KR20020058658A - Electric stimulating device for medical treatment of ringing in the ears - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An electric stimulating device for treatment of tinnitus is provided to freely vary various conditions of stimulation wave kind, stimulation strength, stimulation time, and so on with a computer by verifying any pending theories and effects and effectively applying them to the treatment of tinnitus. CONSTITUTION: The electric stimulating device for treatment of tinnitus consists of a computer(10) to which features of tinnitus patients and electric stimulation protocol are input and which has a program capable of freely varying various conditions of stimulation wave kind, stimulation strength, stimulation time, and so on; an electric stimulator(20) controlled by the computer for outputting waves predetermined by the computer; and electrodes(30) connected to the electric stimulator to be inserted into several points of ears so as to apply electric stimulation to the skin of the ears.

Description

Electric stimulating device for medical treatment of ringing in the ears}

The present invention relates to an electrical stimulation device for tinnitus treatment, and more specifically, to verify the theory and effects that have not been established to date, and based on the theory and the results using the computer as an electrical stimulator effectively applied to tinnitus treatment The present invention relates to a multifunctional stimulator capable of freely changing conditions such as stimulus waveform type, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, and the like.

Tinnitus (耳鳴) refers to the tinnitus phenomena that sounds like a certain kind of sound only to the patient due to pathological stimulation of the blue nerve due to diseases, mental excitement, vascular disorders in the ear.

These tinnitus may appear and disappear for a while, may persist, or may be felt as a continuous sound.

The height of the sound varies and is usually present in one ear, or can be heard in both ears.

The most common cause of tinnitus is due to damage to the auditory nerve, which may result in some degree of degenerative change or damage in the middle age.

In recent years, exposure to loud noise is one of the most common causes of industrial noise, loud music and the use of stereo headphones.

Other causes range from simple earwax to serious illness.

Common causes of infection include infection, tympanoscopy, retention of fluid in the middle ear cavity, hardening of the middle ear bone, and serious cases include aneurysms and auditory nerve tumors.

It may also be associated with allergies, high blood pressure (sometimes hypotension), diabetes, thyroid disease, head and neck injury, drugs, and the like.

As there are various causes, there are various treatments for diagnosis. Hearing rehabilitation allows the brain to learn the patterns of disregarding tinnitus while simultaneously listening to noise and tinnitus by using medication, shielding shielding tinnitus with different sounds, and forming the nervous system. In addition, hearing aids, tension and anxiety factors, such as psychological interventions to reduce tinnitus, counseling to reduce tension, various tensions to reduce tension, diet control, surgery and the like.

On the other hand, the technical trends related to electrical stimulation so far, it is necessary to determine the appropriate dosage and treatment time of the electrical stimulation, as in the drug treatment, and the treatment method using the electrical stimulation as a field of medicine and clinical Many studies on electrotherapy have been conducted.

In particular, low intensity direct current (DC) current is used to promote bone growth and healing, and antimicrobial properties of current are used to treat infections of wounds, and blood coagulation through current stimulation. Dispersion of factors has also been used to inhibit the production of thrombosis.

In addition, not only the pathological damage is treated as a target, but also the treatment of nerves, pain management, elimination of convulsions, and exercise therapy as a means of broadening its application.

Looking at the prior art with respect to the treatment of tinnitus using the above-described electrical stimulation with reference to Figure 1 as follows.

Since there have been reports of the phenomenon of suppressing tinnitus using conventional electric stimulation, many studies have been conducted and the characteristics of the electric stimulation used for the treatment of tinnitus are summarized in some.

Induction of auditory sense occurred when the characteristic of current was Gavanic (DC) anodal (+) and the voltage was below 1V, and the current was 1.5 ~ 8.8mA of external Gavanic (DC) and the duration according to the degree of current flow in the part of tinnitus Anodal (-) tinnitus relief was observed when electrical stimulation was applied with the

And when electric stimulation is applied to the inside of the inner ear (4, round window) and crustal bump (6, promontory) with 50 ~ 500Hz waveform of current of positive anodal (DC), the result shows It may be accompanied.

When AC and DC currents of 50-300 Hz were stimulated in the windows 4 for 18 months, 4 out of 5 patients had tinnitus relief, and DC 50-100 μm had a voltage and biphasic polarity of up to 36V and 1-2 Hz. When the electrical stimulation with the wave was applied to the acupuncture site for 24 seconds to 2 minutes, 60% of tinnitus relief was shown.

The effect of tinnitus relief was increased when AC current of 62 ~ 8000Hz waveform was applied to the tympanic membrane (7). Tinnitus relief was also observed when anodal (DC) current was applied to the percutaneous and cochlear impair patients.

In addition, if the electrical stimulation with a voltage of 1V and a waveform of 1 ~ 1.5KHz is continuously applied to the eardrum 7 and the garden window 4, tinnitus relief appears after a long time, and 1.7V is applied to the anodla (DC) maximum 30mA current. If you apply the electric stimulation to the yolk projection for more than 1 hour a day with the phase polarity and the waveform of 0.05 ~ 2Hz with the voltage, the tinnitus is reduced after 1 month, and the electric stimulation shows the waveform of 25 ~ 100Hz. When applied to the garden window (4) or yangyang vein (3) by 1 hour or more per day shows the effect of reducing tinnitus after a long period of time.

However, the characteristics of the electrical stimulation described above appeared when various kinds of stimulation characteristics were presented without reference or basis. The reason for this was that the study on the process of transmitting sound in the auditory organ was insufficient, and thus the treatment condition was accordingly. There was a lack of uniformity in the setting of and the theoretical and quantitative characteristics of the lesioned site were not understood.

The solution to the above problems is a method of understanding life through one electrical or mechanical modeling. When studies on the modeling of such a biological system have been conducted, the electrical stimulation for the diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus more objectively However, in Korea, research on tinnitus remains at the basic level of clinical diagnosis and drug treatment, and there are no attempts using electric stimulation.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when the electrical stimulation of various characteristics is applied, it detects and analyzes changes in each part of the auditory system to determine the conditions of the electrical stimulation that caused the normal and tinnitus frequency, current intensity, An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical stimulation device for tinnitus treatment that can set various parameters such as phase, duration of stimulation.

The present invention also classifies normal people and tinnitus patients, sets the appropriate electrical stimulation conditions for tinnitus patients, establishes the most appropriate treatment methods and principles, and conditions such as types of stimulation waveforms, stimulation intensity, and stimulation time for tinnitus treatment. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical stimulation device for tinnitus treatment that can freely change.

The technical configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object is a computer that stores a program that can freely change the type of stimulation waveform, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, etc., the characteristics of tinnitus patients and protocols of the electrical stimulation treatment is input; ,

An electric stimulator controlled by the computer and outputting a waveform of a characteristic set by the computer;

It is composed of an electrode connected to the electrical stimulator is inserted into each part of the ear or touches the surface to apply electrical stimulation and detect the movement.

1 is an internal view of a human ear.

2 is a view showing the overall structure according to the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of the electrical stimulator in FIG. 2.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: earlobe 2:

3: mammary glands 4: garden window

5: cochlea 6: crustacean

7: tympanic membrane 8: temporal bone

10 computer 20 electric stimulator

21 microprocessor 22 stimulation period control circuit

23: voltage regulator 24: oscillation circuit

25: high voltage generator 26: rectifier circuit

27: switching circuit 30: electrode

32: needle electrode 34: cochlear implant

36: ball electrode A: ear

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, FIGS. 1 to 3.

1 is an internal view of a human ear.

2 is a view showing the overall structure according to the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of the electrical stimulator in FIG. 2.

First, the present invention provides a computer 10 having stored therein a program capable of freely changing the type of stimulus waveform, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, etc., with characteristics of tinnitus patients and protocols for electric stimulation treatment;

An electric stimulator 20 controlled by the computer 10 and outputting a waveform of a characteristic set by the computer 10;

It is connected to the electrical stimulator 20 includes an electrode 30 which is inserted into each part of the ear (A) or touches the surface to apply an electrical stimulation and detect the movement.

Electrical stimulation device for the treatment of tinnitus according to the present invention is an electrode 30, which can be largely attached to the ear (A), the electrical stimulator 20 including a power supply, a constant current source, the type of stimulation waveform, the intensity of stimulation, It is divided into a computer 10 that can freely set and adjust the stimulation time and the like.

In the computer 10, the characteristics of tinnitus patients and the protocols of the electrical stimulation treatment are programmed and input according to the previous studies, so that the user can easily change the conditions of the stimulus waveform, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, etc. according to the patient. have.

That is, a program that can freely change the stimulus waveform type, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, etc. using the Visual C-Language is stored, and the user can apply it according to the patient's condition. By looking at the graphical characteristics of the Visual C-language, users can easily use different types of stimuli.

The program consists of a process in which sound is transmitted from the ear canal to the auditory nerve in the auditory system as an electrical circuit, and is established by measuring and analyzing current and voltage at each region where the electrode 30 is located through animal experiments. The electrical model for the system is entered.

In addition, since the computer 10 controls, the patient's basic information, medical history, and state can be stored so that the process of performing the treatment can be observed while changing the appropriate electrical stimulation conditions.

The electric stimulator 20 outputs the characteristics of the electric stimulation already programmed, and may implement sine wave, triangular wave, and square wave waveforms and single phase and higher pulses.

The pulse width is in the range of 0.1 sec to 2 min, the pulse interval is 1 Hz to 1 KHz, and the stimulus intensity is 50 mA to 30 mA.

The electrical stimulator 20 is controlled by the computer 10 and can output waveforms of various characteristics set by the user in the computer 10.

In FIG. 3, the microprocessor 21 of the electric stimulator 20 has a waveform of sine waves, triangle waves, square waves, and pulses of single phase and single phase or more, or pulse widths in a range of 0.1 sec to 2 min, and pulse intervals of 1 Hz to program. 1KHz, the stimulus intensity is 50㎂ ~ 30mA to make the stimulation pulse and control the start and stop of the stimulus by receiving the switch input.

The magnitude of the voltage is determined according to the signal from the voltage regulator 23, and the input of the pulse input from the oscillation circuit 24 is stepped up by the high voltage generator 25.

The boosted current is converted into a direct current in the rectifying circuit 26, and the switching circuit 27 receives a pulse of a characteristic generated in the microprocessor 21 into a stimulus pulse waveform, and this stimulus pulse is output through the electrode 30. .

The electrode 30 is made to suit the shape and characteristics of the shape of each part of the ear (A).

Inserted into the tympanum (7), such as a cochlear implant (34), to directly irritate the garden window (4) or the mammary vessel (3), and a surface made to stimulate the percutaneous region or the mammary projection (2). Divided into electrodes.

In this case, when the insertion electrode is used, various electric stimuli should be applied according to the degree of occurrence and characteristics of tinnitus, and the stimulation sites are classified according to lesions, and thus, various types of electrodes 30 should be provided.

For example, when a thin film such as a round window or an ear drum and a very fine movement must be detected, a spherical ball electrode 36 is used. Cochlear implants (34, cochlear implant) is used to position the electrode 30 in the cochlear wall or cochlear tube 5.

In addition, a needle electrode (32, needle electrode) is used when inserting a site such as ear lobe, a mastoid or a mastoid or a promontory and percutaneous insertion.

When the electrical stimulation device is connected by wire and inputs the patient's information and medical history to the computer 10, the characteristics of the electrical stimulation to be applied according to the patient's tinnitus state are selected from the programmed functions.

The computer 10 then controls the electrical stimulator 20 through the serial communication protocol port of RS232C.

The electric stimulator 20 outputs various types of electric stimuli to the electrode 30 which is selected and connected according to a portion to which various types of electrodes 30 are connected and applied.

As described above, the computer 10 has a built-in program that can freely change the type of stimulus waveform, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, etc. using visual C-language, and can simply change each variable.

The present invention is to observe the changes in the auditory system when administering drugs to treat tinnitus and to present a variety of electrical stimulation through experiments to understand the principle of the occurrence of tinnitus and to treat it.

In addition, since the study of the classification of tinnitus patients and researches to establish the most suitable treatment methods and principles for tinnitus patients has been pre-programmed, the data of the most suitable electrical stimulation according to the characteristics of tinnitus are embedded in the data. B. Experts can easily apply the history of tinnitus patients and a few simple tests.

As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to set various current intensities, frequencies, phases, durations of stimulation, and the like to effectively and accurately use electric stimulation therapy consistently intermittently attempted in the diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus. To make it possible.

In addition, by monitoring the trend of tinnitus decreases over time, it is possible to follow the treatment process of patients and standardize various current electrical stimulation methods, which may have different results depending on the applied area and stimulus characteristics. This allows the development of new treatment and diagnostic systems that complement the advantages and disadvantages of current electrical stimulation methods.

In addition, tinnitus treatment device using the electrical stimulation made of the present invention can be easily installed and used for the diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus in a small hospital, etc. basically by using computer equipment.

Claims (5)

A computer with stored programs that can change the type of stimulus waveform, stimulus intensity, stimulation time, etc. An electric stimulator controlled by the computer and outputting a waveform of a characteristic set by the computer; An electrical stimulation device for treating tinnitus comprising an electrode connected to the electrical stimulator and inserted into each part of the ear or touching the surface to apply electrical stimulation and detect movement. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveform output from the electrical stimulator is an electrical stimulation device for tinnitus treatment, characterized in that one of the sine wave, triangular wave, square wave. 3. The tinnitus treatment electrical stimulation according to claim 1, wherein the pulse width of the waveform output to the electrical stimulator is in the range of 0.1 sec to 2 min, the pulse interval is 1 Hz to 1 KHz, and the stimulus intensity is 50 Hz to 30 mA. Device. The electrical stimulation device for tinnitus treatment according to claim 1, wherein the program uses visual C-language. The method according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the program consists of a single electrical circuit in which the sound is transmitted from the ear canal to the auditory nerve in the auditory system to measure the current and voltage at each site where the electrode is located through animal testing. The electrical stimulation device for tinnitus treatment, characterized in that the electrical model for the auditory system established by analyzing the input.