Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N1/00—Electrotherapy; Circuits therefor
  • A61N1/18—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes
  • A61N1/32—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes alternating or intermittent currents
  • A61N1/36—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes alternating or intermittent currents for stimulation
  • A61N1/36014—External stimulators, e.g. with patch electrodes
  • A61N1/36025—External stimulators, e.g. with patch electrodes for treating a mental or cerebral condition
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N1/00—Electrotherapy; Circuits therefor
  • A61N1/18—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes
  • A61N1/32—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes alternating or intermittent currents
  • A61N1/36—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes alternating or intermittent currents for stimulation
  • A61N1/36014—External stimulators, e.g. with patch electrodes
  • A61N1/3603—Control systems
  • A61N1/36034—Control systems specified by the stimulation parameters
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N1/00—Electrotherapy; Circuits therefor
  • A61N1/02—Details
  • A61N1/04—Electrodes
  • A61N1/0404—Electrodes for external use
  • A61N1/0408—Use-related aspects
  • A61N1/0456—Specially adapted for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [TENS]

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates generally to the field of transcranial electrostimulation. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to improved systems and methods for transcranial electrostimulation for treating Alzheimer’s Dementia and other dementia diseases.
• Electrostimulation devices for applying current to a patient through electrodes located on the head have been developed and used for a variety of purposes in the past, such as for producing analgesic effects, inducing sleep, and reducing or controlling migraine headaches.
• TCES transcranial electrostimulation
• CES cranial electrostimulation
• Conventional TCES devices although employed for a number of different purposes, may have severe drawbacks.
• many conventional TCES devices utilize a direct current (DC) component in order to break down or lower the resistance of the skin and to allow the treatment current (which may a combination of direct and alternating current) to penetrate to the nervous system.
• DC direct current
• This DC component depolarizes nociceptors in the skin, causing discomfort in the patient. If the DC-stimulated nociceptors are efferent to a trigeminal nerve branch in the head, the discomfort may be protected into the forehead region. [0008]
• This patient discomfort resulting from DC rectification presents an upper limit on the amount of power that can be delivered even in an AC-only TCES therapy. Because of this upper limit on power, such conventional therapies are limited in their efficacy. This is especially pronounced when it may be desired to utilized TCES therapy to treat Dementia diseases such as Alzheimer’s Dementia, where the amount of power delivered may be insufficient to penetrate into the deep structures in the brain associated with early Dementia and loss of memory and cognition.
• a transcranial electrostimulation system produces a high current level, dual symmetric charge balanced alternating current electrical signal for delivery to the occipital region of a patient’s brain.
• a transcranial electrostimulation system produces a high current level, dual symmetric charge balanced alternating current electrical signal for delivery to the occipital region of a patient’s brain.
• Transcranial electrostimulation systems for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia may comprise a carrier waveform generator, a stimulation current generator, and a patient cable.
• a stimulation current may be generated from an carrier waveform output from the carrier waveform generator, with the carrier waveform being an alternating current having a duty cycle ratio and a current amplitude ratio, the duty cycle ratio and the current amplitude ratio being selected such that each respective integration of the current amplitude between successive time instances at which the carrier waveform alternates polarity is substantially equivalent.
• the stimulation current may be subsequently conveyed to the patient via the patient cable.
• the contemplated transcranial electrostimulation systems for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia may further be configured to amplitude modulate the carrier waveform prior during the process of generating the stimulation current, such that the extremes of the stimulation current define a stimulation current envelope.
• the stimulation current envelope may further be amplitude modulated such that the stimulation current envelope defines a first series of pulses occurring at a first frequency.
• the frequency of the first series of pulses may be about 40 Hz.
• the contemplated transcranial electrostimulation systems for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia may further be configured to generate a stimulation current wherein the stimulation current envelope further defines a second series of pulses occurring at a second frequency.
• the second series of pulse may occur at a frequency selected from: about 4 Hz, about 40Hz, about 77.5 Hz.
• the contemplated transcranial electrostimulation systems for treating a patient for Alzheimer’ s Dementia may further be configured such that the stimulation current is conveyed to the patient for a treatment duration, with the stimulation current defining a stimulation current envelope, the stimulation current envelope defining a first series of pulses that occur at a frequency of about 40 Hz for the entire treatment duration, and defining a second series of pulses that occur at a frequency of about 4 Hz for a first portion of the treatment duration, a frequency of about 40 Hz for a second portion of the treatment duration, and a frequency of about 77.5 Hz for a third portion of the treatment duration.
• the treatment duration may be, for example, about an hour, with each of the first portion of the treatment duration, the second portion of the treatment duration, and the third portion of the treatment duration being about 20 minutes.
• the stimulation current may be configured such that it defines a stimulation current envelope which itself defines a plurality of series of pulses, each respective one of the plurality of series of pulses occurring at a respective frequency.
• each of the plurality of series of pulses defined by the stimulation current envelopes has a frequency selected from one or more of: about 4 Hz, about 40Hz, about 77.5 Hz.
• the transcranial electrostimulation systems for treating a patient for Alzheimer’ s Dementia may further be configured such that the carrier waveform may have a frequency of about 100 KHz, such that the carrier waveform is a rectangular wave, or both.
• the system(s) may further comprise one or more reference electrodes, the stimulation current being measured at the patient by the one or more reference electrodes and an electrode contact impedance being determined therefrom, and a controller in communication with the one or more reference electrodes, the controller adjusting, based upon the determined electrode contact impedance, one or more parameters of: the carrier waveform output from the waveform generator, the stimulation current output from the stimulation current generator, or combinations thereof.
• Methods for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia comprising the steps of: (a) generating a carrier waveform, the carrier waveform being an alternating current having a duty cycle ratio and a current amplitude ratio, the first duty cycle ratio and the first current amplitude ratio being selected such that each respective integration of the current amplitude between successive time instances at which the first waveform alternates polarity is substantially equivalent; and generating a stimulation current from the carrier waveform via amplitude modulation the carrier waveform, the extremes of the stimulation current defining a stimulation current envelope, the stimulation current envelope defining a first series of pulses occurring at a first frequency; and (b) applying the stimulation current to the occipital region of the brain of the patient.
• the first series of pulses may occur at a frequency of about 40 Hz.
• the step of generating a stimulation current may, in additional embodiments, occur via amplitude modulating the carrier waveform such that the stimulation current envelope current further defines a second series of pulses occurring at a second frequency.
• the frequency of the second series of pulses may be selected from, for example, about 4 Hz, about 40Hz, or about 77.5 Hz.
• the above described methods may also comprise applying the stimulation current to the occipital region of the brain of a to a patient for a treatment duration, wherein the first series of pulses occur at a frequency of about 40 Hz for the entire treatment duration, and wherein the second series of pulses occur at a frequency of about 4 Hz for a first portion of the treatment duration, a frequency of about 40 Hz for a second portion of the treatment duration, and a frequency of about 77.5 Hz for a third portion of the treatment duration.
• the treatment duration may be, for example, an hour, with each of the first portion of the treatment duration, the second portion of the treatment duration, and their third portion of the treatment duration being about 20 minutes.
• the step of generating the stimulation current may be performed via amplitude modulating the carrier waveform such that the stimulation current envelope defines a plurality of series of pulses, each respective one of the plurality of series of pulses occurring at a respective frequency.
• Such frequencies may be selected from one or more of: about 4 Hz, about 40Hz, about 77.5 Hz.
• the carrier waveform may have a frequency of about 100 KHz, may be a rectangular wave, or both.
• additional steps may be included such as: measuring the stimulation current at the patient, determining of an electrode contact impedance therefrom, and based upon the determined electrode contact impedance, adjusting one or more of: the waveform output from the waveform generator, the stimulation current output from the stimulation current generator, or combinations thereof.
• a method of generating a stimulation current comprising generating a carrier waveform, the carrier waveform being a rectangular alternating current having a duty cycle ratio and a current amplitude ratio, the duty cycle ratio and the current amplitude ratio being selected such that each respective integration of the current amplitude between successive time instances at which the waveform alternates polarity is substantially equivalent, and amplitude modulating the carrier waveform to derive a stimulation current, the extreme of the stimulation current defining a stimulation current envelope, the stimulation current envelope defining a first series of pulses occurring at a first frequency.
• FIG. 1 is an illustration showing an embodiment of a high frequency (100 KHz) rectangular alternating current carrier waveform that is charge-balanced, in that the area under the curves (AUC) for each respective integration of current amplitude between successive time instances at which the carrier alternates polarity is equal, with such charge balance resulting from the choice of a particular duty cycle ratio (T2:T1) and a particular current amplitude ratio (Ma(l):Ma(2)) for the carrier waveform;
• AUC area under the curves
• Fig. 2 is an illustration showing one embodiment of stimulation current comprising the result of amplitude modulating the carrier waveform of Fig. 1 such that the extremes of the stimulation current define a stimulation current envelope, with the stimulation current envelope defining a first series of pulses occurring at a frequency FI and having a pulse width PW1.
• Fig. 3 is an illustration showing another embodiment of a stimulation current comprising the result of amplitude modulating the carrier waveform of Fig. 1 such that the extremes of the stimulation current define a stimulation current envelope, with the stimulation current envelope defining a first series of pulses occurring at a frequency FI and having a pulse width PW1, and defining a second series of pulses occurring at frequency F2 and having a pulse width PW2;
• FIG. 4 is an illustration showing an example of a resultant rectified charge that is entrained at the neurons within the occipital region of a patient’s brain, overlaid atop the example of the stimulation current shown in Fig. 2, the resultant rectified charge occurring as a consequence of transcranial application of the illustrated stimulation current to occipital region of a patient’s brain.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing certain steps of an embodiment of a method for treating a patient for Alzheimer’ s Dementia;
• FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing certain hardware components of an embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’ s Dementia;
• Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing, in greater detail, certain hardware and/or software components of a stimulation circuitry PCB included in one embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia;
• Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing certain hardware and/or software components of a front panel of an embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia;
• FIG. 9 is an exemplary image of a front panel user interface of an embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’ s Dementia.
• TCES transcranial electrostimulation
• a “symmetric” or charge balanced AC signal is delivered to the patient in a manner that permits higher levels of overall power to be transmitted more deeply into the brain without the limitations of the patent discomfort threshold, permitting evocation of nerves in the deep brain structures and enhancing treatment outcome.
• This increase in power may enhance treatment efficacy and response without any adverse clinical sequelae.
• the blended frequency pattern of the stimulation current envelope may result in metabolic cleansing and regeneration in damaged neurons, which in particular may be seen to reduce and possibly reverse the symptoms associated with dementia diseases such as Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD).
• AD Alzheimer’s Dementia
• Fig. 1 an exemplary embodiment of a rectangular alternating current (AC) carrier waveform is illustrated.
• the exemplary rectangular AC carrier waveform has, between each successive alternation of polarity, an area under the curve (AUC), i.e., the integration of the current amplitude between successive time instances at which the waveform alternates polarity.
• AUC area under the curve
• the carrier waveform itself may be any type of alternating current waveform.
• the waveform is generally in the form of a rectangular wave.
• other waveform types may be used as carrier waveforms, such as sinusoidal or triangular waves.
• this charge balancing wherein the AUC of each successive pair of region between alternation in polarity are substantially equivalent, may be achieved in a variety of ways, such that each respective pair of waveforms is not necessarily required to have the same geometry as those preceding it.
• the “on” positive amperage portions of the illustrated carrier waveform have a greater magnitude than the “off’ negative amplitude portions, but are of a shorter duration (T2), with the duration of the “off’ negative amperage portions of the carrier waveform being longer (T1 - T2) and with a lesser magnitude.
• This ratio of the time when the carrier waveform “on” versus “off’ is referred to as the duty cycle ratio, which is calculated here, when a rectangular AC waveform is used as the carrier wave, as (T2)/(T1).
• the carrier waveform is a high-frequency rectangular alternating current, which has a frequency of about 100 KHz. It has generally been found that use high frequency carrier waveform is most beneficial for permitting deep penetration of the stimulation current into targeted regions of the patient’s brain. However, in other embodiments, it is contemplated that higher or lower frequencies than 100 KHz may be utilized, without departing from the scope and spirt of the present disclosure. Likewise, it may also be seen that variation in the frequency of the carrier waveform over time or in response to stimuli or other inputs may be utilized in order to enhance the functionality of the transcranial electrostimulation device. [0038] Turning now to Fig.
• FIG. 2 an exemplary embodiment of a stimulation current that has been produced via amplitude modulation of the high frequency carrier waveform of Fig. 1 is illustrated.
• the extremes of the amplitude modulated high frequency carrier waveform define a stimulation current envelope, which results as a consequence of the particular parameters of the amplitude modulation.
• the stimulation current envelope may itself be seen to define a first series of pulses occurring at a first frequency FI and having a pulse width PW2.
• the stimulation current When applied to the occipital region of the patient’s brain, the stimulation current may induce neural entrainment, causing neurons within the patient’s brain to be stimulated an via polarization of the electrical charge on the outside of the membrane in accordance with the frequency of the first series of pulses.
• neural entrainment may occur at the neurons that are affected by the stimulation current.
• FIG. 3 another exemplary embodiment of a stimulation current is illustrated in which the original carrier waveform shown in Fig. 1 has been amplitude modulated such that a first and a second series of pulses are defined by the stimulation current envelope, the first series of pulses having a frequency FI and a pulse width PW1, and the second series of pulses having a frequency F2 and a pulse width PW2.
• the second series of pulses occur at a higher frequency (F2), have a shorter pulse width, and are of a lesser magnitude than the pulses within the first series of pulses.
• the pulses of one series of pulses may have higher or lower frequencies, shorter or longer pulse widths, and greater or lesser magnitudes than the pulses of another series of pulses, without departing from the scope and spirit of the presently contemplating disclosure.
• a stimulation current defining an envelope with multiple series pulses may be created.
• neural entrainment of certain neurons within the patient’s brain may be facilitated at Frequencies FI and/or FI when the stimulation current is delivered to the patient, with the stimulating current still being charge balanced and not resulting in substantial patient discomfort.
• the stimulation current may be configured to have different pulse widths or amplitudes for certain of the series of pulses, it may be seen that certain types or regions of neurons may be targeted by some of the series of pulses for neural entrainment, while other types or regions of neurons may be targeted by others of the series of pulses for neural entrainment.
• a charge balanced stimulation current which contains a blend of different frequency patterns
• neuronal responses within a patient’s brain may be evoked which may tend to result in metabolic cleansing and regeneration in damaged neurons.
• administration of a charged balanced stimulation current having a stimulation current envelope that defines a first series of pulses occurring at a 4 Hz frequency when delivered to the patient, may tend to evoke a metabolic cleansing response.
• the definition by the stimulation current envelope of a second series of pulses occurring at a 40 Hz frequency when delivered to the patient, may tend to promote a neuronal regenerative response.
• a stimulation current having a stimulation current envelope that defines both a 4 Hz first series of pulses and a 40 Hz second series of pulses may be delivered to a patient in order to achieve both of these results.
• a synergistic beneficial effect may be realized as a result of the different neural entrainment outcomes resulting from the particular choices used.
• the stimulation current may have a stimulation current envelope defining a first series of pulses occurring at a constant 40 Hz frequency for the entire duration of the treatment, with the stimulation current envelope also defining a second series of pulses occurring at a variable frequency, the variable frequency being 4 Hz for a first portion of the treatment, 40 Hz for a second portion of the treatment, and 77.5 Hz for a third portion of the treatment. It is further contemplated that for a treatment with a duration of an hour, each of the first, second, and third portions of treatment may be roughly equal, i.e. be 20 minutes in length. As such, the transcranial electrostimulation device may be configured to output a stimulation current according to these parameters.
• multiple different neural regions may be configured to be stimulated in various ways across a single course of treatment, according to the effects desired to be achieved via such stimulation treatment regimens.
• FIG. 4 an example of a resultant rectified charge that is entrained at the neurons within the occipital region of a patient’s brain as a result of delivery of an exemplary stimulation current to the occipital region of the patient’s brain is shown overlaid atop that exemplary stimulation current. It may be seen that this resultant rectified charge may occur as a consequence of transcranial application of the illustrated stimulation current to occipital region of a patient’s brain, which causes this rectified charge to accrue at the neurons. This rectified charge accrual results in polarization of the electrical charge on the outside of the neural membrane, in accordance with the frequency of the first series of pulses defined by the envelope of the stimulation current.
• the magnitude and pulse width of the pulses defined by the stimulation current envelope are sufficient to cause sufficient accrual of electrical charge at a neuron to elevate the resting potential of the neuron to the threshold of excitation, an action potential of the neuron will be triggered.
• a higher magnitude pulse of a lesser pulse width may be sufficient to cause enough charge to accrue, or a lower magnitude pule of a greater pulse width may be sufficient, so long as the sufficient voltage is achieved at the membrane of the neuron as a result of delivery of the stimulation current.
• each pulse will separate trigger another action potential within the neuron in order to cause natural entrainment to the frequency of the first series pulses.
• configurations of the different parameters of stimulation currents may result in some pulses being received at some neurons prior to the recovery of the neuronal refractory period resulting from triggering of the action potential by an earlier pulse.
• Such schemes may be utilized in order to, for example, target entrainment of certain types or localities of neurons according to a first frequency, and to target entrainment of another type or locality of neurons according to a second frequency.
• a TCES system may first digitally synthesize one or more high frequency rectangular AC carrier waveforms, which may or may not be similar to the waveform illustrated in Fig. 1. The TCES system may then amplitude modulate the high frequency carrier waveform, as described in detail above, according to the particular parameters ultimately desired in the stimulation current, ultimately producing a stimulation current, which will then be conveyed to the patient.
• a measurement of electrode contact impedance may be taken at the patient at the point of delivery of the stimulation current via one or more reference electrodes.
• the stimulation current may then be controlled (such as via alternation of the parameters of the high frequency carrier waveform, or by alteration of the various factors of the amplitude modulation) in order to better optimize the performance of the stimulation current, to confirm electrode contact quality, and to prevent any current imbalances that may result in unequal stimulation or inadvertent generation of DC components that may result in discomfort to the patient.
• a TACS system may comprise a device chassis containing an AC/DC power supply, a stimulation circuitry printed circuit board (PCB), a front panel PCB, and a battery pack, configured for use with an external mains power source that feeds into the AC/DC power supply. Also included is a patient cable for conveying the stimulation current to the patient may be attached to the stimulation circuitry PCB, with the patient cable having a right active electrode, a left active electrode, and a reference electrode.
• PCB stimulation circuitry printed circuit board
• a front panel PCB a front panel PCB
• a battery pack configured for use with an external mains power source that feeds into the AC/DC power supply.
• a patient cable for conveying the stimulation current to the patient may be attached to the stimulation circuitry PCB, with the patient cable having a right active electrode, a left active electrode, and a reference electrode.
• the stimulation circuitry PCB may be for controlling the functionality of the TACS related to the generation and control of the stimulation current, including the synthesis of a high frequency carrier waveform.
• the stimulation circuitry PCB will be more fully described in relation to the foregoing discussion of Fig. 7.
• the front panel PCB may be for supporting the user interface for the TACS system, and may include, for example, means for user input and for display of information to the user.
• the front panel PCB will be more fully described in relation to the foregoing discussion of Fig. 8.
• the patient cable may be for conveying the stimulation current produced at the TACS to the patient.
• the patient cable may include or be connected to two or more active electrodes for delivering the stimulation current to the patient, and may further include or be connected to one or more reference electrodes for determining stimulation output voltage and returning measurements which will be used to determine electrode impedance.
• the active electrodes may comprise a pliable substrate with an electrically conductive adhesive.
• the active electrodes may be applied to the left and right mastoid region of the patient, with the reference electrode applied to the patient’s forehead.
• the location, positioning, quantity, etc. of the active electrodes and the reference electrode(s) may be different.
• the power supply which in the exemplary embodiment may be optional and which may be a medical grade AC/DC power supply, may be any power supply or other which may be used to receive mains power and to permit that mains power to be conveyed the remainder of the system and utilized to ultimately produce a stimulation current.
• the battery pack which again may be an optional component, and which in the exemplary embodiment is a Ni-MH battery pack that also includes a battery management system, may serve to provide uninterrupted power during mains power failure, and which may serve to prevent artifact generation (spikes, jitters, etc.) that may occur during failure or intermittent losses or reduction in mains power delivery, as such artifacts may be included within the stimulation current which may result in inadvertent rectification of the stimulation by the skin and production of a DC current component, leading to patient discomfort.
• artifact generation spikes, jitters, etc.
• FIG. 7 a block diagram showing, in greater detail, certain hardware and/or software components of a stimulation circuitry PCB according to one embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia.
• the stimulation circuity PCB may, in the exemplary embodiment shown, include a stimulation circuit microcontroller comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a waveform generator module, a waveform modulation module, and an analog to digital converter (ADC) module, with the stimulation circuity PBC also including a digital to current source converter module, a voltage and current sense module, a digital potentiometer (pot), a Ni-MH battery management module, a power conditioning module, and inputs/outputs to the front panel PCB and to the patient cable.
• a stimulation circuit microcontroller comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a waveform generator module, a waveform modulation module, and an analog to digital converter (ADC) module
• ADC analog to digital converter
• the stimulation circuity PBC also including a digital to current source converter module, a voltage and current sense module, a digital potentiometer (pot), a Ni-MH battery management module, a power conditioning module, and inputs/outputs to the front panel PCB and to the patient
• the CPU may provide software control of all hardware functions in the TACS system.
• the CPU may also receive inputs from the ADC module and perform calculations based upon those inputs in order to control the functionality of the TACS system and its subordinate components in real time.
• the carrier waveform generator module may be controlled by the CPU and may generate a carrier waveform according to the specific parameters desired, which may include a duty cycle and current amplitude ratio.
• the carrier waveform may then be then amplitude modulated with a carrier waveform via a digital potentiometer controlled by a waveform modulation model (also potentially controlled by the CPU) to perform the herein described steps in order to produce a digital representation of the herein described stimulation current.
• the carrier waveform and thus the resulting stimulation current has a frequency of about 100 KHz.
• a digital to current source converter i.e., the stimulation current generator
• the stimulation current may be used to ultimately generate, from a digital representation of the amplitude modulated carrier waveform, the actual stimulation current for subsequent delivery to the patient.
• the stimulation current is about 15 mA.
• the stimulation current flow may also be at different rates.
• the ADC module may be configured to receive analog information from a voltage and current sense module and to convert that analog information to digital information for use by the CPU in order to permit real-time adjustment of the stimulation current.
• analog information may be, according to certain contemplated embodiments, information received from an active electrode or a reference electrode, which may concern quality of electrode contact, electrical impedance, etc.
• Such information may be used to provide feedback to the CPU and to permit dynamic adjudgments to be made in real time to the stimulation current, such as via adjustment of the underlying waveform, the modulation signal(s), or directly at the stimulation current itself.
• a power conditioning module may also be included within or in relation to the stimulation circuitry PCB for regulating the power supply to voltage supply rails for the operation of the microcontroller and the stimulation output circuitry.
• a block diagram is illustrated that shows certain hardware and/or software components of a front panel of an exemplary embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia.
• the front panel may be seen to include a membrane array switch and a LED segment display array.
• the membrane array switch may be utilized by the user of the TECS system in order to manually input adjustments to the parameters of the stimulation current, such as output level, treatment time, or treatment controls.
• the LED segment display array may be viewed by the user to visually confirm these parameters and the overall status of the device.
• Fig. 9 an exemplary image of a front panel user interface of an embodiment of a transcranial electrostimulation system for treating a patient for Alzheimer’s Dementia is shown.
• the front panel user interface may, according to the particular embodiment illustrated, include controls from adjusting an output, which may be a current level setpoint (i.e., in milliamperes) or even an alphanumeric signifier that relates to a treatment type, such as the output of a stimulation current according to one of the many aforementioned variations in frequency or multiple frequencies, or an entire set of predefined treatment parameters encompassed within a treatment modality.
• a treatment time may also be adjusted, as well as a manual start/stop button for beginning or ending the treatment.
• the front panel user interface may also contain, without limitation, one or more status LEDs for indicating a status condition, such as a battery status (i.e., fully charged, low charge, no charge remaining, etc.), a check electrode status (i.e. no or poor contact of one or more electrodes), or a general fault status which may indicate other conditions not encompassed by other status indicators.
• a status condition such as a battery status (i.e., fully charged, low charge, no charge remaining, etc.), a check electrode status (i.e. no or poor contact of one or more electrodes), or a general fault status which may indicate other conditions not encompassed by other status indicators.
• a this description of a front panel user interface is purely illustrative in nature and is specific to one exemplary embodiment of a TECS system, and that the presence, absence, or specific configuration of any front panel user interface, or the controls or displays contained thereon or therein, are purely illustrative of merely one particular embodiment, and these descriptions are certainly not meant to impose any limitations on the inventive aspects of the herein described systems and methods.

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