A method of inhibiting the release of a proinflammatory cytokine in a cell is disclosed. The method comprises treating the cell with a cholinergic agonist. The method is useful in patients at risk for, or suffering from, a condition mediated by an inflammatory cytokine cascade, for example endotoxic shock. The cholinergic agonist treatment can be effected by stimulation of an efferent vagus nerve fiber, or the entire vagus nerve.

Systems and methods for enhancing or affecting neural stimulation efficiency and/or efficacy are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system and/or method may apply electromagnetic stimulation to a patient's nervous system over a first time domain according to a first set of stimulation parameters, and over a second time domain according to a second set of stimulation parameters. The first and second time domains may be sequential, simultaneous, or nested. Stimulation parameters may vary in accordance with one or more types of duty cycle, amplitude, pulse repetition frequency, pulse width, spatiotemporal, and/or polarity variations. Stimulation may be applied at subthreshold, threshold, and/or suprathreshold levels in one or more periodic, aperiodic (e.g., chaotic), and/or pseudo-random manners. In some embodiments stimulation may comprise a burst pattern having an interburst frequency corresponding to an intrinsic brainwave frequency, and regular and/or varying intraburst stimulation parameters. Stimulation signals providing reduced power consumption with at least adequate symptomatic relief may be applied prior to moderate or significant power source depletion.

Described here are devices, systems, and methods for increasing tear production by stimulating the cornea, conjunctiva, and/or subconjunctiva. In some variations, the devices may be in the form of a contact lens. The contact lens may comprise a lens body and a stimulator chip, where the stimulator chip is embedded in the lens body. An external power source wirelessly transmits energy to the stimulator chip, where the stimulator chip may convert the energy to an electric waveform to stimulate the cornea, conjunctiva, and/or subconjunctiva. Stimulation may activate the lacrimal reflex to increase tear production. The devices and systems for increasing tear production may be used in methods of treating dry eye, reducing the symptoms of tired eye, increasing comfort for contact lens wearers, and extending the number of years a contact lens user can wear contacts. Also described are methods of manufacturing a contact lens.

Diagnostic screening tests that can be used to identify if a patient is a good candidates for an implantable vagus nerve stimulation device. One or more analyte, such as a cytokine or inflammatory molecule, can be measured from a blood sample taken prior to implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator to determine the patient's responsiveness to VNS for treatment of an inflammatory disorder.

Electrical stimulation of neural activity in the neural innervation of the spleen that is associated with neurovascular bundles provides a useful way to treat acute medical conditions, such as trauma, hemorrhaging, shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe respiratory distress syndrome (SARS), and coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19).

The present invention relates to the field of medical devices, and relates to an electrophysiological test method for an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) and a recording electrode used therein. According to the method of the present invention, there is no need to subcutaneously place an additional recording electrode for a patient, which simplifies preoperative preparation. Moreover, the method has advantages of a high signal-to-noise ratio, a fast response speed, a short recording time, and a large anti-interference ability, thus can effectively improve efficiency of intraoperative electrode test. The method is suitable for use in an auditory brainstem implantation surgery. Besides, the present invention enables the auditory brainstem implantation to be located more accurately, thereby expanding a scope of application.

Presented herein are techniques for stimulating a balance prosthesis recipient based on one or more motion signals and a classification of the type of activity in which the recipient is currently participating. More specifically, a balance prosthesis system is configured to monitor the motion of at least part of a recipient's body and to determine an activity classification for the recipient (e.g., determine the “class” or “category” of the recipient's real-time motion). The recipient's motion and the activity classification are used to generate stimulation signals for delivery to the recipient.

An implantable medical device (IMD) includes multiple stimulation engines for independently stimulating respective electrode sets of a lead system while avoiding collisions and/or channel contention during stimulation delivery. A first voltage multiplier is configured to generate an adjustable target voltage having sufficient headroom at an output node that is commonly coupled to anodic nodes of respective stimulation engines. Each stimulation engine includes a secondary voltage multiplier to drive the respective anode and a current regulator powered by a floating voltage supply, wherein the current regulator is coupled to a cathodic node and configured to control how much stimulation current is pulled from the patient tissue.

Programming a stimulator device to deliver a stimulation therapy at high-density parameter settings using a cathode-minimized electrode configuration determined to induce paresthesia over a patient pain pattern at low-density parameter settings.

During charging of implantable devices via inductive coupling, heat may be produced within the implantable device, so control of the charging may be desirable to reduce or avoid the risk of undesirable tissue heating. Exchanging parameters relevant for charging may prevent undesirable heating, but typically increase the complexity of the devices used. An implantable device is provided, for wirelessly receiving energy pulses, monitoring the energy storage, and transmitting a first sufficient energy signal if the energy storage exceeds a first maximum value. An associated energy transmission device is provided, for wirelessly transmitting a plurality of successive energy pulses transmitted at a first power level, pausing energy transmission immediately after the first sufficient energy signal is received, and subsequently resuming energy pulse transmission at the first power level if no further sufficient energy signal is received.