EQUIPMENT FOR APPLYING ACTIVE ELEMENTS TO THE SKULL OF A PATIENT

Abstract

Equipment for applying active elements to a cranium of a patient comprises a support and a plurality of active elements, wherein the support comprises a means of connection with a patient and means for positioning the active elements in order to excite N+M zones of the cranium, the N+M zones comprising the zones VG.sub.19, VG.sub.20, VG.sub.21, C.sub.4, C.sub.5R, C.sub.5L, C.sub.6R and C.sub.6L, N and M being two integer numbers, N being a number between 2 and 8, M being less than N/2.

Claims

1. Equipment for applying active elements to a cranium of a patient, comprising: a support and a plurality of active elements, wherein said support comprises a means of connection with a patient and means for positioning said active elements in order to excite N+M zones of the cranium, said N+M zones comprising the zones VG.sub.19, VG.sub.20, VG.sub.21, C.sub.4, C.sub.5R, C.sub.5L, C.sub.6R and C.sub.6L, N and M being two integer numbers, N being a number between 2 and 8, M being less than N/2.

2. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 1, wherein N is a number between 4 and 8 and M is equal to 0.

3. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 1, wherein said active elements are laser diodes with a power of less than 60 mW.

4. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 3, wherein said laser has a power of between 1 and 15 mW.

5. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 3, wherein said laser is a laser emitting in the red range.

6. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 1, wherein said active elements consist of electromagnetic-field generators.

7. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 1, wherein the equipment comprises a means for adjusting the energy applied to each of said active elements.

8. The equipment for applying active elements to the cranium of a patient according to claim 7, further comprising: a central or frontal support for the cranium with lateral extensions that constitute a reference frame for positioning active elements facing precise zones of the cranium; lateral extensions that support, at the temporal zone of the cranium, a plurality of arches articulated on each lateral extension by means of a pivot allowing angular adjustment with respect to the cranial reference frame defined by the mount, and then the locking of the relative orientations of the arches; and arches that have apertures allowing the movement of the active elements on the paths defined by the arches.

9. The equipment according to claim 8, wherein the active elements are sensors configured to measure brain activity.

10. The equipment according to claim 8, wherein the active elements are transmitters or energy sources for stimulating the brain.

11. The equipment according to claim 8, wherein the active elements are a combination of sensors and transmitters configured to measure the brain activity and to stimulate the brain simultaneously.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The present invention will be understood better from a reading of the following description, referring to a non-limitative example embodiment, where:

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of equipment according to the invention

[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic front view of the location of the zones where the active elements are positioned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of equipment according to the invention.

[0029] It consists of a mount, having a central or frontal support for the cranium with lateral extensions (1). This mount constitutes a reference frame for positioning the sensors facing certain zones of the cranium.

[0030] The lateral extensions of the mount (1) support, at the temporal zone of the cranium, a plurality of arches (2, 3) in the form of a head grip, articulated on each lateral extension (1) by means of a pivot (10) allowing angular adjustment with respect to the cranial reference frame defined by the mount, and then the locking of the relative orientations of the arches (2, 3).

[0031] These arches (2, 3) have apertures (5, 6) allowing the movement, on paths defined by the arches (2, 3), of active elements (7, 8). These active elements are for example laser diodes emitting in the red range (650 nanometres) with a power of 10 mW. They are supplied by an electronic circuit delivering for each of the diodes a modulated signal with a peak voltage of 3 volts.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the action zones of the active elements positioned by a device, for example the one described in FIG. 1.

[0033] These action zones are chosen mainly from the following zones: [0034] A) The zones (30 to 32) C.sub.1, C.sub.2 and C.sub.3 situated on the meridian of the governing vessel.

[0035] They comprise the 20.sup.th point of the governing/Ren Mai vessel (VG.sub.20). This VG.sub.20 zone (30) is situated at approximately five centimetres to the rear of the forehead hairline and at approximately seven centimetres above the nape hairline, at the intersection of the median line of the cranium and a line connecting the end of the two ears (the apex), on the epicranial aponeurosis and between the two parietal foramina.

[0036] The point VG.sub.19 (or Chakra 7) (32) is situated at the crown of the head. The point VG.sub.21 (31) is situated on the median line, symmetrically opposite point (32) with respect to point (30). [0037] B) The four zones C.sub.4, C.sub.5 and C.sub.6 belong to the points that are not on meridians of the face.

[0038] The point C.sub.4 (20) is situated at the middle of the forehead. The two points C.sub.5 (21, 22) are situated on either side of the point C.sub.4 (20), on the horizontal line passing through this point C.sub.4, vertically above the middle of each eyebrow.

[0039] The two points C.sub.6 (23, 24) are situated on the meridians of the triple burner, at the temple.

[0040] The apparatus is used by positioning four to eight actuators on the support, to correspond to points mainly chosen from the aforementioned eight points. The choice of the aforementioned points is defined by the medical practitioner for precise therapeutic treatment.

[0041] When the patient is equipped, each of the diodes is supplied at a frequency of between 4 and 10 Hz, for a period of 10 to 30 minutes.

[0042] The equipment can be produced in numerous alternatives. In particular, it can take the form of a support pillow for the head and neck comprising a structure support element, forming a support for the nape of the neck. The active elements are fixed to the structure support element, as well as to extensions supporting the active elements for the zones that are not in contact with the surface of the pillow.