WO2023282396A1

WO2023282396A1 - Sympathetic nerve stimulation device and control method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2023282396A1
Application number: PCT/KR2021/015979
Authority: WO
Inventors: 이정후
Original assignee: (재)예수병원유지재단
Priority date: 2021-07-05
Filing date: 2021-11-05
Publication date: 2023-01-12
Also published as: KR20230007011A; KR102567821B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sympathetic nerve stimulation device and a control method therefor, and is provided with the structure including: an electrode for applying electrical stimulation to a sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient; a bio-implantable body implanted inside the bladder of the patient and providing an electrical signal to the electrode; a measurement unit for measuring a biological state of the patient; and a remote control unit for remotely controlling the driving of the bio-implantable body through communication with the bio-implantable body, thereby solving the imbalance of an autonomic nervous system through the electrical stimulation applied to the sympathetic nerve of the spinal cord injury patient.

Description

Sympathetic nerve stimulator and its control method

The present invention relates to a sympathetic nerve stimulation device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a sympathetic nerve stimulation device and a control method thereof for improving problems caused by autonomic nervous system disharmony caused by inability of the sympathetic nerve to operate in patients with spinal cord injuries. will be.

Nerves are divided into a central nervous system composed of the brain and spine, a peripheral nervous system including a somatic nervous system that transmits signals voluntarily, and an autonomic nervous system that transmits involuntary signals.

The somatic nervous system is divided into cranial nerves and spinal nerves, and spinal nerves are further divided into sensory nerves and motor nerves.

The autonomic nervous system consists of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system, is distributed in the internal organs and blood vessels, functions unconsciously and involuntarily, and functions to maintain a balanced physiological state for all organs of the human body.

The autonomic nervous system is characterized by autonomic dominance that is changed by reflection regardless of will, double dominance in which the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves dominate in one organ, antagonistic dominance in which they act antagonistically with each other, and continuous dominance of the environment inside our body. It maintains stability and makes internal adjustments within the body to the external environment. In general, the parasympathetic nervous system is mainly in charge of normal activities, and the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the response that activates the systemic response in case of an emergency and quickly recovers the environment in the body.

That is, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system is extensive and systemic. In particular, the sympathetic nervous system increases cardiovascular activity, leading to an increase in heart rate, myocardial contractility, and blood pressure, and decreases gastrointestinal glands and movement.

On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system acts locally to reduce heart rate and promote gastrointestinal motility. In addition, the parasympathetic nervous system has a weak action point on blood vessels, so the effect of lowering blood pressure is low.

The autonomic nervous system is divided into preganglionic neurons and postganglionic neurons, and functions to connect the central nervous system and target organs.

Sympathetic preganglionic cells are located in the entire thoracic cord (T1 -T12) and upper lumbar spine (L1 -L2), and come out along the ventral root to form paravertebral ganglia and preganglionic ganglia. ), and connects to postganglionic neurons.

The sympathetic preganglionic neurons are short and use acetylcholine as a transmitter, and the postganglionic neurons are long and use norepinephrine, except for the sweat glands.

Preganglionic neurons of the parasympathetic nerve are located in the 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 10th cranial neurons and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sacral vertebrae, and have long preganglionic neurons and short postganglionic neurons, all of which use acetylcholine as a transmitter use as

Autonomic nervous system problems occur in patients with spinal cord injury. In other words, autonomic nervous system abnormality occurs as the activity of preganglionic nerve cells falls below the spinal cord injury site. Fortunately, however, postganglionic neurons are located outside the spinal cord, so cell bodies remain intact in most spinal cord injury conditions, and do not function as they do not receive signals from preganglionic neurons.

In patients with spinal cord injury, autonomic nervous system abnormalities, especially cardiovascular system abnormalities such as heart rate and blood pressure, accompany almost all patients. Among them, orthostatic hypotension is one of the cardiovascular problems that spinal cord injury patients complain most often.

When a normal person assumes an upright posture or changes posture, blood is pumped to the lower extremities and blood pressure is lowered. Baroreceptors in the aorta and carotid sinus detect this and activate the sympathetic nerve to induce vasoconstriction and raise blood pressure.

However, in patients with spinal cord injury with injuries of more than 6th thoracic vertebrae, the signal confirming the decrease in blood pressure through the baroreceptors of the aorta and carotid sinus passes through the spinal cord injury site and fails to stimulate nerve cells after the ganglion of the sympathetic nerve, resulting in inability to activate the sympathetic nerve. , inability to induce vasoconstriction, resulting in orthostatic hypotension.

In addition, in the case of spinal cord injury patients, neurogenic bladder disorders such as urinary urgency or frequency occur, which reduces the quality of life. That is, there are many cases in which there is difficulty in walking or using the upper limbs due to spinal cord damage, and in this case, it takes more time than normal to visit the bathroom for urination.

On the other hand, the sympathetic nerve relaxes the bladder in the bladder and acts to urinate. When urinary urgency occurs due to the weakening of the sympathetic nervous system, patients with spinal cord injuries often do not buy time to go to the bathroom.

In addition, many spinal cord injury patients accompany sexual dysfunction. In particular, there is a case in which an erection is maintained but ejaculation does not occur. This means that erection is maintained by the parasympathetic nerve located in the 2nd to 4th sacral vertebrae, but ejaculation does not occur because proper sympathetic nerve stimulation is not entered.

On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 to 3 below disclose bioimplantation device technology in which a stimulator is implanted inside the body to apply electrical stimulation using an electrical signal.

However, the living body implantation device technology according to the prior art including Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3 focuses only on stimulation of the parasympathetic nerve, and thus has limitations in improving the disharmony of the autonomic nervous system in patients with spinal cord injuries.

Therefore, there is a demand for the development of a technique capable of solving problems caused by disharmony in the autonomic nervous system by stimulating the sympathetic nerve according to the necessary area and time in spinal cord injury patients.

In this way, direct correction of autonomic nervous system abnormalities, particularly sympathetic nervous system abnormalities in spinal cord injury patients can solve problems such as orthostatic hypotension and ejaculation disorder.

(Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1027998 (published on April 13, 2011)

(Patent Document 2) Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2004-0071166 (published on August 11, 2004)

(Patent Document 3) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1648463 (published on August 16, 2016)

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a sympathetic nerve stimulator and a control method capable of solving the autonomic nervous system dissonance of a spinal cord injury patient by applying electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerve.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sympathetic nerve stimulator and a method for controlling the sympathetic nerve stimulator capable of controlling the dissonance of the autonomic nervous system by applying appropriate stimulation at a time when stimulation is required based on the patient's physiological state.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sympathetic nerve stimulator and a control method capable of selectively stimulating a necessary part by finding an appropriate stimulation point at the level of the spinal cord through learning.

In order to achieve the above object, the sympathetic nerve stimulator according to the present invention is an electrode for applying electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient, implanted inside the patient's bladder and providing an electrical signal to the electrode Including a living body implantation body, a measurement unit for measuring the patient's biological state including changes in the patient's blood pressure and posture, and a remote control unit remotely controlling the driving of the living body transplant body through communication with the living body transplant body It is characterized by stimulating the sympathetic nerves of patients with spinal cord injuries to control the disharmony of the autonomic nervous system.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the control method of the sympathetic nerve stimulator according to the present invention is (a) implanting electrodes and a living body transplant body inside the sympathetic nerve and bladder of a spinal cord injury patient, and using an electrode connection line (b) applying an electrical signal to the electrodes from a control unit provided in the living body implantation body to apply stimulation to the sympathetic nerve, (c) using a measuring unit to measure the patient's blood pressure and posture, including changes in the patient's body Measuring the biological state and (d) applying an electrical signal to the electrode to stimulate the sympathetic nerve based on the patient's biological state information measured by the measuring unit in the remote control unit or the control unit It is characterized by stimulating the sympathetic nerves of patients with spinal cord injuries to control the disharmony of the autonomic nervous system.

As described above, according to the sympathetic nerve stimulator and method for controlling the same according to the present invention, an effect of discordance of the autonomic nervous system can be obtained by applying electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient.

According to the present invention, the patient's biological state information is continuously measured, and based on the measured biological state information, appropriate stimulation is applied at a time when stimulation is necessary, thereby obtaining an effect of adjusting the autonomic nervous system incoherence.

In addition, according to the present invention, an effect of selectively stimulating a necessary part by finding an appropriate stimulation point at the level of the spinal cord through machine learning for the measured biological state information is obtained.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an effect that stimulation of the sympathetic nerve can be applied through the electrode to the user's operation command input in a situation where stimulation of the sympathetic nerve is required.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively control abnormalities such as orthostatic hypotension, ejaculation disorders, and neurogenic bladder disorders by resolving the autonomic nervous system dissonance of spinal cord injured patients.

1 is a configuration diagram of a sympathetic nerve stimulation device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a detailed block configuration diagram of the sympathetic nerve stimulator shown in FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged view of a region where the electrode shown in FIG. 1 is installed;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step control method of the sympathetic nerve stimulator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a sympathetic nerve stimulation device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a configuration diagram of a sympathetic nerve stimulation device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed block configuration diagram of the sympathetic nerve stimulation device shown in FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a region where the electrode shown in FIG. 1 is installed.

Hereinafter, terms indicating directions such as 'left', 'right', 'front', 'rear', 'upper' and 'downer' are defined as indicating each direction based on the state shown in each drawing. do.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sympathetic nerve stimulator 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an electrode 20 for applying electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient and implanted in the patient's body. It includes a bio implantation body 30 that provides electrical signals to the electrodes 20 and a measurement unit 40 that measures the biological state of the patient.

In addition, the sympathetic nerve stimulator 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a remote control unit that remotely controls the driving of the body 30 through communication with the implanted living body (hereinafter referred to as 'body') 30. (50) may be further included.

The measuring unit 40 may include a blood flow meter 41 for measuring the amount of blood flow in the carotid sinus, a body temperature meter 42 for measuring the patient's body temperature, and a posture meter 43 for measuring a change in posture of the main body 30. .

The posture measuring device 43 is provided with a sensor such as a gyroscope, a displacement sensor, or an acceleration sensor, and can recognize a change in the patient's posture.

That is, the biological state is a state for determining whether the autonomic nervous system is out of sync, and may include a state of blood flow in the patient's carotid sinus, a state of body temperature, a state of the patient's posture, and the like.

Accordingly, the biometric state information may include blood flow information of the patient's carotid sinus, body temperature information, and posture information of the patient.

Accordingly, in the present invention, the implantation body or the remote control unit determines when sympathetic nerve stimulation is necessary through machine learning on the biological state information, selects a location where stimulation is required, and controls the stimulation to be applied.

The remote control unit 50 is provided outside the patient's body and can communicate with the main body 30 in a wireless communication method.

The remote control unit 50 receives the biometric state information measured by the measurement unit 40, selects a time and area requiring stimulation through machine learning on the received biometric state information, and selects the selected area. A remote control signal may be generated to stimulate the selected area at the right time.

To this end, the remote control unit 50 includes a communication module 51 that communicates with the main body 30 in a wireless communication method, a learning module 52 that machine-learns biological state information received through the communication module 51, It may include a signal generation module 53 that generates the remote control signal to stimulate the time and area where stimulation is required based on the result learned in the learning module 52.

In addition, the remote control unit 50 includes various programs for controlling the driving of the main body 30, a storage module 54 for storing the biometric state information and learning information, and a power supply module 55 for supplying power to each module. ) may be further included.

In addition, the remote control unit 50 may further include a power transmission module 56 for charging power by transmitting power to the main body 30 in a wireless power transmission method.

The remote control unit 50 may be provided as a portable terminal that can be directly operated by a user, or a terminal equipped with a communication function, such as a desktop or laptop computer, tablet PC, or smart phone of a medical staff or an administrator who manages a sympathetic nerve stimulator. .

Here, in this embodiment, it has been described that the learning module 52 is provided in the remote control unit 50, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

That is, the present invention can be changed to machine-learn biometric state information in the main body 10 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , one or more electrodes 20 may be installed on one or more sympathetic nerve chains.

For example, the electrodes 20 are attached to the L2 sympathetic ganglion of the thoracic T6 or upper lumbar spine, respectively, and each electrode 20 selectively stimulates each sympathetic ganglion according to the electrical signal applied from the main body 30. there is.

These electrodes 20 are formed in a ring shape or an arc shape so as to surround the sympathetic nerve chain, and are electrically connected to the main body 30 through the electrode connection line 21.

So, the electrode 20 can apply stimulation to the sympathetic nerve chain according to the electrical signal received through the electrode connection line 21 .

These electrodes 20 may be inserted and installed up to the sympathetic nerve chain through the guide catheter 21 .

A plurality of electrodes 20 may be provided so as to be respectively installed on a plurality of sites to which stimulation is to be applied.

The main body 30 is installed in the subcutaneous fat layer of the chest and functions to apply electrical signals to the electrodes 20 so as to stimulate the sympathetic nerve.

To this end, the main body 30 generates an electrical signal applied to the electrode 20 to control the driving of the electrode 20 and a control unit 31 and a power supply unit to supply power to the control unit 31 and the electrode 20 (32) may be included.

And the main body 30 may further include a communication unit 33 communicating with the remote control unit 50 and a power receiving unit 34 receiving power transmitted from the remote control unit 50 .

The power supply unit 32 may include a battery (not shown) for charging power and a charging circuit for charging the battery with commercial power supplied from the outside or power received from the power receiver 34 .

On the other hand, the electrode 20 implanted inside the patient's body and the case forming the outer appearance of the main body 30 may be manufactured using biocompatibility materials.

That is, the electrode 20 may be manufactured using a biocompatible material among electrically conductive metal materials or synthetic resin materials so as to apply stimulation to the sympathetic nerve.

In addition, the case forming the outer shape of the body 30 may be manufactured using a biocompatible material that meets human safety standards.

The biocompatibility defines a bidirectional response, ie the body's response to the substance and the response of the substance to the body's environment.

In particular, biocompatibility of a medical device refers to the ability of a medical device to perform its intended function with a desired degree of binding within a host without eliciting undesirable local or systemic effects in the host.

In this embodiment, the biocompatible material is a medical grade or implant grade material.

For example, the biocompatible material is polytetrafluoroethylene, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), polyethyleneterephthalate, polybutyleneterephthalate, polyurethane ( polyurethane, polypropylene, polyethylene, polytrimethyleneterephthalate, polyimide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethyleneglycol, carbon fiber Any one or more of them may be included.

In addition, the electrode connection line 21 is made of a metal material having electrical conductivity, and a coating layer using a biocompatible material may be formed on the outer surface of the electrode connection line 21 .

As described above, according to the present invention, as the electrodes, the main body, and the electrode connection line implanted inside the patient's body are manufactured using biocompatible materials, safety standards can be satisfied even when implanted inside the body.

On the other hand, spinal cord injury patients experience many difficulties due to disharmony of the autonomic nervous system including sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves.

In acute spinal cord injury patients, abnormal symptoms such as neurogenic shock, supine hypertension or supine hypotension, abnormal beats such as bradycardia or tachycardia, and hypothermia may occur.

In addition, patients with spinal cord injuries in the chronic phase may experience abnormal symptoms such as orthostatic hypotension, bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, thermoregulatory dysfunction, and sweating disorder.

That is, patients with spinal cord injuries experience problems such as orthostatic hypotension due to autonomic nervous system disharmony when changing posture, sexual dysfunction due to inability to ejaculate, and neurogenic bladder.

For example, in the case of a patient with spinal cord injury in the sixth thoracic vertebrae or higher, orthostatic hypotension, neurogenic bladder, ejaculation disorder, etc. occur as the vasoconstriction control function for the splanchnic bed is lost when taking an upright posture.

In addition, loss of venous blood pump function due to active muscle contraction due to paralysis of lower extremity muscles may be the cause.

Accordingly, orthostatic hypotension can be controlled by attaching electrodes to each of the T6 to L2 sympathetic ganglia belonging to the corresponding segment, and generating and activating the corresponding sympathetic ganglion through each electrode.

For example, in the case of spinal cord injury patients, urinary urgency frequently occurs due to neurogenic bladder, and inappropriate urination occurs when spinal cord injury patients who have difficulty walking or using upper limbs do not arrive at the bathroom in time.

Therefore, when urinary urgency occurs, the present invention stimulates T10 to L2, which are sympathetic nerves that act on the neurogenic bladder, to induce bladder relaxation and collect urine, thereby earning time to reach the toilet.

In this case, according to the present invention, the user can directly manipulate the external control unit to stimulate the sympathetic nerve to respond to urgency.

On the other hand, when reaching the climax during sexual activity, the sympathetic nerve acts to ejaculate. However, patients with spinal cord injuries do not have sympathetic nerve action, so ejaculation disorders occur.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when an ejaculation is required, the user can directly operate the external control unit to stimulate the sympathetic nerve to ejaculate.

Therefore, the sympathetic nerve stimulator 10 according to the present embodiment machine-learns the biological state information measured by the measurement unit 40, and based on the learning information, when a low blood pressure situation, a need to collect urine, or an assessment is required, Like when sweating is required, it is determined whether or not it is a time when stimulation of the sympathetic nerve is required, and the sympathetic nerve is stimulated when stimulation is required.

That is, the control unit 31 may apply electrical signals to the electrodes 20 and control the sympathetic nerves in which the electrodes 20 are installed to be stimulated.

In addition, when a plurality of electrodes 20 are installed, the control unit 31 may select an electrode 20 that requires stimulation and apply an electrical signal to the selected electrode 20 to selectively stimulate a required part.

On the other hand, the remote control unit 50 learns the biological state information received from the main body 30, determines whether or not there is a situation in which stimulation of the sympathetic nerve is required based on the learning information, and stimulates the sympathetic nerve according to the determination result. A remote control signal may be transmitted to the main body 30 to do so.

For example, the remote control unit 50 may control the sympathetic nerve to be stimulated when it is determined that orthostatic hypotension occurs or sweating is required based on the patient's biological state information.

Also, the remote control unit 50 may generate and transmit a remote control signal to the main body to stimulate the sympathetic nerve according to a user's manipulation command.

That is, when ejaculation is required or bladder relaxation is required due to urgency, the user manipulates a button or switch provided on the remote control unit 50 or selects an icon. Then, the remote control unit 50 may generate and transmit a remote control signal to stimulate the sympathetic nerve according to the user's manipulation command.

Accordingly, in the present invention, when a user needs sympathetic nerve stimulation during daily life, the sympathetic nerve may be stimulated through direct manipulation, thereby directly controlling disharmony in the autonomic nervous system.

In addition, the remote control unit 50 may store learning information and judgment information, and share the stored information with the controller 31 of the main body 30 and a management server (not shown).

So, the control unit 31 of the main body 30 stores the learning information and judgment information received from the remote control unit 50 in an internal memory (not shown), and communication with the remote control unit 50 is stopped. Even in this state, the sympathetic nerve can be controlled to stimulate using the information stored in the memory.

Of course, the control unit 31 may directly machine-learn biological state information using a learning module provided therein, and control the sympathetic nerve to be stimulated according to the learning result.

The management server is communicatively connected to the remote control unit 50 in a wireless or wired communication method, stores and manages information provided from the remote control unit 50 into a database, and transfers the stored information to other remote control units ( 50), it may be provided to a living body implanted in another patient.

In this way, the present invention measures the patient's biological state information, and based on the information learned through machine learning for the measured information, finds the time when sympathetic nerve stimulation is needed and the stimulation point at the spinal cord level, and selects the necessary area can stimulate

Next, referring to FIG. 4, a method for controlling a sympathetic nerve stimulation device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the sympathetic nerve stimulator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention step by step.

First, the electrode 20 and the living body transplant body 30 are implanted in the sympathetic nerve chain and the subcutaneous fat layer of the chest, respectively, and are electrically connected through the electrode connection line 21.

In step S10 of FIG. 4 , the control unit 31 of the main body 30 receives power from the power supply unit 32 and is driven.

Subsequently, the control unit 31 executes the program stored in the internal memory, and controls the sympathetic nerve to be stimulated by applying an electrical signal to the electrode 20 according to the programmed method at the time of initial driving (S12).

In step S14, the measuring unit 40 measures the biological state of the patient.

At this time, the blood flow measuring device 41, the body temperature measuring device 42, and the posture measuring device 43 provided in the measuring unit 40 each measure the blood flow in the patient's carotid sinus, the body temperature, and the change in the patient's posture, and each of the measured information is transmitted to the control unit. forwarded to (31).

Then, the controller 31 controls the biological state information measured by the measurement unit 40 to be transmitted to the remote control unit 50 through the communication unit 33 .

In step S16, the learning module 52 provided in the remote control unit 50 performs machine learning on the biometric state information received through the communication module 51.

Therefore, the signal generation module 53 selects the time and part to stimulate the sympathetic nerve based on the learning information, and generates a remote control signal to stimulate the selected time and part. The remote control signal thus generated is transmitted to the main body 30 through the communication module 51 (S18).

In step S20, the controller 31 of the main body 30 applies an electrical signal to the electrode 20 to apply a stimulus according to the received remote control signal.

Accordingly, the electrode 20 can control the dissonance of the autonomic nervous system by applying stimulation to the sympathetic nerve.

Of course, the present invention may perform machine learning on biometric state information in a learning module provided in the controller and apply an electrical signal to the electrode based on the learning information.

Thereafter, the controller 31 repeatedly performs steps S10 to S20, and even if communication with the remote control unit 50 is stopped, when stimulation is required based on the learning information continuously received from the remote control unit 50. And it can be controlled to select and stimulate a site.

On the other hand, the remote control unit 50 generates a remote control signal to stimulate the sympathetic nerve according to a user's manipulation command input in a situation requiring ejaculation or relaxation of the bladder, and the controller 31 controls the remote control signal Accordingly, an electrical signal can be transmitted to the electrode to stimulate the sympathetic nerve.

The control unit 31 receives power transmitted from the remote control unit 50 in a wireless power transmission method and controls driving of the charging circuit to charge the battery provided in the power supply unit 32 .

As such, the present invention can extend the surgical replacement work cycle when the battery is discharged by charging power to the implanted body in a wireless power transmission method.

Through the process as described above, the present invention can relieve the autonomic nervous system disharmony by applying electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerves of patients with spinal cord injuries.

In addition, the present invention can control the autonomic nervous system disharmony by continuously measuring the biological state information of the patient and applying appropriate stimulation at a time when stimulation is necessary based on the measured biological state information.

In addition, the present invention can selectively stimulate a necessary part by finding an appropriate stimulation point at the level of the spinal cord through machine learning for the measured biological state information.

In addition, the present invention may apply stimulation to the sympathetic nerve through electrodes in response to a user's manipulation command input in a situation where stimulation of the sympathetic nerve is required.

Accordingly, the present invention can effectively control abnormalities such as orthostatic hypotension, ejaculation disorders, and neurogenic bladder disorders by resolving the autonomic nervous system dissonance of patients with spinal cord injuries.

Although the invention made by the present inventors has been specifically described according to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

The present invention is applied to a sympathetic nerve stimulator and control method technology that relieves the autonomic nervous system disharmony by applying electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient.

Claims

An electrode that applies electrical stimulation to the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient,

A living body implanted inside the patient's bladder and providing electrical signals to the electrodes;

A measurement unit for measuring the patient's biological state including changes in the patient's blood pressure and posture; and

Including a remote control unit for remotely controlling the driving of the living body transplant body through communication with the living body transplant body

A sympathetic nerve stimulator characterized in that it regulates the disharmony of the autonomic nervous system by stimulating the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient.
The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring unit

A blood flow meter that measures blood flow in the patient's carotid sinus;

A thermometer that measures the patient's body temperature and

A sympathetic nerve stimulator comprising a posture measuring device for measuring a change in the patient's posture.
According to claim 1 or 2,

The remote control unit includes a communication module that communicates with the living body by a wireless communication method;

A learning module for machine learning the biometric state information received through the communication module, and

A signal generating module for generating the remote control signal based on the learning information learned in the learning module;

The signal generation module finds a time when sympathetic nerve stimulation is required and a stimulation point at the level of the spinal cord based on the learning information, and generates the remote control signal by selecting a necessary part.
According to claim 3,

The remote control unit includes a storage module for storing various programs for controlling driving of the implanted body, a storage module for storing the biometric state information and learning information;

A power supply module that supplies power to each module and

The sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that it further comprises a power transmission module for transmitting and charging power to the implanted body in a wireless power transmission method.
According to claim 3,

One or more electrodes are respectively installed in one or more sympathetic ganglia,

Sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that electrically connected to the living body implanted body through an electrode connection line.
According to claim 3,

The implantation body includes a control unit for applying an electrical signal to the electrode according to a remote control signal from the remote control unit;

Even if communication with the remote control unit is stopped, the control unit selectively stimulates the time and area requiring stimulation based on the learning information received from the remote control unit or the learning information performed in the learning module provided in the living body implantation body. Sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that for controlling to.
According to claim 3,

The remote control unit generates the remote control signal to stimulate the sympathetic nerve based on a user's operation command;

The sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that the control unit applies an electrical signal to the electrode to stimulate the sympathetic nerve according to the remote control signal.
(a) implanting an electrode and a living body transplant body into the sympathetic nerve and bladder of a patient with spinal cord injury and connecting them using an electrode connection line;

(b) stimulating the sympathetic nerve by applying an electrical signal to the electrode from a control unit provided in the implanted body;

(c) measuring the biological state of the patient, including changes in the patient's blood pressure and posture, using a measuring unit; and

(d) applying an electrical signal to the electrode to stimulate the sympathetic nerve based on the biometric state information of the patient measured by the measurement unit in the remote control unit or the control unit;

A sympathetic nerve stimulator characterized in that it regulates the disharmony of the autonomic nervous system by stimulating the sympathetic nerve of a spinal cord injury patient.
The method of claim 8, wherein step (c)

(c1) measuring the blood flow in the carotid sinus using a blood flow meter provided in the measuring unit;

(c2) measuring the patient's body temperature using a body temperature measuring device; and

(c3) a control method of a sympathetic nerve stimulator comprising the step of measuring a change in posture of the user to which the implanted living body is implanted using a posture measuring device.
The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the step (d)

(d1) receiving biometric state information by communicating with the living body transplant body in a wireless communication method through a communication module provided in the remote control unit;

(d2) machine learning the biometric state information received through the communication module in a learning module; and

(d3) generating the remote control signal based on the learning information learned in the learning module in a signal generating module;

Wherein the signal generation module finds a time when sympathetic nerve stimulation is required and a stimulation point at the level of the spinal cord based on the learning information, and selects a necessary area to generate the remote control signal.
According to claim 10,

(e) When an operation command to stimulate the sympathetic nerve is input from the user in the remote control unit, a remote control signal for stimulating the sympathetic nerve is generated, and the controller stimulates the sympathetic nerve according to the remote control signal. The control method of the sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that it further comprises the step of applying an electrical signal to.
According to claim 11,

(f) the control method of the sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that it further comprises the step of receiving and charging the power transmitted from the remote control unit in a wireless power transmission method in the body implanted in the body.
According to claim 12,

Even if communication with the remote control unit is stopped, the control unit selectively stimulates the time and area requiring stimulation based on the learning information received from the remote control unit or the learning information performed in the learning module provided in the living body implantation body. A control method of a sympathetic nerve stimulator, characterized in that for controlling to.