WO2012086878A1

WO2012086878A1 - Apparatus for fixing anchor in electrode system for stimulating cranial nerve

Info

Publication number: WO2012086878A1
Application number: PCT/KR2011/001715
Authority: WO
Inventors: 황용섭; 윤호; 박세익
Original assignee: 주식회사 엠아이텍
Priority date: 2010-12-23
Filing date: 2011-03-11
Publication date: 2012-06-28
Also published as: KR20120071906A; KR101183559B1

Abstract

An apparatus for fixing an anchor, into which a stimulating electrode of an electrode system for stimulating a cranial nerve is inserted, onto a target location on the skull, comprising: an anchor support portion including an anchor holder which is formed with a hollow portion for inserting a portion of the anchor therein, and an insertion portion which bends and is extended from the anchor holder; and an anchor moving portion having a slit, which is formed on one end for inserting the insertion portion of the anchor support portion so as to be attachable/detachable, for setting the position of the anchor that is inserted into the anchor support portion on the desired position on the skull of the subject. The apparatus further comprises a cover gripping portion, which is formed so that an insulation cover for the anchor can be inserted, and which can be attached to the other end of the anchor moving portion.

Description

Anchor Fixing Device of Electrode System for Cerebral Nerve Stimulation

The present invention relates to an anchor anchoring device of a miniature cranial nerve stimulation electrode system, and more particularly, to easily anchor the anchor inserted with a stimulus electrode (stimulus electrode) used to stimulate a specific part of the brain of the test object to the skull. The present invention relates to an anchor fixing device for an electrode system for minimizing nerve stimulation.

As is well known, a deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedure has been proposed to develop a therapeutic agent for treating pain and movement disorders caused by lesions such as Parkinson's disease, pain, and epilepsy. Deep brain stimulation has the therapeutic effect of improving the condition through stimulation of specific brain nerves.

The advantages of the deep brain stimulation procedure is that the therapeutic effect is greater than the drug treatment or surgery, the risk of brain damage, and does not remove the brain tissue has the advantage of easy application of the new treatment. However, the electrode system for brain stimulation, which is currently being used in deep brain stimulation, has the disadvantages of overcoming frequent brain stimulator replacement due to limited battery life and complexity of surgery due to large size.

Next-generation cranial nerve stimulation electrode system is being actively developed to solve these shortcomings. In order to verify the effectiveness of the developed cranial nerve stimulation electrode system and to expand the scope of application of the device (pain, epilepsy, etc.), commonly used experimental rats (Sprague) (Dawley rat) is used as the test subject. For example, the apparatus disclosed in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2005-319316 can be mentioned.

In conducting the deep brain stimulation using such a test object, it should not affect the living body of the test object by the stimulation electrode and the electrical stimulation, there should be no destruction of brain cells, and the electrode material and the related device used for the stimulation electrode Should be safe for application to the living body. To this end, it is necessary to set the exact position of the target site in the deep structure such as the brain, and by using the image using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the fine stimulation electrode can be significantly improved the accuracy of positioning and surgery.

Figure 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the anchor used in the electrode system for brain nerve stimulation of the prior art used to stimulate the cranial nerve of the test subject while meeting the above safety standards. A deep brain stimulation procedure using the conventional electrode system for stimulating the brain as shown in Figure 1 is as follows. First, the rat skull (1) of the test subject was punctured, and a target region of the brain was made by using a tungsten electrode (6) coated with 5 m parylene (parylene) using a stainless steel anchor (2) suitable for living body. It is inserted into the target site 3, embedded with a small amount of dental cement 4, and fixed stably. Subsequently, the anchor 2 into which the stimulation electrode 6 is inserted is wrapped in the fixing device 10 as shown in FIG. 2 and mounted on the test object. The fixing device 10 is a tether band 14 made of a soft elastic material such that the test object does not feel pressure, and an upper part thereof is cut in order to prevent abnormal high heat from occurring at the cutting part of the test object. The saddle 12 is provided with a brain stimulator (not shown) located at the top of the site, which serves to stably stabilize the brain stimulator when performing a behavioral experiment on the subject.

By the way, the conventional electrode for nerve stimulation electrode system is subject to the test subject rats are broken while moving from place to place within the breeding ground during the experiment. In this case, it becomes impossible to deliver the desired stimulus signal to the test object, which leads to a problem in deriving the test result.

A small cranial nerve stimulation electrode system is used to fix the anchor to the skull of the test subject and place the stimulation electrode at the correct target site of the deep brain through the anchor. However, such an anchor has a problem that it is difficult to fix it to the skull of the test object because it is small.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an anchor fixing device that can easily fix the anchor of the small electrode nerve stimulation electrode system to the skull of the test subject.

According to the present invention for achieving the above object, the device for fixing the anchor to the target position of the skull of the test object is inserted into the anchor electrode of the electrode for nerve stimulation, the anchor portion is formed with a hollow portion is inserted An anchor support portion including a holder and an insertion portion bent and extended from the anchor holder, and a slit formed at one end thereof so that the insertion portion of the anchor support portion is detachably inserted therein, and the anchor inserted into the anchor support portion includes the anchor It includes an anchor moving unit to move to the target position to set the position.

Preferably, the anchor has screw grooves to which the pole electrode support member for supporting the pole electrode is fastened on both sides thereof, and the anchor holder guides the engagement of the electrode support member through the screw grooves of the anchor on both sides thereof. It includes a fastening groove formed to.

Preferably, the insulation cover of the anchor is formed to be insertable, and further includes a cover gripping portion attachable to the other end of the anchor moving portion.

Preferably, the cover gripping portion includes a cover socket having a hollow portion with an open bottom surface to allow the insulation cover of the anchor member to be inserted, and an insertion portion extending from the cover socket and attached to the other end of the anchor moving portion, wherein the anchor The moving part has a slit in which the insertion part of the said cover holding part is detachably inserted in the other end part.

Preferably, the guide projection is formed on the outer surface of the cover of the anchor, the cover socket of the cover holding portion is formed with a guide groove for engaging the guide projection so that the cover is slidably fastened.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an anchor used in the electrode system for nerve stimulation of the prior art,

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a fixing mechanism used in the electrode system for nerve stimulation of the prior art,

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the anchor fixing device of the electrode system for small brain nerve stimulation according to an embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 4 is a coupling state of the anchor fixing device of the electrode system for small brain nerve stimulation according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a state diagram illustrating a state in which the anchor of the cranial nerve stimulation electrode system is gripped to the anchor gripping portion of FIG. 3;

6 is a state diagram illustrating a state in which the anchor cover of the electrode system for cranial nerve stimulation is fastened to the anchor cover gripping portion of FIG. 3;

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electrode system for brain nerve stimulation used in the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the operation of the embodiment according to the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may be changed according to intentions or customs of users or operators. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an anchor fixing device of the miniature cranial nerve stimulation electrode system according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is an anchor fixing device of the miniature cranial nerve stimulation electrode system according to an embodiment of the present invention Is a state of coupling.

Anchor fixing device 200 of the miniature cranial nerve stimulation electrode system according to an embodiment of the present invention is fixed to the target position of the skull surface by holding the anchor of the miniature cranial nerve stimulation electrode system shown in FIG. It is used to Prior to the description of the embodiment of the present invention will be described the configuration of the anchor of the miniature nerve stimulation electrode system.

As shown in FIG. 7, the small electrode nerve stimulation electrode system has an anchor 20 whose bottom surface is fixed to the skull of the test object, and reaches a target site of the brain of the test object through the anchor 20. It includes a stimulation electrode 50 for applying an electrical stimulation to the target site. The anchor 20 is composed of an electrode holder 40 of a hexahedron or cube that is supported by the magnetic pole electrode 50 and a flange portion 30 formed integrally with the lower portion of the electrode holder 40.

The flange portion 30 is made of a non-conductor such as Teflon, the bottom surface is configured to be fixed to the target position of the skull of the test object, and includes a through groove 36 through which the stimulation electrode 50 is inserted through the body. do. In addition, the flange portion 30 is provided with inclined ends formed with thread grooves 32 on both front and rear sides thereof, and the screw 34 is screwed through the screw grooves 32 to fix the anchor 20 to the specimen. Fix it stably in the target position of the skull. At this time, the screw groove 32 is formed to be inclined toward the electrode holder 40 in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inclined end to securely anchor the anchor member 20 to the skull of the test object.

Like the flange portion 30, the electrode holder 40 is made of a non-conductor such as Teflon, and the insertion groove 42 into which the magnetic pole electrode 50 is inserted in communication with the through groove 36 of the flange portion 30 vertically. And two fastening grooves 44 penetrating to the left and right sides of the electrode holder 40 in the direction perpendicular to the insertion groove 42. As the insertion groove 42 and the through groove 36 are vertically communicated with each other, the stimulation electrode 50 may maintain verticality even if the surface of the skull of the test object is not horizontal.

In addition, the electrode system for brain nerve stimulation of the present invention is a pair of metal plate 70 and the electrode holder 40 is inserted into the insertion groove 42 of the electrode holder 40 with the stimulation electrode 50 therebetween. A pair of metal screw supports for supporting the magnetic pole electrode 50 by being screwed into the left and right fastening grooves 44 of the c) and abutting the support plate 70 inserted into the insertion grooves 42. It further includes a member 60. The plate 70 serves to prevent deformation of the magnetic pole electrode 50, which may be caused by the electrode support member 60 fastened to the left and right fastening grooves 44 of the electrode holder 40.

Each of the pair of electrode support members 60 includes a screw part 62 fastened to the fastening groove 44 formed in the electrode holder 40, and a head 64 protruding from the screw part 62. One side of the holder 40 is coupled to the metal connector 80 is interposed by the electrode support member 60, the other side of the electrode holder 40 is the pole electrode 50 by the electrode support member 60 A metal washer 90 is interposed and coupled to be positioned at the center.

The connector 80 is made of a conductive metal material, and is bent from the coupling portion 82 and the coupling portion 82 having a coupling groove coupled to the head 64 of the electrode support member 60, and the flange portion 30. It is composed of an extension portion 84 extending along the longitudinal direction of.

In addition, in operation of the electrode system for nerve stimulation, a current supplied through a brain stimulator (not shown) is provided to the stimulation electrode 50 through the connector 80 and the electrode support member 60. In this case, the cover 22 of FIG. 6 may be fastened to the electrode holder 40 to insulate the current.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 again, the anchor fixing device 200 of the cranial nerve stimulation electrode system of the present invention is formed such that the anchor mover 210 and the anchor 20 are insertable, and the anchor mover 210 Anchor support 230 attached to one end of the) and a cover 22 (see FIG. 6) fastened to the electrode holder 40 of the anchor 20 are formed to be insertable, and the other end of the anchor moving part 210. Anchor cover grip portion 250 is attached to the.

The anchor moving part 210 has long

slender slits

212 and 218 and a pair of through

holes

214 and 216 formed at both ends thereof.

Anchor support 230 is an anchor member holder 226 having a hollow portion 222 formed so that a portion of the anchor 20 is inserted, and bent from the bottom of the anchor member holder 226 to extend the anchor of the moving portion 210 It includes an insertion unit 220 is inserted into the slit 212. The hollow portion 222 of the anchor holder 226 corresponds to the side shape of the anchor 20, the fastening groove 225 for fastening the support member 60 is formed on both sides of the hollow portion 222. The fastening groove 225 is formed larger than the fastening groove 44 of the electrode holder 40 so that the electrode support member 60 can pass therethrough.

As shown in FIG. 5, when one side of the anchor 20 is inserted into the hollow part 222, the fastening groove 44 formed on both sides of the electrode holder 40 is the fastening groove 225 of the hollow part 222. Is exposed through). In this state, the electrode support member 60 may be easily fastened to the fastening groove 44 of the electrode holder 40 while being guided through the fastening groove 225. Therefore, the small size electrode support member 60 can be easily assembled to the small anchor 20.

In addition, in the state in which the electrode support member 60 is fastened to the fastening groove 44, the anchor moving part 210 is moved to the target position of the skull of the test subject by the user and is inserted into the anchor support part 230. ) Is positioned at the target position. Then, the screw 34 is screwed into the target position of the skull of the test object through the screw groove 32 on one side of the flange portion 30 so that one side of the anchor 20 is fixed to the skull of the test object. When one side of the anchor 20 is fixed to the skull of the test object, the anchor support 230 is retracted to separate the anchor 20 from the anchor support 230. Then, the screw 34 is screwed into the target position of the skull of the test object through the screw groove 32 on the other side of the flange portion 30 so that the other side of the anchor 20 is fixed to the skull. Therefore, when the small anchor 20 is fixed at the target position of the skull of the test object, it can be stably fixed.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 again, the cover grip part 250 includes a cover socket 242 having an opening 245 having an open bottom surface 245 to allow the cover 22 of the anchor 20 to be inserted therein, and a cover socket ( The insertion part 240 is bent from the extension 242 and inserted into the slit 218 of the anchor moving part 210.

A pair of

insertion holes

224 and 244 are inserted into the

slits

212 and 218 on both sides of the anchor moving part 210 in the insertion part 220 of the anchor support part 230 and the insertion part 240 of the cover holding part 250, respectively. The through

holes

216 and 214 are formed to correspond respectively. The insertion part 220 of the anchor support part 230 and the insertion part 240 of the anchor cover gripping part 250 are inserted into the

slits

212 and 218 on both sides of the anchor moving part 210, respectively, and the insertion holes 224 and 244. ) And the through-

holes

216 and 214 communicate with each other and are coupled to both sides of the anchor moving part 210 by being fastened using a rivet 24 or the like. Although not specifically illustrated, the insertion part 220 of the anchor support part 230 and the insertion part 240 of the anchor cover gripping part 250 may be fixed and attached by bolting or welding.

In the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the anchor support portion 230 and the anchor cover gripping portion 250 are attached to the anchor movement portion 210 with the bending directions opposite to each other. This is because the anchor member and the cover attached to the anchor moving part 210 is maintained in the same direction as it is rotated 180 degrees even when the anchor moving part 210 is rotated to prevent collision with other structures during the procedure of the small-scale nerve stimulation electrode system, Ease of use is provided.

On the other hand, as shown in detail in Figure 6, the cross-sectional shape of the cover socket 242 of the anchor member cover holding portion 250 corresponds to the shape of the anchor member cover 22 as a whole, the lower opening 245 is Since it is formed, attachment and detachment to the electrode holder 40 of the cover 22 can be facilitated. More specifically, the guide protrusion 26 is formed on the outer surface of the cover 22 which is fastened to the electrode holder 40 of the anchor member 20, and the cover (socket 242) of the cover holding part 250 is provided with a cover ( A guide groove 248 is formed to engage the guide protrusion 26 of 22. Accordingly, when the cover 22 is pushed into the cover socket 242 of the cover holding part 250 and the guide protrusion 26 of the cover 22 is engaged with the guide groove 248 of the cover socket 242, the cover ( 22 may be mounted on the cover grip part 250.

In a state in which the cover 22 is mounted on the cover holding part 250, the cover holding part 250 attached to the anchor moving part 210 is moved to a target position where the anchor 20 is fixed by the user. The cover 22 held by the cover holding part 250 is covered by the electrode holder 40 of the anchor 20 so that the cover 22 may be easily fastened to the electrode holder 40. When the anchor movement part 210 is pulled back while the cover 22 is fastened, the cover 20 fastened to the electrode holder 40 slides along the guide groove 248 to cover the electrode holder of the anchor 22. Is easily separated from the cover socket 242.

The anchor fixing device 200 of the miniature electrode system for cranial nerve stimulation according to the present invention configured as described above uses the anchor support part 230 fixed to one side of the anchor moving part 210 to anchor the electrode support member 60 to the anchor 20. It is easy to assemble, the anchor 20, the electrode support member 60 is assembled can be easily fixed to the desired target position of the skull of the test object, the anchor moving part 210, the cover holding part 250 of the other side is used The cover 22 may be coupled to the electrode holder 40 of the anchor member 20.

In addition, after completion of the fastening of the electrode support member 60, the anchor 20 is easily separated from the anchor support 230, and similarly after the cover 22 is fastened to the anchor 20, from the cover holding portion 240 Easily separated.

In addition, the anchor support portion 230 and the cover holding portion 240 are fixed to the anchor movement portion 210 by reverse the bending direction to each other to prevent collision with other structures during the operation of the miniature nerve stimulation electrode system.

What has been described above is only one preferred embodiment of the anchor fixing device of the small electrode system for nerve stimulation according to the present invention, since the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, as claimed in the following claims As described above, any person having ordinary knowledge in the field of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various modifications can be made.

Claims

An apparatus for fixing an anchor into which a stimulation electrode of a cranial nerve stimulation electrode system is inserted at a target position of a skull of an object,

An anchor support portion including an anchor holder having a hollow portion into which a portion of the anchor is inserted and an insertion portion bent from the anchor holder;

An electrode system for cranial nerve stimulation has an slit formed to be detachably inserted at one end of the anchor support portion, and includes an anchor mover configured to move and position the anchor inserted into the anchor support portion to a target position of the test object. Anchor fixing device.
The method of claim 1,

The anchor has screw grooves on both sides thereof to which the pole electrode support member for supporting the pole electrode is fastened,

The anchor holder is anchor fixing device of the electrode system for cranial nerve stimulation comprising a fastening groove formed on both sides thereof to guide the fastening of the electrode support member through the screw groove of the anchor.
The method of claim 1,

The anchoring cover of the anchor system of the electrode system for cranial nerve stimulation is formed so that the insulating cover of the anchor is insertable, attachable to the other end of the anchor moving portion.
The method of claim 3, wherein

The cover gripping portion,

A cover socket in which a hollow portion having an open bottom surface is inserted to insert the insulation cover of the anchor member;

An insertion part extending from the cover socket and attached to the other end of the anchor moving part,

And the anchor moving portion has a slit at the other end thereof to which the insertion portion of the cover gripping portion is detachably inserted.
The method of claim 4, wherein

Guide anchors are formed on the outer surface of the cover of the anchor, the cover socket of the cover holding portion anchor fixing device of the electrode system for cranial nerve stimulation is formed with a guide groove for engaging the guide projections so that the cover is slidably fastened. .