of the apparatus and a person to whom the application of a treatment utilising the apparatus is contemplated.

1 5 This dialogue involves the operator asking the the person (on the basis of experience and practice) upon to whom a treatment is possibly to be applied a series of question designed to elucidate the illness/condition etc.,, to be treated.

This dialogue essentially involves a series of question calling for a Yes or No response. On receipt of a Yes response the operator presses the Y key. This action causes the microprocessor to transfer from its main storage facility a associated response. In the Figure 2 this main storage facility is identified a a series of separate elements and is identified as ALL OPTIONS.

On receipt of a No response the microprocessor transfer from its main storage facility an appropriate protocol.

This question and answer process is continued until the operator is satisfied that he has established all of the relevant symptoms and thus the nature of the medical condition to be treated.

As a result of the questioning and answering process the microprocessor effectively produces a first subset of seemingly appropriate group of treatment signals protocols in the form of a subset derived from the main data store.

It will be understood that each response from the microprocessor unit would be displayed at the display unit. Also if though necessary an ongoing printout of each microprocessor response arising during the question and answer dialogue.

Once the operator is satisfied that all of the possible relevant questions have been asked he than connects the electrodes to the person to be treated at those places of the body at which experience has indicated as being appropriate for the medical condition at that time established.

It will be understood that the data storage facility of the microcontroller unit could 1 5 store data that indicates the position at which electrodes with advantage could be applied.

Once the electrodes have been applied the operator makes a judgement in relation to the electrical currenlJvoltage value ranges related to a particular first subset element as to the signal values to be applied to the electrodes.

After which on the basis of the measurements made relative establishes from the first subset a narrowed down range of treatment protocols actually to be used.

This is illustrated in the Figure 2 as a reduced number of treatment protocols to be used.

It will be appreciated that the microcontroller unit can be so programmed that during the measurement and any subsequent treatment process can produce outputs at the display providing suggestions and indications of the merits of the treatment to give guidance to the operator throughout a treatment process.

From the above it will be appreciated that the apparatus enables a practitioner to be guided through the steps of the particular elecirostimulation procedures involved during the application of a particular treatment regime by ensuring that the practitioner is provided with a succession of indications on the display in such manner that practitioner is able to adjustlmodify his perceptions of the treatment 1 0 required and thus to be able to adjust the electrical characteristics of the signals being used in such manner that the signals actually fed to the electrodes align with the protocol signals levels required throughout a treatment regime.

An application and use of the above described apparatus will be considered in relation to a number of practical treatment situations. In such consideration an 1 5 indication will be given of the nature the treatment stages involved and various visual responses provided by the apparatus during its use to assist a user in satisfactorily effecting a diagnosis and treatment.

On the switching of the apparatus an introductory screen and a few seconds pause, the screen will ask: HAS THE PREVIOUS TREATMENT BEEN INTERRUPTED? Yes/No) If the answer is Yes, then some questions will be asked; upon answering Yes or No, to these further questions suggestions will be given on the display as to how to proceed. After these, or if the answer is No, the unit will prompt a menu:

I - PRECAUTIONS

2- SYMPTOMS RATING 3 HANDS-FEET MEAS.

Press button 1, 2 or 3 of the apparatus according to choice

MENU CHOICE I- PRECAUTIONS

This option will start a sequence of questions on the possible slate of the patient for example: a question such as IS THERE A METAL PROSTHESIS? or IS THERE A HISTORY OF EPILEPSY? The user responds to such suggestions by pressing the Y' (yes) button or the N' (no) button in reply.

There will also be a request for confirmation of the reply in case of errors.

If the answer is Y' then a recommendation will appear on the screen to guarantee the best approach for that particular patient.

For example, if the second question above had been answered with Y' then the display unit would display the recommendation for a suitable frequency (in HZ) for the input signals namely:-:

ONLY USE

IOIIZOR2.5HZ After each recommendation press any key/button to proceed. A button has also to be pressed when messages require more than one full screen of display, indicated by two hyphens at the end of the message At the end of this first sequence of questions, a menu will appear again upon the display.

MENU CHOICE 2- SYMPTOMS RATING If this choice is made, the screen will show a sequence of questions of the type: ANY SLEEP PROBLEMS? or ANY PANIC ATTACKS? Followed by the prompt: NO (N) OR GRADE 1-3 The required action is to press N' if the symptom is not present in the patient or S press one of the buttons labelled I to 3 as a grading of the severity of the symptom. At the end of the procedure, the unit will automatically proceed to a conductivity measurement between the hands and will display the message:

CONNECT FOUR-WIRE

FIARNESS TO HANDS

AND FEET ELECTRODES

PRESS Y' TO CONTINuE Follow the instructions in the Hands and feet measurement' section and press Y, to start the procedure. The unit will then ask you to wait while the measurement is being taken. At the end of this phase, the unit will prompt:

MERIDIAN SYMPTOMS

LIST? (YIN) This option allows the practitioner to test for specific physical symptoms that are related to meridian functions. The treatment of particular meridians could be appropriate in some cases mentioned in a list of symptoms that require the usual answer of Yes or No. At the end of this list or if the answer is No, treatment suggestions will be displayed in three screens: First screen: suggestions for preliminary treatment of ear points with light probe (if available) The display screen will be of the type:

LDJERMC

INSOMNIA, PSYCH -- LD stands for LED treatment, and points are abbreviated as follows: JER = Jerome MCMaster Cerebral PSYCH= Psychosomatic TRAGTragus PTZ=Point Zero ANTID=Antidepression BilBilateral Unil=Unilateral OM2Omega2 SH-MShen-Men Other points are abbreviated as from standard acupuncture nomenclature. The light treatment is given at 10Hz.

Press any button to proceed to: Second screen: The second screen will specify the suggested treatment frequency for electrical stimulation with a 401 unit, as: FREQ. 10+1 1HZ Press any button to proceed to:

I

Third display screen The display screen will give the suggested application points for the four output channels (connecting with the electrodes) of the apparatus, as: CHI - MC + SH-M Unil C112 - 5t36 CH3 Spzl CH4-K6 MENU CHOICE 3- HANDS-FEET MEASUREMENTS The choice of this menu will generate the prompts shown before, following which conductivity measurements will be taken. The results of this measurement, taken for a quick check, will only inform the practitioner of the presence or otherwise of asymmetries in the conductivity measurements, to be dealt with as from the instruction course.

Procedure for Hands-Feet measurement 1 5 Connect the four-wire harness to the apparatus by plugging it in an associated four way connector (one connector for each electrode) on the apparatus Connect the other ends of the harness to the four hand holdable electrodes and have the patient hold a selected pair of the hand holdable electrodes in the patient's hands and position the remaining hand holdable electrodes beneath and in contact with the balls of the patient's feet.

In practice it has been found to help the treatment processes if the patient's hands and feet are moistened with a damp tissue and quickly brushed dry again.

Once everything is in place and settled, the operator can press the Y' button After pressing Y' the display will show a time bar while the measurements are being taken; this period Will nd when the measurements will have been assessed and the display will follow as explained herein before.

The above described apparatus can be associated with a printer so that the various menu instructions, prompts, and signals data can, if desired be printed for record purposes.

In this specification the term meridian is used in the traditional sense relating to lines of energy existing within the body. The major meridians of the body are considered as lines of energy radiating from the organs to the distal parts of the body via a series of acupuncture points. The ends of each meridian are connected to other meridians to form a complete circuit. Energy is considered to move around this circuit according to specific cycles. A number of interconnections are said to exist with other discrete meridians to form a complete network.

Each of the bilateral meridians either starts or finish on the fingers and toes.

Please refer to meridian charts in order to learn the routes of the meridian 1 5 channels.

Using electrical measurements on the skin, the major meridians can be demonstrated as lines or zones, which exhibit lower electrical resistance compared to adjacent skin.

Thus following the above observations relating to the meridian system, with an accompanying series of acupuncture points can be regarded as a DC electrical system. The meridians should be regarded as zones as opposed to the discrete line drawn on many charts. For this reason, they can be more descriptively referred to as channels.

Claims

I. A method of facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques, the method involving the steps of interrogating a person to whom treatment is to be applied to establish the condition to be treated, to establish, from a data bank of protocols each associated with an electrical signal(s) and each relating to medical conditions to which electrostimulation techniques have proved appropriate, a first subset of possible signals appropriate to the condition diagnosed, using the signals of the first subset to effect test measurements to establish on the basis of such measurements a second subset of electrical signals suitable for actual use for the condition to be treated.

2 A method as claimed in claim 1, and including the steps of interrogating the person to be treated to establish the nature of the condition to be treated and establishing from the data bank of protocols a subset of protocols relating to the perceived medical condition to be treated.

1 5 3. A method as claimed in claim 2, and in which the interrogation involves a question and answer relationship between the person to be treated and the person undertaking the treatment, and a further question and answer relationship between the person undertaking the treatment and a computer generated display serving to provided suggestions and indications of the merits of the particular treatment protocols proposed so as to provide guidance to the person undertaking the treatment throughout a treatment process.

4 A method as claimed in claim 2 or 3, and including the step of producing an electrical signal representative of each such protocol of the subset, and applying the signals to a person to be treated to assess the reaction of the person to each such signal A method as claimed in claim 4, and including the steps of adjusting the parameters of the electrical signals so that each signal it is proposed to use accords with the person's response.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, and characterised by the step of adjusting the current, voltage, andlor frequency of the electrical signals to set each signal to its required parameters.

7. Apparatus for facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques comprising means for enabling interrogation of a data bank of protocols representing a plurality of treatment protocols to establish a subset of the treatment relating to a particular medical condition perceived as a result of symptons exhibited by a person to be treated, means for producing for each of the protocols included in the subset an electrical signal characteristic of its associated protocol, applying said electric signals to the person to be treated to test the response of such person to the applied signals, and means for enabling adjustment of the parameters of the signals so that they accord with a suitable response from the person to be treated when the adjusted signals are used for treatment purposes.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, and wherein means are provided for establishing a second subset of of those protocols established as being appropriate for a treatment regime.

9. Apparatus as claimed claim 7 or 8, and including means for enabling the selective adjustment of the voltage, the Amperage, and/or frequency parameters of the electrical signals.

Apparatus for facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings. a

11. A method for facilitating the application of electrostimulation techniques as herein before described.