A neurostimulation system provides for capture verification and stimulation intensity adjustment to ensure effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation in modulating one or more target functions in a patient. In various embodiments, stimulation is applied to the vagus nerve, and evoked responses are detected to verify that the stimulation captures the vagus nerve and to adjust one or more stimulation parameters that control the stimulation intensity.

A method (of treating a patient who has tinnitus) includes: providing to the patient a series of tones including at least a single tone which is at least a half-octave outside a tinnitus frequency of the patient; and applying vagus nerve stimulation to the patient to induce a period of plasticity in a cortex of the patient that is transitory and that represents a transitory opportunity for learning to occur; and wherein the at least a single tone occurs during the transitory opportunity for learning.

An active implantable stimulating device (10) includes: (a) a tissue coupling unit (40) for being implanted directly onto a vagus nerve (Vn) of a patient, (b) an EEG-unit (70) for measuring an electroencephalogram of the patient, (c) an encapsulation unit (50) configured for being subcutaneously implanted, (d) an energy transfer lead (30) for transferring pulses of electrical and/or optical energy, (e) a signal transfer lead (60) for transferring signals between the EEG unit and the encapsulation unit. EEG electrodes (70a-70d) monitor the electric activity of the brain of a patient. The EEG signal is conveyed to the electronic circuit (53) in the form of EEG conditioned data. The electronic circuit analyses the EEG conditioned data to yield analysis results. The electronic circuit takes a decision to trigger energy pulses to stimulate the vagus nerve (VN).

The present disclosure relates to methods, devices and systems used for the treatment of medical disorders via stimulation of the superficial elements of the trigeminal nerve. More specifically, cutaneous methods of stimulation of the superficial branches of the trigeminal nerve located extracranially in the face, namely the supraorbital, supratrochlear, infraorbital, auriculotemporal, zygomaticotemporal, zygomaticoorbital, zygomaticofacial, infraorbital, nasal and mentalis nerves (also referred to collectively as the superficial trigeminal nerve) are disclosed herein.

An implantable neurostimulator-implemented method for managing tachyarrhythmias through vagus nerve stimulation is provided. An implantable neurostimulator, including a pulse generator, is configured to deliver electrical therapeutic stimulation in a manner that results in creation and propagation (in both afferent and efferent directions) of action potentials within neuronal fibers of a patient's cervical vagus nerve. Operating modes of the pulse generator are stored. A maintenance dose of the electrical therapeutic stimulation is delivered to the vagus nerve via the pulse generator to restore cardiac autonomic balance through continuously-cycling, intermittent and periodic electrical pulses. A restorative dose of the electrical therapeutic stimulation is delivered to prevent initiation of or disrupt tachyarrhythmia through periodic electrical pulses delivered at higher intensity than the maintenance dose. The patient's normative physiology is monitored via a physiological sensor, and upon sensing a condition indicative of tachyarrhythmia, is switched to delivering the restorative dose to the vagus nerve.

An implanted stimulator can deliver a patient-detectable electrical stimulation to remind or prompt a patient to interact with an implanted therapeutic device (e.g., neurostimulator) when a prompting event occurs. For example, the apparatuses and methods described herein may be configured to apply a prompting patient-detectable electrical vagus nerve stimulation to remind a patient that it is time to administer a therapeutic dose. When the therapeutic device is operated in an automatic fashion, the apparatus can also deliver a patient-detectable warning stimulation prior to the therapeutic stimulation to let the patient know that a therapeutic stimulation will be delivered soon thereafter.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for increasing performance, improving sleep and improving relaxation that involve specifically coordinating nerve stimulation of a cranial nerve (e.g. vagus nerve) in conjunction with augmented reality (AR). According to certain embodiments disclosed are systems that include an AR component that presents information or a stimulus and provides cranial nerve fiber stimulation (CNFS) at strategic times to reduce anxiety/arousal/related during user activity or scenarios and reinforce learning.

Devices, systems and methods are disclosed for treating a variety of diseases and disorders that are primarily or at least partially driven by an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain, such as asthma, COPD, depression, anxiety, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and the like. The invention involves the use of an energy source comprising magnetic and/or electrical energy that is transmitted non-invasively to, or in close proximity to, a selected nerve to temporarily stimulate, block and/or modulate the signals in the selected nerve such that neural pathways are activated to release inhibitory neurotransmitters in the patient's brain.

Systems and methods for active charge-balancing for high frequency neural stimulation are disclosed. One illustrative method described herein includes: applying, through a pair of electrodes electrically coupled to a bundle of nerve fibers during a stimulation phase of a neural stimulation procedure, a first current to the bundle of nerve fibers; applying, through the pair of electrodes during a recovery phase of the neural stimulation procedure, a second current to the bundle of nerve fibers, the first current and the second current having opposite polarities; determining sampled voltages between the pair of electrodes during the stimulation phase, during the recovery phase, or between the stimulation phase and the recovery phase; determining a charge buildup in the bundle of nerve fibers based on the sampled voltages; applying, through the pair of electrodes during the stimulation phase or during the recovery phase, a delta current to the bundle of nerves based on the sampled voltages to minimize the charge build up.

Example devices and techniques are disclosed for delivering neurostimulation therapy transesophageally. An example device includes stimulation circuitry configured to generate a transesophageal stimulation signal. The example device includes memory configured to store stimulation parameters that at least partially define the transesophageal stimulation signal and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory, and the stimulation circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to determine a maximum transesophageal stimulation amplitude value. The processing circuitry is configured to control the stimulation circuitry to generate the transesophageal stimulation signal based at least in part on at least one of the stimulation parameters or the maximum transesophageal stimulation amplitude such that an amplitude of the transesophageal stimulation signal does not exceed the maximum transesophageal stimulation amplitude.