Implantable Electroacupuncture Device and Method for Treating Obesity

Abstract

An exemplary method for treating obesity in a patient comprising the steps of 1) implanting a coin-sized electroacupuncture (EA) device in the patient below the patient's skin at at least one specified stimulation site, 2) enabling the EA device to generate stimulation sessions at a duty cycle that is less than 0.05, each stimulation session comprising a series of stimulation pulses, wherein the duty cycle is the ratio of T3/T4, where T3 is the duration in minutes of each stimulation session, and T4 is the time in minutes between stimulation sessions, and 3) delivering the stimulation pulses of each stimulation session to the at least one specified stimulation site through at least two electrodes/arrays attached to an outside surface of the EA device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating obesity in a patient comprising the steps of:
 implanting a coin-sized electroacupuncture (EA) device in the patient below the patient's skin at at least one specified stimulation site;   enabling the EA device to generate stimulation sessions at a duty cycle that is less than 0.05, each stimulation session comprising a series of stimulation pulses, wherein the duty cycle is the ratio of T3/T4, where T3 is the duration in minutes of each stimulation session, and T4 is the time in minutes between stimulation sessions; and   delivering the stimulation pulses of each stimulation session to the at least one specified stimulation site through at least two electrodes/arrays attached to an outside surface of the EA device.   
     
     
         2 . The method  claim 1 , wherein the at least one specified stimulation site at which the stimulation pulses are applied is selected from the group of stimulation sites that includes acupoints SP4, LR8 and ST40, and their underlying nerves saphenous and peroneal. 
     
     
         3 . The method  claim 1 , further comprising forming the at least two electrodes/arrays attached to the outside surface of the EA device in a concentric pattern, with one electrode/array of the at least two electrodes/arrays comprising a central electrode/array, and with another electrode of the at least two electrodes/arrays comprising an annular electrode/array that surrounds the central electrode/array, wherein the spacing between the center of the central electrode/array and an edge of the annular electrode/array closest to the central electrode/array comprises at least 5 mm. 
     
     
         4 . The method  claim 3 , further including forming the annular electrode/array as a ring electrode/array attached around a perimeter edge of the coin-sized EA device. 
     
     
         5 . The method  claim 4 , further including configuring the central electrode/array as a cathode electrode and the perimeter-edge ring electrode/array as an anode electrode. 
     
     
         6 . The method  claim 1 , wherein the enabling the EA device to generate stimulation sessions includes generating the series of stimulation pulses within each stimulation session so that each stimulation pulse has a duration of between 0.1 and 1.0 millisecond and occurs at a rate of between 1 and 5 Hz. 
     
     
         7 . The method  claim 1 , further comprising setting the time T4, the time between stimulation sessions, to be at least 1440 minutes [1 day] but no longer than 20,160 minutes [14 days]. 
     
     
         8 . The method  claim 1 , further comprising setting T3 to a value between 10 minutes and 60 minutes. 
     
     
         9 . A method of treating obesity in a patient, comprising:
 generating, by an electroacupuncture device implanted beneath a skin surface of the patient at an acupoint corresponding to at least one of a saphenous nerve and a peroneal nerve of the patient, stimulation sessions at a duty cycle that is less than 0.05, wherein
 each stimulation session included in the stimulation sessions comprises a series of stimulation pulses, 
 the duty cycle is a ratio of T3 to T4, 
 each stimulation session included in the stimulation sessions has a duration of T3 minutes and occurs at a rate of once every T4 minutes, and 
 the electroacupuncture device comprises a central electrode of a first polarity centrally located on a first surface of a housing of the electroacupuncture device and an annular electrode of a second polarity and that is spaced apart from the central electrode; and 
   applying, by the electroacupuncture device, the stimulation sessions to at least one of the saphenous nerve and the peroneal nerve by way of the central electrode and the annular electrode in accordance with the duty cycle.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the acupoint comprises at least one of acupoints SP4, LR8 and ST40. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein T3 is at least 10 minutes and less than 60 minutes, and wherein T4 is at least 1440 minutes. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the electroacupuncture device from a device external to the electroacupuncture device, a control command that sets the times T3 and T4 to appropriate values configured to treat the obesity or the dyslipidemia;   wherein the generating of the stimulation sessions is performed in accordance with the control command.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the receiving of the control command comprises detecting, with an electromagnetic field sensor included in the electroacupuncture device, a magnetic field generated by the device external to the electroacupuncture device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the housing is coin-sized and coin-shaped. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the annular electrode is located on the first surface of the housing. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the annular electrode comprises a ring electrode located around a perimeter edge of the housing. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising powering electronic circuits within the electroacupuncture device with a battery having an internal impedance of at least 5 ohms. 
     
     
         18 . An electroacupuncture device for treating obesity of a patient, comprising:
 a housing configured to be implanted beneath a skin surface of the patient at an acupoint corresponding to at least one of a saphenous nerve and a peroneal nerve of the patient;   a central electrode of a first polarity and centrally located on a first surface of the housing;   an annular electrode of a second polarity and that surrounds the central electrode on the first surface of the housing, the annular electrode being spaced apart from the central electrode; and   pulse generation circuitry located within the housing and electrically coupled to the annular and central electrodes, wherein the pulse generation circuitry
 generates stimulation sessions at a duty cycle that is less than 0.05, and 
 applies the stimulation sessions to at least one of the saphenous nerve and the peroneal nerve by way of the central electrode and the annular electrode in accordance with the duty cycle, 
 wherein
 each stimulation session included in the stimulation sessions comprises a series of stimulation pulses, 
 the duty cycle is a ratio of T3 to T4, and 
 each stimulation session included in the stimulation sessions has a duration of T3 minutes and occurs at a rate of once every T4 minutes. 
 
   
     
     
         19 . The electroacupuncture device of  claim 11 , wherein the acupoint comprises at least one of acupoints SP4, LR8 and ST40. 
     
     
         20 . The electroacupuncture device of  claim 11 , wherein T3 is at least 10 minutes and less than 60 minutes, and wherein T4 is at least 1440 minutes.