Method and apparatus for preferential neuron stimulation
US5411540A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 3, 1993 |
| Grant date | May 2, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 3, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N1/0551
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention provides a method for preferentially stimulating neural somas over neural axons located around the somas but not integral with the somas. In the invention, a positive electrical pulse is applied to a region of neural tissue consisting of one or more neural somas to be stimulated and neural axons, and due to the physiology of the somas, they are preferentially stimulated by the electrical pulse over the neural axons not integral with the somas to be stimulated. The preferential soma stimulation provided by the invention achieves the advantage of locally focusing external stimulation such that it may be directed to particular soma locations for indicating location-dependent sensory information. Thus the pulse scheme of the invention may be employed in prosthetic applications directed to, for example, the retinal ganglia neural tissue.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.