| CPC A61N 1/36139 (2013.01) [A61N 1/37247 (2013.01)] | 18 Claims |
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1. A method for automating selection of stimulation parameters for a stimulation device implanted in a patient, the method comprising:
setting, by a user, at least one limit on each of at least three stimulation parameters, each of the at least three stimulation parameters being different and selected from an axial position along an electrical stimulation lead, a rotational direction of stimulation, a stimulation amplitude, a pulse duration, a pulse frequency, or a duty cycle, wherein each of the at least one limit comprises an upper limit, a lower limit, a limit on electrode selection, or a limit on stimulation direction; and
performing, automatically using at least one processor, the following actions sequentially and individually for each of the at least three stimulation parameters constrained by the at least one limit, wherein the actions are fully performed with respect to one of the at least three stimulation parameters before performing the actions for another one of the at least three stimulation parameters:
selecting a one of the at least three stimulation parameters,
stimulating tissue of the patient, by the stimulation device, using different first values for the selected one of the at least three stimulation parameters constrained by the at least one limit for the one of the at least three stimulation parameters,
for each of the different first values, sensing one or more first effects arising in response to the corresponding stimulation including sensing a signal from the stimulated tissue, wherein the signal is an evoked compound action potential (ECAP), evoked resonant neural activity (ERNA), or local field potential (LFP), wherein at least one of the one or more first effects is a feature of the signal over a selected range of time, wherein the feature comprises at least one of a range of amplitude of the signal over the selected range of time, an amount of time between a maximum amplitude of the signal and a minimum amplitude of the signal for the selected range of time, an area under a curve of the signal for the selected range of time, or a length of the curve of the signal for the selected range of time,
updating, by the at least one processor and for each of the different first values, a collection of effects and corresponding values of the at least three stimulation parameters with the one or more first effects and the corresponding different first values of the one of the at least three stimulation parameters,
selecting, by the processor, a coarse value from the different first values of the one of the at least three stimulation parameters based on the sensed one or more first effects,
stimulating tissue of the patient, by the stimulation device, using different second values for the selected one of the at least three stimulation parameters that are within a predefined relative range around the selected coarse value of the one of the at least three stimulation parameters constrained by the at least one limit for the one of the at least three stimulation parameters,
for each of the different second values, sensing one or more second effects arising in response to the stimulation including sensing a signal from the stimulated tissue, wherein the signal is an evoked compound action potential (ECAP), evoked resonant neural activity (ERNA), or local field potential (LFP), wherein at least one of the one or more second effects is a feature of the signal over a selected range of time, wherein the feature comprises at least one of a range of amplitude of the signal over the selected range of time, an amount of time between a maximum amplitude of the signal and a minimum amplitude of the signal for the selected range of time, an area under a curve of the signal for the selected range of time, or a length of the curve of the signal for the selected range of time,
updating, by the at least one processor and for each of the different second values, a collection of effects and corresponding values of the at least three stimulation parameters with the one or more second effects and the corresponding different second values of the one of the at least three stimulation parameters, and
selecting, by the processor, a fine-tuned value from the different second values of the one of the at least three stimulation parameters based on the sensed one or more second effects,
wherein, after the fine-tuned value is selected for any one of the at least three stimulation parameters, that fine-tuned value is used in subsequent stimulations when performing the actions for another one of the at least three stimulation parameters.
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