US 12,246,177 B2
Systems, devices and methods for neurostimulation
Robert D. Black, Chapel Hill, NC (US); Lanty L Smith, Durham, NC (US); and Lesco L Rogers, Raleigh, NC (US)
Assigned to SCION NEUROSTIM, INC., Durham, NC (US)
Filed by Scion Neurostim Inc., Durham, NC (US)
Filed on Oct. 17, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/488,125.
Application 18/488,125 is a division of application No. 16/978,482, granted, now 11,794,010, previously published as PCT/US2019/020938, filed on Mar. 6, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/639,738, filed on Mar. 7, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2024/0091536 A1, Mar. 21, 2024
Int. Cl. A61N 1/36 (2006.01); A61N 1/04 (2006.01); A61N 2/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61N 1/36036 (2017.08) [A61N 1/0456 (2013.01); A61N 1/36025 (2013.01); A61N 1/36031 (2017.08); A61N 2/002 (2013.01); A61N 2/006 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device for administering thermal stimulation to an ear canal of a subject, comprising:
an earpiece configured to be at least partially insertable into the ear canal of the subject;
a thermoelectric device thermally coupled to the earpiece and configured to heat and/or cool the earpiece to thereby heat and/or cool the ear canal of the subject; and
a controller associated with the thermoelectric device, the controller comprising a processor and memory storing non-transitory computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
(a) detecting a physiological oscillatory pattern in the subject during and/or after administration of a caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) stimulus of a plurality of different CVS stimuli;
(b) optionally resetting the physiological oscillatory pattern by administering an exogenous stimulus (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation) to the subject;
(c) repeating steps (a) and (b) for each of the plurality of different CVS stimuli to generate a database of the different CVS stimuli correlated with different physiological oscillatory patterns in a brain of the subject;
(d) assigning an efficacy score to each of the different CVS stimuli in the database, wherein each efficacy score is based on a durability of improvement of at least one symptom in the subject;
(e) selecting from the database a CVS stimulus that provides a durable improvement in the symptom to the subject, wherein the selected CVS stimulus is selected from among the CVS stimuli in the database having efficacy scores that exceed a threshold; and
(f) modifying a treatment plan for the subject based on the selected CVS stimulus,
wherein the physiological oscillatory pattern comprises cross frequency coupling,
wherein the efficacy score assigned to each CVS stimulus is based a first duration of time between a beginning of administration of the corresponding CVS stimulus and a detection of a first change in the cross frequency coupling.