Electrical stimulation of the colon to treat chronic constipation

Abstract

The invention is directed to techniques for stimulating a colon of a patient to relieve chronic constipation. Specifically, a colon stimulation system applies one or more electrical stimuli to the colon of the patient in order to induce peristaltic activity in the colon to relieve chronic constipation. In accordance with the invention, the colon stimulation system induces peristaltic activity in the colon by applying an electrical stimulus to the colon to cause a portion of the colon to contract to a contracted state and removing the electrical stimulus to cause the colon to relax. While in the contracted state, the colon is substantially fully contracted.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A colon stimulation system comprising: 
 a stimulus generator to generate an electrical stimulus; and    at least one electrode in contact with a colon of a patient to apply the electrical stimulus to the colon,    wherein the system is configured to cause the colon to undergo peristaltic activity by applying the electrical stimulus to the colon to cause a portion of the colon to contract to a contracted state where a portion of the colon is substantially fully contracted, and by removing the electrical stimulus to cause the colon to relax.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the colon stimulation system applies the electrical stimulus to the colon via the electrode for a duration of 10 to 90 seconds.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the colon stimulation system applies the electrical stimulus to the colon via the electrode for a duration of 60 seconds.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus and the colon stimulation system applies the first electrical stimulus via the electrode to fully contract the colon, removes the electrical stimulus to allow the colon to relax, and applies a second electrical stimulus via the electrode to fully contract the colon.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of electrodes in contact with the colon.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the colon stimulation system applies an electrical stimulus to each of the electrodes substantially simultaneously.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the colon stimulation system applies electrical stimuli to the colon sequentially.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the colon stimulation system applies a first electrical stimulus to a first electrode, waits a period of time and applies a second electrical stimulus to a second electrode.  
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the colon stimulation system waits until a portion of the colon proximate the first electrode substantially fully contracts.  
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an electrode pair for bipolar stimulation, wherein electrodes of the electrode pair are placed diametrically opposite one another on the colon.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electrode includes a coating that lutes a therapeutic agent.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a patch that embeds the electrode, the patch attached to the colon in order to place the electrode in contact with the colon.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a lead that includes the electrode, the lead attached to the colon in order to place the electrode in contact with the colon.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electrode is in contact with a cecum of the colon.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electrode is in contact with one of an ascending colon, a transverse colon, a descending colon, and a sigmoid colon.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stimulus generator comprises an implanted stimulus generator.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the implanted stimulus generator comprises an implanted neurostimulator.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulus comprises a set of electrical stimuli.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stimulus is removed to cause the colon to relax to a substantially fully non-contracted state.  
     
     
         20 . A method of inducing peristaltic activity in a colon comprising: 
 applying an electrical stimulus to the colon to cause a portion of the colon to contract to a contracted state, the portion of the colon being substantially fully contracted in the contracted state; and    removing the electrical stimulus to cause the colon to relax.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein applying the electrical stimulus to the colon comprises applying the electrical stimulus to the colon for a duration of approximately 10 to 90 seconds.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein applying the electrical stimulus to the colon comprises applying the electrical stimulus to the colon for a duration of approximately 60 seconds.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus, the method further comprising applying a second electrical stimulus to the colon to cause the colon to contract to the contracted state after the colon has relaxed.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus, the method further comprising applying a second electrical stimulus to the colon substantially simultaneous with the first electrical stimulus.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus, the method further comprising applying a second electrical stimulus to the colon.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the first and second electrical stimulus are applied to the colon via a common electrode.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the first and second electrical stimulus are applied to the colon via a first and second electrode, and further comprising waiting a period of time between applying the first electrical stimulus and the second electrical stimulus.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein applying the electrical stimulus to the colon comprises applying the electrical stimulus to the colon with an electrode.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein applying an electrical stimulus to the colon comprises generating the electrical stimulus with an implanted stimulus generator.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the implanted stimulus generator comprises a neurostimulator.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the stimulus generator comprises an electrical pulse generator.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein applying the electrical stimulus to the colon comprises applying the electrical stimulus to a cecum of the colon.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein applying the electrical stimulus to the colon comprises applying the electrical stimulus to one of an ascending colon, a transverse colon, a descending colon, and a sigmoid colon.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein applying an electrical stimulus comprises applying a set of electrical stimuli.  
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein removing the electrical stimulus to cause the colon to relax comprises removing the stimulus to cause the colon to relax to a substantially fully non-contracted state.  
     
     
         36 . A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that cause a processor to: 
 apply an electrical stimulus to the colon to cause a portion of the colon to contract to a contracted state, the portion of the colon being substantially fully contracted in the contracted state; and    remove the electrical stimulus to cause the colon to relax.    
     
     
         37 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus, the instructions further causing the processor to apply a second electrical stimulus to the colon to cause the colon to contract to the contracted state after the colon has relaxed.  
     
     
         38 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus, the instructions further causing the processor to apply a second electrical stimulus to the colon substantially simultaneous with the first electrical stimulus.  
     
     
         39 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein the electrical stimulus is a first electrical stimulus, the instructions further causing the processor to apply a second electrical stimulus to the colon.  
     
     
         40 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein instructions that cause the processor to apply an electrical stimulus include instructions that cause the processor to apply a set of electrical stimuli.  
     
     
         41 . A device comprising: 
 a patch body formed of a biocompatible material; and    a first electrode and a second electrode coupled to the patch body;    wherein the patch body is so sized to wrap around a portion of a colon, and wherein the electrodes so sized and spaced that the first electrode and the second electrode are deployed on diametrically opposite sides of the portion of the colon when the patch body is wrapped around the portion of the colon.    
     
     
         42 . The device of  claim 41 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are embedded within patch body  44 .  
     
     
         43 . The device of  claim 41 , further comprising a lead including a first conductor coupled to the first electrode and a second conductor coupled to the second electrode.  
     
     
         44 . The device of  claim 41 , wherein the patch body defines a contact side that comes in contact with the colon when the patch body is wrapped around the portion of the colon, the device further comprising an adhesive on the contact side that adheres to the patch body and the colon.  
     
     
         45 . The device of  claim 41 , wherein the patch body defines a contact side that comes in contact with the colon when the patch body is wrapped around the portion of the colon, the device further comprising a therapeutic agent on the contact side.