Patents Examined by Philip C Edwards
  • Patent number: 10786666
    Abstract: Presented herein are systems, methods, and devices that provide for stimulation of nerves and/or targets such as mechanoreceptors, tissue regions, mechanoresponsive proteins, and vascular targets through generation and delivery of mechanical vibrational waves. In certain embodiments, the approaches described herein utilize a stimulation device (e.g., a wearable device) for generation and delivery of the mechanical vibrational waves. As described herein, the delivered vibrational waves can be tailored based on particular targets (e.g., nerves, mechanoreceptors, vascular targets, tissue regions) to stimulate and/or to elicited particular desired responses in a subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Apex Neuro Holdings Inc.
    Inventors: Zen Chu, Miles Thibault, Kelsey Fafara, Francois Kress, Rohan Ajay Verma, Alyssa Boasso, Sean Hagberg, Julia Brock
  • Patent number: 10779873
    Abstract: A device is described for treating a nasal airway by modifying a property of a nasal tissue of or near a nasal valve of the airway, without using a surgical incision or an implant, to decrease airflow resistance or perceived airflow resistance in the nasal airway. Various embodiments include an elongate shaft, a bipolar radiofrequency delivery member extending from one end of the shaft, and a handle attached to the elongate shaft at an opposite end from the radiofrequency delivery member. The radiofrequency delivery member is sized to be inserted into a nose and configured to at least temporarily deform the nasal tissue and deliver radiofrequency energy. The radiofrequency delivery member includes two rows of protruding electrodes disposed on a tissue contact surface, and the device is configured to deliver radiofrequency energy from one row of electrodes to the other row of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: AERIN MEDICAL, INC.
    Inventors: Scott J. Wolf, Andrew Frazier
  • Patent number: 10765856
    Abstract: A system and method for providing therapy to a patient can include a monitoring unit and a therapy unit. The monitoring unit can have a user interface and one or more sensors to measure patient data. The therapy unit can have a stimulator for generating electrical stimulation and a microcontroller for controlling the generation of the electrical stimulation based on the measured patient data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Cala Health, Inc.
    Inventors: Serena HanYing Wong, Kathryn H. Rosenbluth, Samuel Richard Hamner, Paula Jean Chidester, Scott Lee Delp, Terence D. Sanger
  • Patent number: 10765355
    Abstract: This disclosure describes methods, systems, and devices configured to determine a timing of a future bladder related event of a patient. For example, a system includes processing circuitry configured to identify a timing of a plurality of bladder related events of a patient, determine, based on the timing of the plurality of bladder related events of the patient, a probability to experience a bladder related event function for the patient, the probability to experience a bladder related event function indicating a probability that the patient will experience a bladder related event at an elapsed time after a previous bladder related event, predict, based on the probability to experience a bladder related event function, a timing of a future bladder related event, and control delivery of a therapy to the patient based on the predicted timing of the future bladder related event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Dwight E. Nelson, Thaddeus S. Brink, Lance Zirpel, Adam P. Steiner
  • Patent number: 10765876
    Abstract: A medical device is configured to deliver anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) in the presence of T-wave alternans. The device is configured to detect a ventricular tachyarrhythmia from a cardiac electrical signal received by the medical device. In response to the detected ventricular tachyarrhythmia, the device delivers a plurality of ATP pulses at alternating time intervals. The alternating time intervals comprise at least a first ATP time interval separating a first pair of the ATP pulses and a second ATP time interval different than the first ATP time interval. The second ATP time interval consecutively follows the first ATP time interval and separates a second pair of the ATP pulses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventor: Vladimir P. Nikolski
  • Patent number: 10758142
    Abstract: A device and method is described for electronic human prosthetics, and specifically a body-machine interface (BMI) device where the input, output and on-board computing are combined into a single unit to form a compact ECG, respiratory sensing, temperature-sensing-prosthetics device. The devices (BMIs) can also communicate with other body-machine interface devices (BMI) and/or with external controllers wirelessly. The compact device has ultrasonic battery charging system. One or more BMI can be wirelessly connected so that a closed loop of BMIs, or a BMI and an external controller, can wirelessly send trigger pulses to the stimulator over the heart, glossopharyngeal nerve(s) or diaphragm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignees: San Diego State University Research Foundation, Electronic and Telecommunication Research Institute
    Inventors: Kee S. Moon, Sung Q. Lee, Woosub Youm
  • Patent number: 10751536
    Abstract: Systems for disease treatment using electrical stimulation are disclosed. A representative method for treating a patient includes changing an activity, expression, or both activity and expression of a fast sodium channel, a glial cell, or both a fast sodium channel and a glial cell of the patient by applying to a target neural population of the patient an electrical therapy signal having a frequency in a frequency range of 1.5 kHz to 100 kHz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Nevro Corp.
    Inventors: Gary Heit, Bradford Evan Gliner
  • Patent number: 10744329
    Abstract: A pacemaker having a motion sensor delivers atrial-synchronized ventricular pacing by detecting events from a signal produced by the motion sensor and delivering ventricular pacing pulses at a rate that tracks the rate of the detected events. The pacemaker is configured to confirm atrial tracking of the ventricular pacing pulses by determining if detected events from the motion sensor signal are atrial events. The pacemaker is configured to adjust a control parameter used for detecting events from the motion sensor signal if atrial tracking is not confirmed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd J. Sheldon, Wade M. Demmer, Greggory R. Herr
  • Patent number: 10736521
    Abstract: A method of monitoring and/or diagnosing an autoregulation mechanism of blood pressure of a living being using an ECG signal includes recording the ECG signal of the living being, and the recording a pulse wave curve synchronously with the recording of the ECG signal. Heart rate intervals are determined from the ECG signal. A pulse wave transit time is determined for each heart rate interval from the pulse wave curve. A plurality of significant changes in the pulse wave transit times are determined according to a specified criterion. One respective heart rate interval correlated in time with each significant change in the pulse wave transit times is selected as an anchor point. A determined limited number of temporally successive heart rate intervals temporally before and/or after each anchor point are selected to thus generate a limited sequence of heart rate intervals for each anchor point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Schwarzer Cardiotek GmbH
    Inventors: Carsten Bienek, Michael Spaeth, Cornelius Fritz Vollmer
  • Patent number: 10729347
    Abstract: A device may include a housing, a light-permeable electrode, a computing device, and a display or other light-processing element. The display or other light-processing element may be positioned at least partly within the housing. The device components may be arranged to permit passage of light through the light-permeable electrode and relative to the light-processing element. The computing device may utilize electrical activity signal information from the light-permeable electrode to determine electrocardiogram (ECG) information or other information about the body of a user of the device. For example, the computing device may cause such ECG information to be projected through the light-permeable electrode by the display or other light-processing device and/or obtain additional information based on light received through the light-permeable electrode by the display or other light-processing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC
    Inventor: Brett Schleicher
  • Patent number: 10722701
    Abstract: A nerve stimulation apparatus is provided. The nerve stimulation apparatus detects nerve activities from a body surface and applies stimulation. The nerve stimulation apparatus includes a stimulation apparatus with multiple electrodes which are arranged on skin and a current supply unit which supplies a current to the electrodes, which stimulation apparatus provides the current to a living body percutaneously to stimulate a target nerve; a measurement apparatus which measures activities of muscles governed by the nerve according to the stimulation from the stimulation apparatus; and an information processing apparatus which determines, based on a measurement result of the nerve activities obtained from the measurement apparatus, which electrode is capable of providing the target nerve activities equal to or greater than a desired value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd., National University Corporation Tokyo Medical and Dental University
    Inventors: Takafumi Ishibe, Shigenori Kawabata, Takumi Yamaga, Hiroshi Deguchi, Koji Yamaguchi, Shunichi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 10716948
    Abstract: In one respect, there is provided an apparatus for neural stimulation. The apparatus may include an antenna, a plurality of electrodes, and a voltage supply generator. The antenna may be configured to receive, from an external source, radio frequency energy. The voltage supply generator configured to generate a voltage supply by at least ramping up a voltage of the radio frequency energy in successive increments, wherein the voltage supply drives a current to the plurality of electrodes during neural stimulation. Related methods and computer program products are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Sohmyung Ha, Gert Cauwenberghs, Chul Kim, Jiwoong Park, Patrick P. Mercier, Abraham Akinin, Hui Wang, Christoph Hans Maier
  • Patent number: 10709503
    Abstract: Disclosed is a protective sleeve (1) for a dermatological treatment device comprising a laser head for firing a laser beam. The sleeve (1) comprises: a rigid shell (2) which is shaped such that it can be placed over the laser head and has a window (4) that can be positioned opposite the laser beam; a contact wall (5) arranged around the window (4) for contacting an area around a target area; and a means for attachment to the device, the attachment means being positioned as close as possible to the contact wall (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: URGO RECHERCHE INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT
    Inventor: Michel Lamoise
  • Patent number: 10709887
    Abstract: A mouthpiece for providing non-invasive neuromodulation to a patient. The mouthpiece includes an elongated housing having a center of gravity located within a posterior region, a positioning pad attached to the top surface of the elongated housing for minimizing contact between a patient's upper teeth and the exterior top surface of the elongated housing, and a printed circuit board mounted to a bottom portion of the elongated housing, the printed circuit board having a plurality of electrodes for delivering subcutaneous local electrical stimulation to the patient's tongue. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece includes at least one locator disposed along the anterior region of the elongated housing for contacting a patient's teeth to securely position the mouthpiece within the patient's mouth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Helius Medical, Inc
    Inventors: Mark Guarraia, Aidan Petrie, Justin Fisk, Adam Muratori, Jeffrey M. Wallace, Jeffrey C. Morang
  • Patent number: 10695004
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for using one or more light sources and associated photodetectors to determine different physiological parameters of a subject based on the subject's activity state. A processor may, for example, be configured to determine, based at least in part on data received from an accelerometer at a first time, that a first physiological parameter of the subject is to be determined, to cause the light source(s) to operate in a first manner and process signals from the photodetector(s) to determine the first physiological parameter, to determine, based at least in part on data received from the accelerometer at a second time, that a second physiological parameter of the subject is to be determined, and to cause the light source(s) to operate in a second manner and process signals from the photodetector(s) to determine the second physiological parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: LumiraDX UK, Ltd.
    Inventors: Paul J. Gaudet, Thomas J. Quinlan, III, Jerry Zhang, Norbert Ohlenbusch, Thomas P. Blackadar, David P. Monahan
  • Patent number: 10687728
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, systems and methods to adjust arrhythmia detection using physiological information of a patient, including detecting a candidate cardiac event about a threshold, displaying the detected candidate cardiac event to a user, receiving user information about the detected candidate cardiac event, and adjusting an arrhythmia detection threshold based upon the received user information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
    Inventors: Keith L. Herrmann, Sunipa Saha, Arjun D. Sharma, David L. Perschbacher, Derek D. Bohn, Krzysztof Z. Siejko
  • Patent number: 10682512
    Abstract: An interferential current therapy kit for treatment of a patient following an orthopedic surgery, includes, within a container for facilitating the distribution and transport of the kit, one or multiple control units including a stimulation power supply and a plurality of electrodes configured to be in electrical communication with the stimulation power supply. The plurality of electrodes are configured to be disposed on an epidermis of the patient and arranged to supply transcutaneous electrical impulses to a therapeutic target area when supplied power by the stimulation power supply employing an interferential current therapy technique. The kit also includes an electrode placement aid adapted to assist the health care provider and team, and the patient with placement of the plurality of electrodes with respect to the site of the previous orthopedic surgery, thereby increasing a likelihood of efficacious and safe placement of the plurality of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: Feinstein Patents, LLC
    Inventor: Peter A. Feinstein
  • Patent number: 10675461
    Abstract: Methods of treatment of disorders of the knee, such as medial osteoarthritis and knee instability due to anterior cruciate ligament deficiency, are provided herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Imperial College Innovations Limited
    Inventors: Anthony M J Bull, Lance Rane
  • Patent number: 10668292
    Abstract: Embodiments describe herein generally pertain to implantable medical device (IMDs), and methods for use therewith, that can be used to automatically switch an IMD from its normal operational mode to an MRI safe mode, and vice versa, within increased specificity. In certain embodiments, a controller of the IMD uses a magnetic field sensor to determine whether a first magnetic field condition is detected, and uses an accelerometer to determine whether a positional condition is detected. In response to the first magnetic field condition being detected, and the positional condition being detected, the controller can use the magnetic field sensor to determine whether a second magnetic field condition is detected, which differs from the first magnetic field condition. The controller can then cause the IMD to enter the MRI safe mode based at least in part on the first and second magnetic field conditions and the positional condition being detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: Pacesetter, Inc.
    Inventors: Xing Pei, Brad Lindevig, Stuart Rosenberg, Nima Badie
  • Patent number: 10668194
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a fluid pump that comprises a housing having an inlet opening for receiving the fluid, an outlet opening for discharging the fluid and enclosing an impeller rotating inside the housing to pump the fluid from the inlet opening to the outlet opening and a motor assembly to drive the impeller. The housing is shaped to establish a single turn volute of 360° turn angle providing a first conveying channel located peripherally around the impeller from a fluid entry point at 0° turn angle to a fluid exit point at 360° turn angle of the single turn volute being connected to the outlet opening. The first conveying channel has a first cross section area in radial direction perpendicular to the rotational plane of the impeller, where a size of the first cross section area increases as a monotonic increasing function of the turn angle between entry point and exit point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: REINHEART GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Henseler, Roland Graefe