KR20070005982A - Implantable brain activity monitoring and electrical stimulation system - Google Patents

Abstract

A system in brain implant type for measuring nerve activity and electrical stimulation is provided to measure local action potential of brain nerve tissue, wirelessly transmit the measured potential and electrically stimulate the tissue according to external signals by inserting electrodes into a brain, gaining electrical signals from nerve tissues and adopting microfine and low power circuit for stimulating the tissue. The system comprises an implant type of device for measuring action potential and electrically stimulating, which is connected to an electrode(103) implanted in a brain and in a space behind an ear with microfine dimension. The system functions to receive and send the measured action potential information and control signals to the outside in RF mode, becomes interlocking with digital home network, mobile communication or various embedded systems in RF mode. The electrode is implanted into different motion areas in brain tissue(102), determines motion information of a user and transmits the information in wireless mode.

Description

Implantable brain activity monitoring and electrical stimulation system

1 illustrates structural features of the brain that perform different functions according to the approximate shape and regions of the brain.

Figure 2 shows a detailed view of the area performing the motor function in the brain tissue.

3 shows an electrode inserted into brain tissue and a measurement-stimulation device inserted into a space behind an ear connected thereto as an embodiment of the brain implantable measurement-stimulation system proposed in the present invention.

4 shows an electrode, a wire, an action potential measuring device, an electrical stimulation device, and a wireless communication device with the outside which are components of the implantable measuring-stimulating device.

5 shows a stimulus waveform with bidirectional potentials suitable for stimulation of neural tissue.

Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of a method of exchanging information between a measurement-stimulation device inserted into the body and various external devices.

7 shows a human-computer interface approach using an in-body insertion measurement-stimulation device.

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

101: the appearance of the human body

102: cranial nerve tissue

103: electrode inserted inside the brain tissue

104: wire connecting the inserted measurement-stimulation device and the electrode

105: measurement-stimulation device inserted in the space behind the ear

106: case of the insertion-type measurement-stimulation device

107: Brain Neural Activity Potential Measurement Module in Implant-Stimulated Device

108: Electrical Stimulation Module in Implantable Measurement-Stimulation Device

109: RF module for wireless communication with the outside in the insert measurement-stimulation device

110: battery and power supply of the insertion measurement-stimulation device

111: stimulus waveform with biphasic potential

112: mobile phone or mobile communication device

113: Digital home network terminal or set-top box

114: Doctor and user terminal for externally controlling the insertion-type measurement-stimulation device

115: PC or embedded terminal with RF communication module

The present invention relates to an implantable biopotential measurement and electrical stimulation device in the human body, and in particular, by placing the electrode in a specific region of the brain to measure the action potential of the local cranial nerve tissue, it is possible to selectively apply electrical stimulation. The present invention relates to a configuration of a device and a method for use in the treatment and human-computer interface.

Implantable electronic devices currently support the functioning of organs in the human body such as pacemakers, implantable hearing aids, and deep brain stimulators used to alleviate symptoms such as epilepsy and Parkinson's syndrome. It is widely used in the medical field for the purpose of mitigation. Conventionally, after being inserted into a human body, various data transmission / reception with the outside, in particular, RF communication and various networks are not made in addition to the purpose of controlling a device by performing predetermined individual functions. In addition, its use was limited to medical purposes. Recently, with the development of mobile communication and digital home network, the use of intelligent terminals and embedded systems has increased, it is possible to control health care technology and various information terminals to monitor health by wirelessly transmitting and receiving various biological signals. Human-computer interface technology is also developing. In the present invention, while solving the limitations and limited applications of the prior art, in accordance with the recent technical trend, using the electrode directly inserted into the brain of the human body to measure the action potential of the nerve tissue of the brain, and also the electrical stimulation using the electrode In addition, by applying the RF method to provide an apparatus for transmitting the measurement signal and the stimulation of the appropriate pattern through interworking with an external digital home network or a mobile communication device. When the signal obtained from the device directly inserted into the human body is transmitted to the outside wirelessly, the accuracy of the biological signal is high, and the information is easier to interpret than the EEG signal obtained by measuring in vitro, so it can be used for detailed manipulation for the human-computer interface. In addition, in the case of stimulating the nerve tissue for treatment and rehabilitation training, there is an advantage that can be appropriately carried out during the daily life through the network and mobile communication network without visiting the hospital.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is a microcircuit, and a RF method of low power operation, which can be inserted into the brain of the human body, can measure the activity of the brain nerves for a certain period of time, and apply the necessary electrical stimulation. The present invention provides a method for configuring a digital home network and a device interoperable with mobile communication through wireless data transmission and reception.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem provides a microminiature, low power circuit (107 in FIG. 4) capable of measuring the action potential of the cranial nerve tissue (102 in FIG. 3). The active potential measuring circuit may include a filter for improving an op-amp signal-to-noise ratio for amplifying a potential signal, an analog-to-digital converter for converting an analog signal into a digital signal, and the like. The operational amplifier preferably uses a low power device (TLC2272, etc.) to reduce power consumption, and it is preferable to turn off the power supply when not in measurement. The A / D converter is preferably 12 bits or more and 16 bits or less in consideration of the signal-to-noise ratio.

Another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem provides a microcircuit (108 in FIG. 4) capable of applying electrical stimulation to the cranial nerve tissue (102 in FIG. 3). The electrical stimulation circuit can be configured as a constant voltage circuit, a digital-to-analog converter, and the like. The circuit for electrical stimulation is preferably configured as a circuit for bi-phasic stimulation (FIG. 5) having both + and − phases in order to obtain a continuous effect of stimulation.

Another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, a wireless transmission and reception module that can not only wirelessly transmit the measured action potential data to the outside, but also can receive the data necessary for electrical stimulation from the outside (FIG. 4) 109). The wireless transmission module may be configured as a transmission / reception module of a radio frequency (RF) band and a microcontroller (MCU) that is in charge of overall transmission and reception. Here, the RF module prevents external and mutual interference of data, maintains security of transmission and reception information, and is a certified standardized communication method (Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.) considering user personal identification, digital home network, and connectivity with embedded devices. It is preferable to use the Zigbee method, which is a low-power, small-scale method, is more preferable for long-term use and insertion into the human body. The interworking with the digital home network, the mobile communication terminal and the embedded system by the RF method may be configured by adopting the standardized RF method of the same method for the digital home network, the mobile communication terminal and the embedded system. RF data communication is increasingly being adopted by many devices.

The present invention will be described in detail through description of specific examples. However, embodiments of the present invention described may be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. It is to be understood that embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is preferable that the shape and the like of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated in order to emphasize a more clear description.

Figure 3 shows one embodiment of the brain implantable neurometric-stimulating device proposed in the present invention. Elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings means the same element.

One embodiment of the present invention shows a method for measuring the action potential of the cranial nerve tissue using an inserted device and wirelessly transmitting it. An electrode (103 in FIG. 3) and a connecting cable (104 in FIG. 3), which are directly inserted into the cranial nerve tissue to obtain an action potential of the nerve, an amplifying unit for amplifying the obtained signal, a filter unit for raising the signal-to-noise ratio of the amplified signal, and filtering It consists of an analog / digital converter to digitize the analog signal, and the shape and number of electrodes, the amplification ratio, and the passband frequency of the filter can be changed into various shapes according to the application environment. Unlike electroencephalogram (EEG) signals obtained by overlapping action potentials in each part of the brain, local activity potentials can be measured and transmitted directly, so local activity of the brain can be measured. As shown in FIG. 1, the brain nerve tissue performs a specific function according to the area, and the electrode (103 of FIG. 3) is appropriately inserted into the motor cortex of the brain shown in FIG. 2 to measure its local activity. If you can get information about the movement of the body part. Information about movement can be transmitted to the outside wirelessly and used as a means of the human-computer interface used for control of the computer and embedded systems (115 in FIG. 7). In the case of brain diseases such as epilepsy, it is also possible to identify the signs of epilepsy by measuring the activity by inserting electrodes in the medically known areas.

Another embodiment of the present invention shows a method of broadcasting that transmits a commonly applied therapeutic stimulation pattern to a plurality of patients at a time in stroke patients being treated using an inserted electrical stimulation device. Since the implantable stimulation device (105 in FIG. 3) can be connected to the digital home network (113 in FIG. 6) by the RF method, broadcasting the information related to the parameters of the appropriate stimulation pattern and the stimulation time point from the central medical server to the digital home network. The stimulus is transmitted to the implantable stimulation device so that the user can receive treatment or rehabilitation training at a fixed time in the home. In addition, the implantable stimulation device (105 in FIG. 3) can be connected to the mobile communication terminal (112 in FIG. 6) by the RF method, so that when the stimulus-related data is broadcasted to the mobile communication terminal at the central medical server, the user may be outside the home Appropriate treatment or rehabilitation training will be provided.

The implantable brain measurement-stimulating device according to the present invention can achieve symptomatic relief of stroke treatment, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, etc., and can be applied to multi-dimensional sensing signal analysis of human-computer interface, micro intelligent sensor array, and the like. In addition, since it is possible to interwork with digital home network, mobile communication terminal and embedded system by standardized RF method, there is an effect that can contribute to the expansion of application field of the technical field.

Claims (10)

An implantable device connected to an electrode inserted into the brain to measure an action potential and apply electrical stimulation; Miniaturizing the implantable device and inserting it into the space behind the ear; And Method of transmitting / receiving measured action potential information, appropriate electric stimulus and all control signals to outside by RF method. How to work with digital home network by RF method. How to interwork with mobile communication by RF method Interworking with various embedded systems by RF method. The method of claim 1, Inserting the electrode into each motor region in the brain tissue; Measuring the user's motion information with the inserted electrode and transmitting it wirelessly; How to utilize in the human-computer interface based on the transmitted information. The method of claim 1, Inserting the electrode into each sensory region in brain tissue; A method of delivering output information of the computer directly to the brain by applying an electrical stimulus corresponding to the output of the computer to the inserted electrode during human-computer interaction; The method of claim 1, A method in which the stimulation device transmits a personalized electrical stimulation parameter suitable for each individual inserted into the brain from a central server to the individual's digital home network system and applies electrical stimulation to the inserted electrode; The method of claim 1, A method in which the stimulation device transmits a customized electrical stimulation parameter suitable for each individual inserted into the brain from a central server to the mobile communication terminal of the individual and applies electrical stimulation to the inserted electrode; A method of simultaneously broadcasting a therapeutic stimulus waveform commonly applied in a group of subjects with brain diseases to a home network of a plurality of users in which a stimulation device is inserted into the brain. The method of claim 1, A method of broadcasting a therapeutic stimulus waveform commonly applied in a group of subjects with brain disease to a mobile communication terminal of a plurality of users in which a stimulation device is inserted into a brain. The method of claim 1, Ultra smart dust sensor A method of delivering multidimensional sensing information from an array directly to the brain of a user in which the stimulation device is inserted. The method of claim 1, A method of combining rehabilitation using the brain implantable stimulator with exercise therapy; A method of distinguishing neural tissues activated during the concurrent treatment using the inserted measuring system; Selectively stimulating said differentiated neural tissue in a combination therapy. The method of claim 1, A method of implementing the brain implantable stimulator and the RF wireless communication module as one semiconductor system chip;

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