WO2015028480A1 - Système de stimulation de soulagement de la douleur - Google Patents

Système de stimulation de soulagement de la douleur Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015028480A1
WO2015028480A1 PCT/EP2014/068110 EP2014068110W WO2015028480A1 WO 2015028480 A1 WO2015028480 A1 WO 2015028480A1 EP 2014068110 W EP2014068110 W EP 2014068110W WO 2015028480 A1 WO2015028480 A1 WO 2015028480A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
stimulation
person
tactile
input
pain relieving
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Application number
PCT/EP2014/068110
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English (en)
Inventor
Maria Estrella Mena Benito
Ronaldus Maria Aarts
Raymond Van Ee
Mark Thomas Johnson
Franciscus Jacobus Vossen
Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Application filed by Koninklijke Philips N.V. filed Critical Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Publication of WO2015028480A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015028480A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/75—Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R1/02—Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein
    • H04R1/028—Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2201/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones covered by H04R1/00 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
    • H04R2201/02—Details casings, cabinets or mounting therein for transducers covered by H04R1/02 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
    • H04R2201/023—Transducers incorporated in garment, rucksacks or the like

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of stimulation of a user, e.g. for medical purposes, such as for limiting discomfort for a user suffering from tinnitus or from pain.
  • the huge pain market (pain-management therapeutics is estimated to generate more than $40 billion and is predicted to grow to $60 billion by 2015) includes treatments for a wide range of conditions including postoperative pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, migraine pain, neuropathic pain, and back pain.
  • Pain management is a branch of medicine employing an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain.
  • Treatment approaches to chronic pain include pharmacological measures, physical therapy, interventional procedures, physical exercise, application of ice and/or heat, and psychological measures, such as biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy.
  • WO2012100258 A2 describes a stimulus pod for pain relief. Further, the stimulus pod is configured to treat the patient's body with at least one of thermal stimulus, electrical stimulus, or vibration stimulus.
  • Tinnitus is the perception of meaningless sound, a tone or a noise, that is physically not present. Sufferers describe it as ringing in the ear. Most people have had the sensation of temporary tinnitus caused by rock-music concerts, fever, or stressful situations. Usually such temporary tinnitus goes away after one night's sleep.
  • Chronic (as opposed to temporary) tinnitus is experienced as a problem on a daily basis by about 10% of the worldwide adult population. Chronic tinnitus can be very distressing. It prevents 1% of the people from living a normal life, and it is accompanied by stress, sleep deprivation, and anxiety, for some leading to committing suicide. In the US alone, there are 50 million sufferers of whom 13 million patients seek medical help involving 1.4B$ yearly compensation via medical insurance. There were 744.159 war- veterans with a tinnitus disability award between 2004 and 2010 (source: American Tinnitus Association, May 2010). Thus, tinnitus is a serious problem, involving serious costs to society. The
  • Drastic therapies involving cochlear implantation or brain surgery are currently being studied. Electrical stimulation via a cochlear implant in patients who already had profound hearing loss in the to be implanted ear, showed promising results, however, it would be a dramatic intervention in patients with fair to good hearing.
  • US 2009/0082831 Al describes an electrical system with an electrode assembly arranged to stimulate a person's vestibular system without any mechanical engaging means.
  • the system is described to provide a pleasant effect that can help a person to fall asleep and reduce anxiety.
  • the system is rather complex and requires e.g. safety precautions since it involves electrical stimulation of the person, and some persons find the pure electrical vestibular stimulation unnatural and unpleasant.
  • US 2011/0251535 Al describes an apparatus and method for introducing multisensory integration.
  • the apparatus includes an ergonomically contoured seating device, at least one vibrating acoustic device, at least one plate for dispersing vibration throughout the entire seating device, a rotatable mechanism for rotating the seating device while a person in seated therein.
  • the apparatus is designed for the purpose of therapy including various sensory inputs, such as vibration transducers coupled with audio signals.
  • various sensory inputs such as vibration transducers coupled with audio signals.
  • the disclosed apparatus could have any effect on tinnitus or similar conditions.
  • a pain relieving system and a method which preferably has a good pain relieving effect, which is preferably easy to use, which is preferably possible for the user to use in daily life, e.g. during normal working tasks, and which is still possible to implement with low cost components.
  • the invention provides a pain relieving stimulation system for providing a person with a pain relieving stimulation, the system comprising
  • a tactile stimulator device arranged to provide a tactile stimulation of a part of the person's body
  • control system arranged to control the tactile stimulator device in accordance with an additional stimulation input to the person comprising a perceptual modality which is different from tactile, so as to rhythmically align the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input.
  • Such system is advantageous, since it has proven to provide a surprising pain relieving effect due to the combination of a simultaneous stimulation of a person by two different perceptual modalities. This is based on the insight that a major factor contributing to the perception of pain is "paying attention" to the annoying pain. Thinking about the pain or paying attention to the pain enhances the annoying percept, e.g. the effect known from paying attention to a pinching shoe. Thus, it boosts the brain activity underlying the pain perception.
  • the present invention is based on perceptual control within the brain: it employs effort of will, or mind control, inside the brain to voluntarily guide perception.
  • the tactile modality e.g. in the form of vibration and/or temperature (ice or heat effect)
  • the additional stimulation input may be such as an audio signal or a visual signal.
  • the audio signal is easy to generate and to rhythmically align to the tactile stimulation, e.g. by controlling amplitude of the audio signal synchronously with the amplitude of the tactile stimulation, e.g.
  • vibration preferably with a frequency within 0.1 Hz and 1 Hz, i.e. a repetition period of between 1 second and 10 seconds.
  • a frequency within 0.1 Hz and 1 Hz, i.e. a repetition period of between 1 second and 10 seconds.
  • the system according to the first aspect is further advantageous since it can be implemented by known components that can be manufacured in low cost.
  • a tactile stimulator implemented as a vibrator placed in a wearable device to vibrate the skin of the person.
  • Such vibrator is known e.g. from a mobile phone.
  • an audio signal as the second stimulation input such a signal can be applied by a headphone or a loudspeaker, and a simple signal can be used, e.g. repeated, synchronously with a variation in vibration amplitude.
  • the controller can be implemented with known low cost components, e.g. a mobile phone or the like may serve as a controller. Further, the loudspeaker or output to a headphone may be used to apply the audio signal.
  • the vibrator in the mobile phone may be used to provide the tactile stimulation input, e.g. if the mobile phone is worn in a belt on the person's arm.
  • the tactile stimulator may alternatively be implemented as a dedicated device, e.g. providing electrical stimulation pulses at a fixed pulse frequencey, and controlled with an amplitude envelope which is synchronized with an audio signal.
  • a description of the pain sensing nervous system is given in the following.
  • nociceptors pain receptors
  • these neurons release the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate at their synapses.
  • the signals are sent to the reticular formation and thalamus, the sensation of pain enters consciousness in a poorly localized manner. From the thalamus, the signal can travel to the somatosensory cortex, when the pain is experienced as localized and having more specific qualities. Nociception can also cause generalized autonomic responses before or without reaching consciousness to cause pallor, diaphoresis, tachycardia, hypertension, lightheadedness, nausea and fainting.
  • the somatosensory system plays a key role in both pain perception and in tactile perception (touch). It is made up of a number of different receptors, including thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors. It also comprises essential processing centres, or sensory modalities, such as proprioception, tactilation or mechanoception (touch), thermoception (temperature), and nociception (pain).
  • the visual system in humans and animals allows individuals to assimilate information from their surroundings.
  • the act of seeing starts when the lens of the eye focuses an image of its surroundings onto a light-sensitive membrane in the back of the eye, called the retina.
  • the retina is actually part of the brain that is isolated to serve as a transducer for the conversion of patterns of light into neuronal signals.
  • the lens of the eye focuses light on the photoreceptive cells of the retina, which detect the photons of light and respond by producing neural impulses. These signals are processed in a hierarchical fashion by different parts of the brain, from the retina upstream to central ganglia in the brain.
  • the neural pathways are not even overlapping, but are completely distinct in the brain.
  • the present invention goes a non-trivial step further, since two multimodal stimulation input are not only applied simultaneously, but with the rhythmical congruency, a special synergistic effect has been found, which can help to voluntarily influence the formation of the conscious perceptual experience and consequently distracting the brain from pain.
  • an annoying sensation effect can result from two different stimulation inputs being applied simultaneously.
  • the tactile stimulator is preferably arranged to apply a tactile stimulation which is above the threshold of sensation, but within the magnitude range which is found comfortable, preferably pleasant, by the person. The same applies for the additional stimulation input.
  • the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input are rhythmically aligned by varying in a repeating manner at a repetition frequency of between 1 second and 10 seconds, e.g. by the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input varying according to one common frequency within 0.1 and 1 Hz.
  • the two stimuli can be switched on for 1 second, and then switched off for 5 seconds.
  • a more gradual variation may also be applied.
  • the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input vary according to envelopes which are phase aligned, such as phase aligned within 30% of a cycle of an envelope.
  • tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input are rhythmically aligned in a manner such that they are at least substantially synchronous over time.
  • the tactile stimulation may be in the form of an envelope comprising at least two maxima in amplitude interspersed by one minimum in amplitude, e.g. an envelope within 0.1 Hz to 1 Hz.
  • the tactile stimulation may be constituted by a stimulation (electrical or vibrational) in the form of pulses or sinusoidal variations applied with a frequency which is significntly higher than the amplitude envelope, such as 30-250 Hz, for vibrations or electrical pulses.
  • the additional stimulation input may comprise an audio signal, wherein the audio signal comprises at least one audible feature which is rhythmically aligned with the tactile stimulation.
  • audible feature may be one or more of: amplitude (e.g. loudness), frequency content, timbre, or amplitude or frequency of tonal components.
  • the audible feature may be rhythmically alligned with respect to an envelople with a slow variation, e.g. 0.1 Hz to 1 Hz, by synchronizing with an amplitude envelope of the tactile stimulation.
  • the audio signal may be recordings of natural sounds (breaking sea waves, wind blowing in trees etc.), music or artificially generated sounds.
  • the audio signal may comprise a repetitive audio sequence with a repetition frequency being an integer times, or an integer fraction of, an envelope frequency of the tactile stimulation.
  • the additional stimulation input may comprise a visual signal, wherein the visual signal comprises at least one visual feature which is rhythmically aligned with the tactile stimulation.
  • visual feature may be features changing in a 2D or 3D image presented to the person, e.g. colour changes, moving objects, gradual changing of patterns etc.
  • the visual signal may be a repetition of one short movie synchronously with a repeated sequence of the tactile stimulation.
  • the tactile stimulator device may be arranged to provide at least one of: a mechnical stimulation, and an electrical stimulation of a part of the person's body. Such types of stimulation can be implemented in a wearable battery powered device.
  • the mechanical stimulation may be in the form of vibration of a part of the person's body, e.g. an arm or hand, or it may be in the form of one or more pins serving to provide a pricking or dabbing of an area of the skin of the person, e.g. on the person's arm.
  • the tactile stimulator device is arranged to provide a mechanical stimulation comprising mechanical vibration with a dominant vibration frequency within 30-250 Hz, preferably within 60-200 Hz, 70-80 Hz being the most vibration sensitive frequency range.
  • the tactile stimulator device comprises a wearable device, e.g. a belt, a band, or the like, shaped so as to fit onto a specific body part, e.g. a wrist band or a back belt etc.
  • a wearable device e.g. a belt, a band, or the like
  • the additional stimulation input being in the form of an audio signal comprising at least one audible feature which is rhythmically aligned with the tactile stimulation.
  • E.g. such audio signal can be applied to the user by means of headphones, which allows the user to perform normal activities during the pain relieving stimulation.
  • the wearable device may comprise a loudspeaker arranged to provide at least one of: a mechanical vibration stimulation, and an audio signal.
  • the loudspeaker may provide both a mechanical vibration as well as an audio signal.
  • one single loudspeaker can be used for both stimuli: vibrations at low frequencies, e.g. below 100 Hz, below its normal mode of operation, while the loudspeaker generates sound, e.g. at 100- 10,000 Hz, in accordance with the audio signal.
  • the tactile stimulator device and the structure of the wearable device that fits to the person's body may be arranged to provide tactile stimulation on at least one of the person's: arm, hand, foot, fingers, toes, leg, back, head, and wrist.
  • the tactile stimulator device may be arranged to provide mechanical vibrations or electrical stimulation comprising pulses to a part of the person's body, and especially the mechanical vibrations or electrical pulses may have a frequency within 30 Hz to 250 Hz, preferably within 60 Hz to 200 Hz, e.g. a dominant frequency within 30 Hz to 250 Hz, preferably within 60 Hz to 200 Hz.
  • the tactile stimulator device may be arranged to provide stimulation comprising temperature pulses to a part of the person's body.
  • the tactile stimulator device may be arranged to provide tactile stimulation on at least one of the person's: arm, hand, foot, fingers, toes, leg, back, head, and wrist.
  • the system may comprise a second additional stimulation input to the person comprising a perceptual modality which is different from tactile and which is different from the perceptual modality of the additional stimulation input.
  • the second additional stimulation input may be rhythmically aligned with at least one of the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input.
  • such second additional stimulation input may even be a temperature (heating or icing) effect, i.e. a different type of tactile stimulation.
  • the invention provides a method for relieving pain of a person, the method comprising
  • the tactile stimulation may be provided to at least one of: 1) a part of the person's body where the person feels pain, and 2) a position of the person's body along a nerve path transmitting sensation of pain to the brain from its source location.
  • One or both of 1) and 2) has proven to provide an improved pain relieving effect.
  • the invention provides a stimulation system for providing a person with a stimulation, or more specifically a sensory stimulation, the system comprising - a stimulator device arranged to engage with the person's head in order to generate rocking movements of the person's head in a manner stimulating the person's vestibular system, and - a control system arranged to control the stimulator device in accordance with an auditory input to the person, so as to align at least one audible feature in the auditory input with the rocking movements of the person's head.
  • Such system with a combined auditory and vestibular stimulation by means of head rocking has been verified to provide tinnitus sufferers with a pleasant sensation. Further, the combined stimulation distracts the person's attention away from the tinnitus, thereby helping the person to fall asleep. Surprisingly it has further been found that combined auditory and vestibular stimulation by means of head rocking may help in reducing a person's blood pressure.
  • the system can be implemented with rather simple components, either as a dedicated system or by means of one or more dedicated part(s) to be operated by a standard component such as a mobile phone, a computer or the like as control device, or at least as part of the control device, with appropriate application software.
  • both the control function and the generation of the auditory input could be provided by a smart phone wire or wirelessly controlling a dedicated stimulation device.
  • the stimulation device may be designed to stimulate the person's head in a lying position, e.g. on a bed, or in a seated position, e.g. in a chair.
  • the stimulation device, or part of it, may be built together with a bed or a chair.
  • the stimulation device is formed as a pillow, or as an inflatable cushion to be mounted in, below or above a normal pillow.
  • the way of aligning auditory features of the auditory input with the rocking stimulation can be achieved in various ways, however it can be obtained in rather simple ways, preferably by providing an auditory input and a rocking stimulation which are rhythmically aligned, e.g. which have the same periodicity, and especially the auditory input and the rocking movements are controlled so they are rhythmically synchronized.
  • the auditory input can be a repeated signal, e.g. a recording or synthesized sound of seawaves, with the same repetition frequency as a gentle side-to-side rocking stimulation of the person's head.
  • an auditory feature, amplitude periodicity is aligned with the head rocking stimulation.
  • the auditory input could be provided by the user, e.g. playing his/her favourite rhythmic piece of music, while the control system is programmed to control the repetition frequency of the rocking movement of the person's head to match a detected rhythmic frequency of the music, or an integer fraction thereof.
  • the invention is based on the following insight.
  • chronic tinnitus is thought to be the result of a functional reorganization of the auditory pathways following receptor (hair-cell signal processing) damage.
  • attention to the tinnitus enhances annoyance of the tinnitus (just as happens with attention to a pinching shoe), i.e. it boosts the brain activity underlying the tinnitus.
  • the invention capitalizes on the insight that control of attention is important for reducing tinnitus comfort. It controls the attentional state of the patient through the use of synchronous sensory signals, namely via the aligned feature(s) of the auditory input and the rocking vestibular stimulation. With the head rocking type of vestibular stimulation, the control of the attentional processes applies synchronous information to three perceptual modalities simultaneously: auditory, vestibular and tactile (mechanical, touch) signals. Via this attentional control, the patient is distracted away from the tinnitus, thereby reducing the discomfort for tinnitus sufferers.
  • the head rocking type of vestibular stimulation which provides up and down movements or left to right side-to-side rolling head movements with a predefined frequency and with a predefined amplitude may help in lowering a person's blood pressure. It is hypothised that the rocking movements provide adjustments in the person's breathing and circulatory system (through baroreceptors in the body) and these adjustments cause a reduction in the blood pressure. It has further been found that the effect of the vestibular stimuli on the reduction of blood pressure may be enhanced by adding auditory stimulation to vestibular stimulation.
  • a prototype system has been designed to test the effect of rhythmically synchronous auditory, and vestibular (and tactile) stimulation on a number of tinnitus patients and on the blood pressure of a number of persons.
  • the results, data will be presented below, show quantitatively demonstrated that the system according to the invention helps to relief tinnitus patients from their tinnitus distress and helps to reduce blood pressure, also for persons that do not suffer from tinnitus.
  • the alignment of link between auditory feature(s) and the rocking stimulation can be provided in several ways. Especially, the alignment may be achieved by at least one audible feature in the auditory input being rhythmically aligned with the rocking movements of the person's head. More specifically, a sound signal can be provided which is rhythmically synchronous with the head rocking stimulation, especially the sound signal may have the same static periodicity (or the same amplitude envelope frequency) as the head rocking stimulation. This can be obtained by a simple repetition of an audio signal, or playing an audio signal with a dominating audible feature, e.g. variable amplitude, having a static frequency. Alternatively, the frequency of the rocking stimulation and the audible feature are different, but linked by an integer times or an integer fraction of each other, thereby still ensuring a perceived rhythmic synchronicity of the auditory input and the vestibular stimulation.
  • the stimulator device is preferably controlled so as to generate rocking movements of the person's head with an amplitude sufficiently strong to stimulate the person's vestibular system, but preferably the amplitude is matched to provide an amplitude weak enough to avoid any harmful or unpleasant effects.
  • the stimulation direction and the way of engaging with the person's head can be implemented in various ways.
  • the stimulation pattern provides a harmonic movement of the person's head without any abrupt changes.
  • the stimulation direction may be variable, e.g. selectable by the user.
  • Stimulation directions may be designed so as to provide such as: 1) side-to-side rolling head movements, i.e. stimulation primarily in a direction in a horizontal, when the person is lying;
  • up-and-down or nodding head movements i.e. stimulation primarily in a direction in a vertical plane, when the person is lying;
  • the stimulation device is arranged to provide rocking movements of the person's head in a horizontal plane; in some embodiments, the stimulation device is arranged to provide rocking movements of the person's head in a vertical plane, while in some embodiments, the stimulation device is arranged to provide rocking movements of the person's head as a combined stimulation in a vertical and a horizontal plane.
  • control system is arranged to control the stimulator device so as to provide periodic rocking movements of the person's head with a repetition frequency of between 1/30 Hz and 2 Hz, or more specifically between 1/20 Hz and 1/2 Hz.
  • a repetition frequency of around 1/10 Hz has proven to provide a good effect, e.g. with an auditory input in the form of a recording of seaways breaking, i.e. a sound with a slow increase and decrease in amplitude with the same repetition frequency.
  • the control system may be arranged to initiate a stimulation session by a fade- in phase in which a rocking movement of the person's head is different from later in the stimulation session.
  • the amplitude of the rocking movement may be slowly increased during the fade-in phase, starting from zero or a very low value.
  • the stimulation frequency may be slowly increased during the fade-in phase.
  • Such fade-in phase serves to provide the person with a pleasant sensation allowing the person to slowly focus his/her attention towards the combined stimulation.
  • the system may comprise a sensor connected to the control system, wherein the sensor is arranged to detect a parameter indicative of the person sleeping.
  • the system can adapt the vestibular stimulation, optionally also the auditory input, accordingly. Especially, it may be preferred to stop or fade-out the stimulation after it has been detected that the person has fallen asleep.
  • the sensor may comprise an accelerometer mounted so as to detect movements of the person.
  • the system may further comprise a further sensor connected to the control system, wherein the further sensor is arranged to measure the person's blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability or respiration rate.
  • the system is configured to adapt the vestibular stimulation, optionally also the auditory input, in response to the measured blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability or respiration rate.
  • the combined rocking rate and the sound amplitude variation rate create a paced breathing experience by providing the person a rocking and sound amplitude variation at a predetermined rate or pace.
  • the pace is based on the average natural breathing rate or is adjusted to a percentage of the person's (instanteneous) measured breathing rate. This percentage is in the range of 80% to 95% and preferably 90%.
  • the natural breathing rate is the breathing rate of a person at rest, and may for example be determined when the person has been in a lying position for 10 minutes with no stimulation (auditory, vestibular or otherwise) provided.
  • the stimulation device may comprise a mechanical actuator attached to the person's head and arranged to engage with both sides of the person's head, so as to allow side-to-side rocking head movements.
  • the stimulator device may comprise a pillow arranged for the person's head to rest thereon, wherein the pillow comprises at least one compartment capable of being inflated and deflated, so as to cause the rocking
  • the system may comprise a pump system connected to the control system, and connected to inflate and deflate the at least one compartment, wherein the pump system comprises a plurality of micropumps built into the pillow.
  • the system may comprise a sound system arranged to provide the auditory input to the person.
  • the control system is arranged to control the sound system.
  • the auditory input can be provided by a device not being part of the system, e.g. provided by an external sound source.
  • the control system may be arranged to adjust at least one of: a frequency of an audible feature in the auditory input, and a repetition frequency of the rocking movements of the person's head.
  • the control system is capable of adjusting both of a frequency of an audible feature in the auditory input, and a repetition frequency of the rocking movements of the person's head.
  • the system may be used together with an auditory input provided from outside and still be able to obtain a rhythmical alignment of the auditory input and the rocking movements of the person's head.
  • the system can control the auditory input, e.g. by generating an audio signal to be presented to the person, it may be advantageous that a frequency of an audible feature, e.g. repetition frequency, can be adjusted by the system.
  • the control system may be arranged to adjust a frequency of the rocking movements of the person's head in response to a frequency of an audible feature in the auditory input.
  • the control system may be connected to receive the auditory input, or a digital representation thereof, e.g. to be able to detect a dominating rhythmic frequency therein, in case the auditory input is provided by an external source.
  • the auditory input may comprise a repetitive audio sequence with a repetition frequency being an integer times, or an integer fraction of, a repetition frequency of the rocking movements of the person's head. This way, rhythmical alignment is present.
  • the rocking frequency and the repetition frequency may be the same, however if related by an integer factor or fraction, an good pleasant sensation and relaxing effect is achieved.
  • the auditory intput may be generated based on natural recorded sounds and/or synthesized sounds.
  • the invention helps to unwind the mind and to shorten sleep-onset latency. It can therefore be applied, next to tinnitus, also for other attention-related sleep- onset problems. For example sleep-onset problems caused by: Insomnia in general; Chronic pain; Stressful mind; Anxiety; ADHD; Depression.
  • the invention is also applicable within health care via subscription of medical doctors in hospitals for the treatment of tinnitus.
  • Patients can use the audio -vestibular stimulation system during therapy sessions with the help of a therapeutic doctor.
  • the system can be used for the treatment of pain in general. Further test results indicate that the invention may help in reducing a person's blood pressure.
  • the system can be implemented with simple means, and therefore it is suited to be used for home care solutions, thus matching changes in society.
  • the invention is applicable within ambient healing environments (e.g. MR og PET scanners in hospitals) to distract a patient's attention from anxiety or stress during medical examination.
  • the invention is applicable within consumer life style to help people relax and to fall asleep, or merely to provide a person with a pleasant feeling, but potentially also to reduc the need for drugs to help relax and to fall asleep.
  • the invention provides a method for stimulating a person, the method comprising
  • the invention provides a method for reducing discomfort of a person suffering from tinnitus, the method comprising
  • the invention provides a method for reducing a blood pressure of a person, the method comprising
  • FIG. 1 illustrates basic elements of a system embodiment
  • Figures 2a and 2b illustrate graphs showing temporal amplitude variations for auditory input and head rocking movement which are rhythmically synchronized with a frequency of 1/10 Hz, and with an initial fade-in phase another embodiment
  • Figure 3 illustrates elements of a system embodiment used for a test setup, where the rocking head movement is provided by an inflatable cushion
  • Figures 4, 5, 6a, 6b illustrate graphs showing results of tests performed on tinnitus patients
  • Figure 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f illustrate graphs showing blood pressure measurement results of tests performed on persons using the test setup of Fig. 3,
  • Figure 7 illustrates method steps of a method embodiment
  • Figure 8 illustrates a block diagram of a pain relieving stimulation system embodiment
  • Figure 9 illustrates a picture of a person wearing an embodiment comprising a vibrating wrist band
  • Figures 10a, 10b, 10c illustrate graphs of various examples of temporal alignment of amplitude envelopes of tactile stimulation and additional stimulation
  • Figure 11 illustrates waveforms of an embodiment with three stimuli: audio, tactile, and temperature, and
  • Figure 12 illustrates method steps of a pain relieving method embodiment.
  • Fig. 1 shows a system embodiment with a control system CS serving to control a stimulation device SD that engages with the head of a patient P so as to perform a rocking head movement R_f2 with a rocking frequency of £2 with a magnitude serving to provide a pleasant stimulation of the person P's vestibular system.
  • the two bold arrows indicate the side-to-side rocking head movement directions, primarily around a vertical V axis, e.g. around the person P's curriculum.
  • the rocking head movement caused by the stimulation device SD may be provided as a force applied to the person P's head primarily in a horizontal H direction.
  • the rocking head movement is provided by a pillow or cushion on which the person P rests, wherein the pillow or cushion has an inflatable compartment which is shaped so as to provide the desired head rocking movements when being repeatedly inflated and deflated.
  • a side-to-side rolling head movement may be achieved, and/or a up-down nodding head movement, or a combination of the two types of movements.
  • the system comprises an audio device A D which applies an auditory input A_f 1 in the form of a sound signal to the ears of the person P, either via a loudspeaker or a headphone.
  • the auditory input A fl has an audible feature, preferably in the form of a variying amplitude with a frequency fl, and/or a semantic repetition frequency of fl .
  • Other audible features of the auditory input A fl that may be varied are: frequency content, e.g. frequency filtering (such as cut-off frequency of a low-pass filter varying between a low and a high cut-off frequency).
  • the auditory input A fl can be based on a repeated natural sound recording which is then played back at frequency fl, e.g. a recording of seaways breaking, birds singing, rain drops falling etc., alternatively synthesized sounds. It may also be a piece of music with a fixed rhythm or with a rhythm varying slowly with time.
  • rhythm i.e. the synchronization of the two stimulation frequencies fl and f2 as mentioned above serves to distract the person P's attention toward the two synchronous input modalities: 1) the auditory input, and 2) the vestibular input.
  • This multi-modal input with a synchronized rhythm has been proven to provide a high degree of distraction which far exceeds that obtained with the auditory and the vestibular stimuli if applied alone, or if applied together but without alignment of at least one audible feature with the rocking head movement, such as alignment of rhythm frequency of both stimuli types as described above.
  • the system can be implemented in various ways, e.g. with a computer or mobile phone serving the roles of the control system CS and the audio device A D, with a suitable application program and a link to control a dedicated stimulation device SD, e.g. in the form of an inflatable pillow or cushion with a controlable pump system.
  • control system CS may have a user interface allowing a user to vary different parameters of at least one of the stimuli A_fl, R_f2.
  • the user may switch between different sounds A_fl, e.g. change repetition frequency fl of the sound A fl, change frequency f2, and/or amplitude, and/or direction of the rocking head movement R_f2 etc.
  • the control system CS may be connected to a sensor serving to indicate a physical parameter to the control system CS about the sleep state of the person P.
  • the control system CS may be programmed to fade out, or just shut off after a fixed time, the rocking head movement stimulation R_f2.
  • Figs. 2a and 2b show graphs on a time scale T(s) with time in seconds on the horizontal, and with a relative amplitude indicated on the vertical axis.
  • FIG. 2a shows the first 60 seconds of an example of a stimulation session of the two stimuli: vestibular stimulation V_S and auditory input A, while the following 60 seconds are seen on Fig. 2b.
  • the vestibular stimulation V_S in the form of head rocking, starts gently by means of a fade-in phase which lasts for 3 pace cycles. After that, the level of rocking frequency stayed at the specified frequency 1/10 Hz until the end of the experiment, which was a total duration of 10 minutes.
  • the V_S curve is shown as a square curve which represent the electrical signal in the control system, but of course the physical stimulation of the person was provided as a smooth gentle side-to-side movement of the head.
  • the auditory stimulus A was in the form of breaking sea- waves, and the amplitude of this stimulus is seen to coincide with the rocking movement, since the transitions of the rocking head movement signal V_S coincides with the maximum of the periodically varying amplitude of the auditory input A.
  • Fig. 3 shows a photo of a setup which was used to quantitatively test 20 tinnitus patients in a hospital.
  • the setup has a bed BD with a regular pillow PW under which a standard inflatable air cushion I_C (small camping mat) was positioned.
  • This cushion I_C was inflated and deflated by means of a pump device P_D controlled by a control system in the form of a laptop computer CC.
  • the cushion I_C was positioned under the pillow PW and all elements were hidden inside a regular pillow cover.
  • the pump device P_D and its driver hardware were placed inside a box.
  • the auditory input was provided to the patients by a headphone HP, and the audio signal was also controlled by the laptop comuter CC, and both audio signal and rocking signals were generated by software installed on the laptop computer CC.
  • the laptop screen it was possible to follow the driving signals of the audio- vestibular-tactile stimulation device in real time, and the example of audio and vestibular stimuli shown and described in connection with Figs. 2a and 2b are taken from the experiment.
  • the patients were in supine position (on his/her back) on a matrass with the head on the pillow. They responded using questionnaires, and they were asked to rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, their experiences on: tinnitus distress, and the potential aid of the setup to fall asleep. Their breathing rate was recorded during the experiment.
  • Fig. 4 shows the average relative improvement on a scale from 1 to 10 for the various stimulation conditions for the 20 tinnitus patiens (relative to the baseline condition where there was no stimulation). Participants scored the question: "How much is your tinnitus stress at this moment? ". The result 'A' is for auditory stimulation alone, 'V_S' is for the vestibular stimulation alone, and 'V S+A' is for the combined stimulation. As seen, the multisensory condition where the sensory signals were rhythmically synchronous resulted in a 21% improvement relative to no-stimulation, thus a result which clearly exceeds the minor improvements with the auditory and vestibular stimulation applied alone. In conclusion, the inventive system and method is capable of reducing tinnitus stress.
  • Fig. 5 shows averaged results for the 20 tinnitus patients in the same manner as in Figure 4, but here for the question: "May the audio-vestibular stimulation device potentially help you to fall asleep if you were to use it? ".
  • the inventive system and method is capable of helping tinnitus patients to fall asleep.
  • Figs. 6a and 6b show averaged relative improvement scores from 15 of the tinnitus patients. The results are obtained for two scenarios (as well as no-stimulation):
  • Fig. 6c shows the blood pressure of a person measured with a cuff on his arm for several consecutive test conditions as indicated on the x-axis.
  • the upper graph shows the systolic (indicated with "sys”) blood pressure and the lower graph the diastolic (indicated with "dia”) blood pressure.
  • Fig. 6d shows the measured blood pressure reduction relative to a baseline measurement (first measurement condition shown on x-axis of Fig.
  • FIG. 6c initial state of the person in sitting position, no rocking or auditory stimuli provided, see Fig. 6c).
  • Fig. 6d shows that multi sensory stimulation (combination of synchronized head rocking and auditory stimuli) caused a suprising large reduction in blood pressure.
  • Fig. 6d further shows that a reduction in blood pressure remained when it was measured (in a sitting position) again 5 minutes after the multi sensory stimulation (which was applied for 10 minutes) had stopped.
  • Figs. 6e and 6f show further measurement results obtained with another person.
  • 6e shows the results of two separate blood pressure measurement series (indicated with series 1 for measurement results “sys2-l”, “dia2-l” and series 2 for measurement results “sys 1-2", “dial-2") with the same person resulting in two systolic (“sysl-1” and “sys2-l”) and two diastolic (“dia2-l” and “dial-2") blood pressure graphs.
  • the order of the test conditions was as indicated on the x-axis: starting with a baseline blood pressure
  • the second measurement series (series 2) had slightly modified order of test conditions: starting again with a base line blood pressure measurement of the person in a sitting position with no stimuli provided but now followed by a blood pressure measurement of the person in a lying position and applied synchronous auditory and tactile-vestibular stimulation.
  • Fig. 6f shows for both measurement series the measured blood pressure reduction relative to the initial baseline meaurement.
  • Fig. 7 shows steps of a method embodiment for providing a healthy person with a pleasant and relaxing sensation, or for reducing discomfort of a person suffering from tinnitus. It is to be understood that the method is an example of a specific method
  • First step RD Fl comprises reading a pre-stored stimulation frequency Fl, e.g. from a memory.
  • Next step R_H_F1 comprises rocking the person's head with the stimulation frequency Fl with an amplitude so as to stimulate the person's vestibular system.
  • Next step PB A Fl comprises simultaneously playing back an audio signal to the person which is rhythmically synchronous with the rocking of the person's head, e.g. with an audible feature which varies with the same frequency Fl, e.g. a repetition of the same audio sequence with repetition frequency Fl .
  • Next step M S O comprises monitoring the person for onset of sleep, e.g.
  • step S ST comprises initiatling a stimulation stop sequence in case it has been detected that the person has fallen asleep, e.g. stopping stimulation after 15 minutes, or initiating a fade-out sequence of gradually reducing audio and rocking movement amplitude until zero value has been reached.
  • audio signals can be provided, depending on preference of user, by speaker boxes, headphones, earphones, head-band covering either ear with a small speaker (e.g. SleepPhones ⁇ ), or speakers integrated in a pillow.
  • the sound can be any sound, but preferably a sound that has a relaxing effect by itself, e.g. sea-waves, rain drops, singing birds etc.
  • the type of sound can be adjusted and personalised, and audio loudness can be adjusted.
  • an inflatable-deflatable rocking pillow positioned underneath the head of the person can be applied.
  • Rocking direction can be up/down (nodding head movements) or left/right (side-to-side head movements), or a combination.
  • the rocking head stimulation amplitude can be adjusted.
  • the user can take on a sleep onset posture on his/her back or on his/her side.
  • a large air pump can be used to inflate and deflate the one or more compartment of the rocking pillow, but the inflation and deflation can also be achieved by a series of micropumps integrated into the pillow to provide the rocking effect.
  • the variations over time of the auditory input and the rocking movement stimulation are coupled, preferable coming from same signal generator, to make them temporally identical.
  • Specifics of the auditory input and rocking head movement signals such as the frequency and amplitude of the rhythmic variations, may be programmed in advance through a programmable interface. Amplitude of the rocking head movements and loudness of the auditory input preferably increases gently after onset and go gently down at the end. In case of a combined audio -vestibular-tactile pillow, it can be programmed to commence 30 seconds after the user turns it on, so as to enable the user to take the horizontal position in bed; this period may be adjusted.
  • the pillow may be programmed to stop stimulation e.g. 15 minutes after the moment of detection of sleep onset (based on an input provided by a sensor); this period can be adjusted.
  • the user may have the option to control the stimulation period to e.g. 5 minutes after turning the pillow on; this period can be adjusted.
  • the waveform used for the stimuli do not show discontinuities, such as rapid breaks in intensity, for example as exhibited by square wave profiles and saw-tooth profiles, where the intensity changes in an impulsive manner, as this will mask the effect of the periodic variations in trying to focus the attention of the tinnitus patient away from the ringing in their ear(s).
  • a wave form may vary according to a sinusoidal variation, or a zig-zag wave form can be used.
  • the system may comprise an adjustable stimulation frequency so that the user can optimize it for personal use.
  • the range of available frequencies are preferably between 1 Hz (fastest) and 1/10 Hz (slowest).
  • the different sensorial signals preferably vary with the same frequency.
  • one or more of the sensorial signals varies with a frequency which is 1 ⁇ 2, 1 ⁇ 4, 1/8 [more generally l/(2 A n)] of the frequency of another sensorial signal, as this will also assist in capturing the attention of the tinnitus patient.
  • a repetitive audio signal of a wave breaking with frequency F could be combined with a cushion which rocks the head of the patient every 2 times the wave breaks (1/2 F). Phase differences are not crucial as the brain is flexible to shift signal interpretation in time.
  • waveforms which comply with the above embodiments may be unaligned in phase up to at least 1 ⁇ 4 of a cycle, maybe even more.
  • both the rocking rate and the sound amplitude variation rate adjust to 90% of the breathing rate to create a paced breathing experience.
  • Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram of basic elements of a pain relieving system embodiment.
  • a person P feeling pain e.g. back pain or migraine
  • two modalities of stimulation a tactile stimulation, here illustrated as an electrical stimulation E_S provided by an electrical stimulator E ST, as well as an additional stimulation input, here illustrated as an audio signal A S provided by a loudspeaker L, e.g. positioned in a headphone.
  • the electrical stimulator E ST may be capable of providing electric pulses at a frequency of such as 30-250 Hz with a magnitude to provide the person P with a tingling sensation uppon application to her/his skin. However, lower frequencies of vibration can also be considered, e.g. 5-30 Hz.
  • Such electrical stimulation is also known as Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and preferred pulse amplitudes and durations for correctly stimulating the nerves are known to those skilled in the art.
  • TESS Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation
  • a control system CS serves to control the electrical stimulator E ST in accordance with the audio signal A S, so as to rhythmically align the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input.
  • a synergistic distraction effect is obtained, that distracts the person from a pain sensation, thus providing a pain relieving effect.
  • An even further increased pain relieving effect can obtained if the tactile (eletrical) stimulation E_S is applied at the source of pain, and/or along a nerve path transmitting the sensation of pain to the brain from its source location.
  • the controller system CS repeats an audio sequence, e.g. breaking seawaves, at a repetition frequency R fl .
  • the eletrical stimulator E ST is controlled to provide a varying amplitude of the electrical stimulation pulses, providing an amplitude envelope varying electrical stimulation amplitude between zero and a maximum setting with a frequency of E fl, wherein one common frequency fl of the repetition of the audio signal A S and the amplitude envelope of the electrical stimulation E_S is between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz. This provides a pleasant slow variation with a high degree of distraction effect.
  • the electrical stimulator E ST and the loudspeaker L may be part of a wearable device WD, e.g. in the form of one single wearable unit with means for fastening to a part of the person's P body, or in the form of one wearable unit with the electrical stimulator E ST and e.g. a headphone with one or two loudspeaker(s) L.
  • Fig. 9 shows a specific embodiment, where a person P wears a wearable device in the form of a wrist band WB arranged to provide a tactile stimulation in the form of a vibration stimulation of the person's P wrist by means of a transducer arranged to vibrate within 30-250 Hz, e.g. a loudspeaker or a dedicated vibration transducer.
  • the wrist band WB has a fastening band or bracelet to keep the wrist band WB in place during normal activity. Additionally, the wrist band WB may be arranged to provide vibration together with heat or ice effect.
  • a controller (not shown, e.g. the person's smart phone, tablet or laptop computer) serves to provide a vibration pattern: function output can be adapted to a desired frequency.
  • a system serves to provide the additional stimulation in the form of an audio signal applied to the person P by means of a headphone HP. E.g. sound in the form of sea waves or a synthesized sound can be used.
  • E.g. wireless headphones HP or earphones can be used in public space, while sound can be provided by a loudspeaker of the system for use in private space.
  • the controller serves to synchronize the vibration stimulation and the sound stimulation.
  • the person P can preferably turn on/off the stimulations, and e.g. vary sound and/or vibration pattern, e.g. vary one common rhythmic frequency, to fit personal preferences.
  • the wrist band WB need only be provided with one single loudspeaker unit. It is however possible to provide a multisensory stimulation from a single device, because of the physiological limitations of the human auditory system and capabilities of the human tactile perception. Such a preferred
  • the loudspeaker system For the audio stimulation, the loudspeaker system is operated in its normal mode, creating a desired sound in the range of the human ear (e.g. 100- 10,000Hz). The sound signals follow the patterns discussed in detail below.
  • the loudspeaker For the vibration stimulation, the loudspeaker is operated below its effective operational mode, in a frequency range below e.g 100Hz, where a small loudspeaker (which could fit the wrist band WB) is unable to produce sufficient pressure levels to be audible.
  • these frequencies especially qwithin 30-100 Hz, are extremely suitable to stimulate the nerves responsible for the tactile sensation, being within the range 30-250 Hz. Again, these tactile signals follow the patterns discussed in detail below.
  • This embodiment will work most efficiently, if the loudspeaker is at least partially facing the skin and in direct contact with the skin at the wrist.
  • the user starts feeling pain, e.g. headache at her/his job.
  • the user activates the system with wrist band WB and headphones HP, and the user can profit from a pain relieving effect, and can even continue working during the multimodal stimulation.
  • the multisensory system of the invention uses a combination of stimulation signals, one of which is tactile, that vary congruently, i.e. in rhythm over time, with one another.
  • stimulation signals one of which is tactile
  • congruently i.e. in rhythm over time
  • an important part of the invention is how the signals vary over time. That is, basically their waveform, frequency, amplitude and phase of the envelope of each stimulation modality.
  • Figs. 10a, 10b, and 10c show such envelope examples.
  • Fig. 10a shows basic wave forms for varying signal amplitude SA versus time T.
  • Fig. 10b shows an increase in the amplitude SA for a fixed frequency varying sinusoidally between an amplitude SA value close to zero and a maximum value.
  • Fig. 10c shows a phase offset P_0 and different frequencies of two waveforms. Note that the wave forms are depicted for the slow alterations of signals over time.
  • envelope wave form one can add e.g. a high frequency audio signal which, then, changes in loudness according to the wave form.
  • the envelope can be said to modulate a stimulation signal, which may itself vary in amplitude at a (much) higher frequency.
  • the inventors have realized that it is important that the waveform used for the multisensory stimuli do not show discontinuities, such as rapid breaks in intensity, e.g. as exhibited by square wave profiles and saw-tooth profiles, where the intensity changes in an impulsive manner, as this will mask the effect of the periodic variations in trying to focus the perception of the pain sufferer away from the pain feeling.
  • Fig. 10a the three different wave forms shown are all applicable, since they do not contain any rapid breaks in intensity.
  • the upper wave form in Fig. 10a is a sinusoidal variation in signal amplitude SA.
  • the system may contain an adjustable frequency, so that the user can optimize it for personal use.
  • the range of available envelope frequencies may be selected to be such as: between 3 Hz (fastest) and 1/30 Hz (slowest).
  • the different sensorial signals preferably vary with the same frequency.
  • one or more of the sensorial signals varies with a frequency which is 1 ⁇ 2, 1 ⁇ 4, 1/8..., or more generally l/(2 n ) of the frequency of another sensorial signal, as this will also assist in focusing the perception of pain.
  • a repetitive audio signal of a wave breaking with frequency F could be combined with vibration of the wristband every 2 times the wave breaks (1/2 F).
  • the amplitude is also user adjustable, so that various absolute amplitudes and ratios of amplitudes can be imposed.
  • the quantitative value of the amplitude depends on the modality. This is an important variable because changing the amplitude (for a fixed frequency) also entails the signal change per second. For this reason, it is preferred if the rate of change of the amplitude is slow.
  • the amplitude of the signal does not decrease from its maximum value to zero in a single period (F), but that there is at least one period with an amplitude intermediate between the maximum amplitude and zero amplitude inserted into the waveform before the waveform returns to zero.
  • Phase differences P_0 as illustrated in Fig. 10c is not crucial, as the brain is flexible to shift signal interpretation in time. For this reason, waveforms which comply with the above three embodiments may be unaligned in phase up to 1 ⁇ 4 of a cycle or more without any significant loss of pain relieving effect.
  • Fig. 11 shows for an embodiment, an example of 3 set of envelope waveforms, representing audio AD, tactile (vibration) VB, and temperature stimuli TMP.
  • the frequency of the audio signal AD is highest and constant, while the amplitude of the vibrational signal VB changes slowly with time.
  • the temperature signal TMP changes at a frequency which is the half of the audio signal, but remains constant with time.
  • Fig. 12 shows steps of a method for relieving pain of a person.
  • the method comprises providing T ST a tactile stimulation to a part of the person's body, providing A ST an additional stimulation input to the person comprising a perceptual modality which is different from tactile, and rhythmically aligning RH A the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input. It is to be understood that the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation input are provided simultaneously.
  • the rhythmical aligning RH A serves to provide a pain relieving distraction effect, which can be further increased in case the tactile stimulation T ST is provided to the part of the person's body where the person feels pain, and/or to a position of the person's body along a nerve path transmitting sensation of pain to the brain from its source location.
  • the pain relieving system may be a personalized system.
  • the multisensory wristband system may be designed to personalize temperature, vibration and sound to suit the preferences of the user.
  • a pain calibration and/or modeling of pain may be provided: the user may be allowed to quantify the "pain feeling" before, during and after using the system.
  • the data can be used for personalization and of the system settings.
  • a security coded for privacy and/or individual user-settings can be provided.
  • a pin- coded activator may be provided to ensure that buttons will not be pressed by chance and activate the system.
  • Additional actuator(s) may be provided: ankle-band and/or vibration- massage-chair for increasing tactile (vibration) sensation.
  • Rhythmic pulses of music can also be use together with the vibration stimuli of the wristband.
  • visual stimuli and/or signals e.g relaxing images or colours coming from smart phone, laptop, etc.
  • aroma therapy disposable can be also combined for extra stimulation, but also for additional relaxing effect.
  • a head band with tactile stimuli rubbing and subtle vibration
  • the invention provides a pain relieving stimulation system for providing a person with a pain relieving stimulation.
  • a tactile stimulator device provides a tactile stimulation of a part of the person's body, e.g. in the form of mechancial vibration and/or electrical stimulation pulses.
  • An additional stimulation input comprising a non-tactile modality, e.g. an audible and/or visual input, is provided and controlled to be rhythmically aligned with the tactile stimulation.
  • the rhythmical alignment can be provided by synchronously repeating an amplitude variation of the tactile stimulation and the additional stimulation with a repetition 1 second and 10 seconds, e.g. following a cycle of stimulating for 1 second and stopping stimulation for 4 seconds.
  • the tactile stimulation can be provided by a wearable device, e.g. a wrist band, capable of providing mechanical vibration within 30-250 Hz combined with a synchronized audio signal.
  • the invention further provides a stimulation system with a stimulator device, e.g. comprising an inflatable/deflatable pillow, arranged to engage with a person's head in order to generate rocking movements of the person's head in a manner stimulating the person's vestibular system, e.g. side-to-side rolls of the person's head.
  • a control system controls the stimulator device in accordance with an auditory input to the person.
  • the control system serves to rhythmically synchronize the auditory input and the rocking head movements, e.g. to have the same repetition frequency of between 1/30 Hz and 2 Hz, e.g. 1/10 Hz.
  • the combined synchronous audio and vestibular-tactile stimulation has been shown effective in distracting tinnitus patients form their discomfort, and to help them to fall asleep, and in reducing blood pressure of persons.
  • the auditory input may be a repeated sound signal provided by headphones to the person, e.g. a recording of reaking seawaves, singing birds etc., with a dominating audible feature having a perioditicy aligned with the head movements.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système de stimulation pour soulager la douleur, servant à apporter à une personne une stimulation soulageant la douleur. Un dispositif stimulateur tactile produit une stimulation tactile d'une partie du corps de la personne, par exemple sous forme de vibrations mécaniques et/ou d'impulsions de stimulation électriques. Une entrée de stimulation additionnelle comprenant une modalité non tactile, par exemple une entrée audible et/ou visuelle, est produite et commandée de façon à être alignée de manière rythmique avec la stimulation tactile. Par exemple, l'alignement rythmique peut être produit par répétition en synchronisme d'une variation d'amplitude de la stimulation tactile et de la stimulation additionnelle avec une répétition de 1 seconde et de 10 secondes, par exemple en suivant un cycle de stimulation de 1 seconde et d'arrêt de la stimulation de 4 secondes. Cette stimulation combinant le type tactile et une autre modalité s'est avérée produire un effet de soulagement de la douleur. Dans un mode de réalisation spécifique, la stimulation tactile peut être produite par un dispositif à porter, par exemple un bracelet, capable de produire une vibration mécanique allant de 30 à 250 hertz, combinée à un signal audio synchronisé.
PCT/EP2014/068110 2013-08-28 2014-08-27 Système de stimulation de soulagement de la douleur WO2015028480A1 (fr)

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