KR100596540B1 - Apparatus for stimulate a vagus nerve using electric pulses - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device capable of inducing alpha waves of brain waves by stimulating vagus nerve bifurcatations distributed therein by applying an electric pulse to the skin of the human ear, and the vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention supplies power. Battery; A voltage converter converting the power from the battery into a voltage having a predetermined value set from 0 mV to 100 mV; A low frequency generator for generating a low frequency of a predetermined value set at 1 Hz to 100 Hz based on the voltage from the voltage converter; A button input unit having a power / function button and a setting button; A display for displaying a value set by an operation of a button input unit; A microprocessor controlling the frequency of the low frequency generator and the voltage of the voltage setting unit by a value set by the button input unit; And a magnetic pole having a plurality of contact terminals for applying the low frequency generated by the low frequency generator to the bifurcation of the human ear.

According to the present invention, the vagus nerve stimulator can be implemented in the form of jewelry, such as earrings and necklaces, it is possible to directly stimulate the two branches of the vagus nerve through the ear wheels of the human body for a long time.

Description

Apparatus for stimulate a vagus nerve using electric pulses}

Figure 1a shows one embodiment of the vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention.

Figure 1b shows the wearing state of the vagus nerve stimulator implemented in the form of earrings.

Figure 1c shows the wearing state of the vagus nerve stimulator implemented in the form of a necklace.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention.

♣ Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ♣

10: electric pulse generator 20: stimulation unit

30: battery 40: voltage converter

50: button input unit 60: microprocessor

70: display 80: low frequency generator

The present invention relates to a device for stimulating the vagus nerve of the human body with an electric pulse, and in particular, a device capable of stimulating two vagus nerves distributed therein by applying an electric pulse to the skin of the human ear to induce an alpha wave of the brain wave. It is about.

The vagus nerve stimulator according to the prior art has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and used for the treatment of epilepsy and depression, and the vagus nerve neck region is targeted for stimulation. In addition, the vagus nerve stimulator has been reported to be effective in treating obesity in patients with epilepsy. In the vagus cervical branch stimulation, the vagus nerve takes the awakening information of the lower organs into the cerebrum and serves as a transmission channel for transmitting control signals, and there is a frequency dependence on the electrical stimulation. It is reported that there is a difference that causes asynchronous.

Vagus neural branch electrical stimulation involves incision directly on the skin, exposing the vagus nerve region, and wound the electric body coil and attaching the microchip to the outside, so the procedure cost, reoperation for battery replacement, skin incision There are a number of problems such as permanent scars caused by the risk, the risk of seriously affecting the heart during surgery, and the mental stress of the patient following the surgery.

On the other hand, there is a report on the treatment of diseases caused by vagus stimulation of the vagus nerve in oriental medicine. In other words, oriental medicine reports that acupuncture on both ears treated obesity, pain and internal organ disease. According to such acupuncture in oriental medicine, the theoretical basis of oriental medicine prioritizes the approach to qi and blood, so it cannot overlook the role of stimulation conduction by nerves and fails to suggest an accurate theoretical theory of treatment. However, in Asian medicine, the area where the acupuncture is performed for the treatment of obesity, pain and internal organs is the site where the vagus nerve branch is responsible for stimulation conduction. It is by no means irrelevant that the therapeutic effect of administering this drug has an excellent effect on the treatment of obesity.

On the other hand, recently, the method of inducing alpha waves, by injecting light and sound with a certain period of time to both eyes and ears to induce EEG synchronization of the central nervous system or EEG synchronization by irradiating a magnetic field directly from outside the skull to the inside How to guide is introduced. However, these methods have very short synchronization-inducing effects even during long-term stimulation, and the effects are not immediate because they induce brain waves by indirect delivery rather than direct delivery of stimuli into cerebral cells. Therefore, there is a problem that the reaction does not continue even when the stimulus is continued, and thus it cannot be appropriately used as a therapeutic device for treating many diseases having a common cause in the human body stress or arousal reaction.

The present invention was created to solve the above problems, the only one of the vagus nerve known to be directly involved in the synchronization of the EEG is located near the skin to take the two sides of the ear most easily accessible to a specific frequency and By continuously applying the electric stimulation of the intensity, it can efficiently induce alpha waves due to EEG response, and can treat numerous chronic diseases caused by decreased or slowed vagus nerve control and can be easily carried by users. Its purpose is to provide a vagus nerve stimulator.

In order to achieve the above objects, the vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention is a battery for supplying power; A voltage converter converting the power from the battery into a voltage having a predetermined value set from 0mV to 100mV; A low frequency generator for generating a low frequency of a predetermined value set at 1 Hz to 100 Hz based on the voltage from the voltage converter; A button input unit having a power / function button and a setting button; A display for displaying a value set by an operation of the button input unit; A microprocessor for controlling the frequency of the low frequency generator and the voltage of the voltage setting unit by a value set by the button input unit; And vagus nerve stimulator comprising a plurality of contact terminals for applying the low-frequency generated by the low-frequency generator to the two branches of the human ear, wherein the magnetic pole portion is formed in the form of ear ring pressing the human ear from both sides It is achieved by a vagus nerve stimulator characterized in that.

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On the other hand, the above object, in order to achieve the above object, the vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention is a battery for supplying power; A voltage converter converting the power from the battery into a voltage having a predetermined value set from 0mV to 100mV; A low frequency generator for generating a low frequency of a predetermined value set at 1 Hz to 100 Hz based on the voltage from the voltage converter; A button input unit having a power / function button and a setting button; A display for displaying a value set by an operation of the button input unit; A microprocessor for controlling the frequency of the low frequency generator and the voltage of the voltage setting unit by a value set by the button input unit; And a stimulator having a plurality of contact terminals for applying the low frequency generated by the low frequency generator to the two branches of the human ear, wherein the stimulator has a plurality of ear rings for pressing the human ear from both sides; It is achieved by the vagus nerve stimulator to be provided as a support for supporting the plurality of earrings.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A and 2, the vagus nerve stimulator 1 according to the present invention includes an electric pulse generator 10 and a magnetic pole part 20 worn on the auricle of the human body. The electric pulse generator 10 may be implemented as a pendant in the form of an earring illustrated in FIG. 1B or a pendant in the form of a necklace illustrated in FIG. 1C, and includes a battery 30, a voltage converter 40, a low frequency generator 80, and a button input unit. 50, a display 70, and a microprocessor 60.

The value set by the operation of the button input unit 50 and the button input unit 50 including the power / function button 14 and the setting button 16 is displayed outside the housing of the pendant in which the electric pulse generator 10 is implemented. The display 70 is formed. The display 70 is preferably implemented as a liquid crystal display (LCD). Here, the shape of the pendant housing may be various applications depending on the user's taste or the design technology of the producer, the scope of the present invention is not limited to a particular type of pendant.

The components of the battery 30, the power converter 40, the low frequency generator 80, and the microprocessor 60 are provided in the housing of the pendant.

The battery 30 supplies power necessary for the operation of other components, and the voltage converter 40 is controlled by the microprocessor 60 to supply power from the battery 30 to a predetermined value set at 0 mV to 100 mV. Convert to voltage.

The low frequency generator 80 is controlled by the microprocessor 60 to generate a low frequency of a predetermined value set at 1 Hz to 100 Hz based on the voltage from the voltage converter 40. That is, the low frequency generator 80 includes an oscillator (not shown), which generates an electric pulse of a frequency desired by a user by converting a high frequency pulse from the oscillator into a frequency set in the microprocessor 60.

The microprocessor 60 controls the frequency of the low frequency generator 80 and the voltage of the voltage setting unit 40 by the value set by the operation of the button input unit 50. That is, the microprocessor 60 includes a plurality of setting modes such as a frequency setting mode, a voltage setting mode, a period setting mode, an operation time setting mode, and the like. Therefore, the microprocessor 60 turns on the power when the power / function button 14 is clicked once when the power is off, and the power / function button (when the power is on). If 14) is clicked continuously, each time it is clicked, it rotates in order of frequency setting mode, voltage setting mode, period setting mode, operation time setting mode, etc. When clicked, the power is turned OFF. Here, since the type and order of the setting mode are exemplary, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily apply to other configurations. In a state in which a specific setting mode is determined, when the user presses the setting button 16, a predetermined time unit (for example, 0.2 seconds) is converted from the value currently set in the setting mode to ascending or descending order. When it is determined that the conversion of the set value proceeds in ascending order, the conversion from the minimum value to the ascending order proceeds again when the set value reaches the maximum value of the set range.

On the other hand, the stimulation unit 20 is provided with a plurality of contact terminals 22a connected to the electric pulse generator 10 by a wire to apply the low frequency generated by the low-frequency generator to the two branches of the human ear. Magnetic pole portion 20 is preferably made of one or more earrings for pressing the human ear on both sides. If the magnetic pole portion 20 has a plurality of ear rings 22, each of the earrings are coupled to one support 24 to be integrated. In the ear ring 22, a portion of the ear pressing on both skins is rounded, and a contact piece 22a of a metal piece is provided at the center thereof. Here, since the shape of the magnetic pole unit 20 is only one embodiment, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily apply in other forms.

Hereinafter, an operation process of the vagus nerve stimulator 1 according to the present invention will be described.

First, when a user clicks on the power / function button 14 external to the electric pulse generator 10 implemented as a pendant of an earring or a necklace to turn on the power, the microprocessor 60 first sets a frequency. Mode is set. In the frequency setting mode, the microprocessor 60 displays the currently set frequency setting value through the LCD 70. The user can change the frequency setting value by pressing the setting button 16. At this time, the frequency value is preferably set to any one of 7Hz to 14Hz. The changed setting value can be confirmed through the LCD 70. When the user clicks the power / function button 14 again, the setting mode of the microprocessor 60 is switched to the voltage setting mode. In the same manner, the setting mode of the microprocessor 60 may be switched to the period setting mode and the operation time setting mode. It is possible to change the corresponding setting value using the setting button 16 in each setting mode.

When the set values are determined, the microprocessor 60 controls the frequency of the low frequency generator 80 and the voltage of the voltage converter 40 according to the set values to generate electric pulses desired by the user. The generated electric pulses are applied to the plurality of contact terminals 22a provided in the magnetic pole part 20 via wires. Therefore, when the user wears the stimulation portion 20 in the form of an ear ring 22, two branches of the vagus nerve located in his ear region are stimulated by the electric pulse generated by the electric pulse generator 10.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

According to the present invention, the vagus nerve stimulator can be implemented in the form of jewelry, such as earrings and necklaces, it is possible to directly stimulate the two branches of the vagus nerve through the ear wheels of the human body for a long time. Therefore, the user may be hypertension, circulatory disorder, diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, mania and depression, anxiety disorder, memory loss disorder, attention and concentration disorder, ischemic brain disease by stimulation of electric pulse according to the frequency and voltage set by the user. , Epilepsy, tremors and other mental illnesses, chronic arthritis and pain disorders, sleep apnea and respiratory disorders, tobacco and drug addiction and withdrawal, other substance-related disorders, digestive disorders, growth disorders, menopausal disorders, immune disorders, vagus The vagus nerve stimulator according to the present invention can be effectively used for the treatment of diseases caused by reduced or slowed control of parasympathetic nerves such as malignant cancer and aging of nerve dominant organs.

Claims (4)

delete delete A battery for supplying power; A voltage converter converting the power from the battery into a voltage having a predetermined value set from 0mV to 100mV; A low frequency generator for generating a low frequency of a predetermined value set at 1 Hz to 100 Hz based on the voltage from the voltage converter; A button input unit having a power / function button and a setting button; A display for displaying a value set by an operation of the button input unit; A microprocessor for controlling the frequency of the low frequency generator and the voltage of the voltage setting unit by a value set by the button input unit; In the vagus nerve stimulator comprising a magnetic pole having a plurality of contact terminals for applying the low frequency generated by the low frequency generator to the two branches of the human ear, The stimulator is a vagus nerve stimulator, characterized in that made of earrings for pressing the human ear from both sides. A battery for supplying power; A voltage converter converting the power from the battery into a voltage having a predetermined value set from 0mV to 100mV; A low frequency generator for generating a low frequency of a predetermined value set at 1 Hz to 100 Hz based on the voltage from the voltage converter; A button input unit having a power / function button and a setting button; A display for displaying a value set by an operation of the button input unit; A microprocessor for controlling the frequency of the low frequency generator and the voltage of the voltage setting unit by a value set by the button input unit; In the vagus nerve stimulator comprising a magnetic pole having a plurality of contact terminals for applying the low frequency generated by the low frequency generator to the two branches of the human ear, The magnetic pole part of the vagus nerve stimulator characterized in that it comprises a plurality of ear rings for pressing the human ear on both sides and a support for supporting the plurality of ear rings.

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