Means and method for the treatment of migraine headaches
US6402678B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 31, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 11, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 14, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N2/02
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Disclosed is a means and method for the treatment of migraine headaches. Patients who have migraine headaches typically have a band of excited brain neurons that are a precursor of the headache. By placing an intense alternating magnetic field onto a certain region of the brain, an electrical current can be generated in the cerebral cortex that can depolarize these excited brain neurons. This procedure can stop a migraine headache in some patients or at least decrease its severity. The device to perform this function can be called a “magnetic depolarizer”. The magnetic depolarizer can be placed in some headgear such as a bicycle helmet in order to place the magnetic field at the correct location relative to the patient's cerebral cortex. This technique can be particularly valuable for patients who have a perceptible aura that occurs prior to the onset of a migraine headache. A visual aura caused by the progression of an excited band of neurons in a patient's occipital lobe, which aura occurs 20 to 30 minutes prior to the onset of head pain, would be particularly well treated by means of the magnetic depolarizer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.