Methods and systems for determining subject-specific parameters for a neuromodulation therapy

Abstract

A neurological control system for modulating activity of any component or structure comprising the entirety or portion of the nervous system, or any structure interfaced thereto, generally referred to herein as a “nervous system component.” The neurological control system generates neural modulation signals delivered to a nervous system component through one or more neuromodulators to control neurological state and prevent neurological signs and symptoms. Such treatment parameters may be derived from a neural response to previously delivered neural modulation signals sensed by one or more sensors, each configured to sense a particular characteristic indicative of a neurological or psychiatric condition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for monitoring a subject, the system comprising:
 an acoustic sensor;   an accelerometer; and   a recording device coupled to the acoustic sensor and the accelerometer, wherein the recording device:
 collects acoustic data from the acoustic sensor and acceleration data from the accelerometer; 
 measures a progression of a neurological disease of a subject using the acoustic data and the acceleration data; and 
 records progression data indicating the progression of the neurological disease. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the acoustic data comprises of at least one of high frequency head vibration, muscle vibration or speech production. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing containing the acoustic sensor, the accelerometer and the recording device. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an external device, wherein the external device receives the progression data. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the external device reports the progression of the neurological disease as a quantitative estimate. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the acceleration data comprises of at least one of a magnitude of tremor, an absolute value of an acceleration of the subject's head, a normalized value of the acceleration of the subject's head or a frequency of occurrence of episodes of tremor. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a physiological sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the physiological sensor senses respiration of the subject. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the recording device is further configured to measure the progression of the neurological disease by using at least one of a magnitude, a frequency of movement of a tremor, a duration or a frequency of occurrence of one or more tremor to measure a progression of epilepsy of the subject. 
     
     
         10 . A system for monitoring a subject, the system comprising:
 an acoustic sensor;   an accelerometer;   a recording device coupled to the acoustic sensor and the accelerometer, wherein the recording device collects acoustic data from the acoustic sensor and acceleration data from the accelerometer; and   an external device, wherein the external device:
 receives the acoustic data and the acceleration data from the recording device; 
 measures a progression of a neurological disease of a subject using the acoustic data and the acceleration data; and 
 records progression data indicating the progression of the neurological disease. 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the acoustic data comprises of at least one of high frequency head vibration, muscle vibration or speech production. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a housing containing the acoustic sensor, the accelerometer and the recording device. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the external device is further configured to report the progression of the neurological disease as a quantitative estimate. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the acceleration data comprises of at least one of a magnitude of tremor, an absolute value of an acceleration of the subject's head, a normalized value of the acceleration of the subject's head or a frequency of occurrence of episodes of tremor. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a physiological sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the physiological sensor senses respiration of the subject. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the external device is configured to measure the progression of the neurological disease by using at least one of a magnitude, a frequency of movement of a tremor, a duration or a frequency of occurrence of one or more tremor to measure a progression of epilepsy of the subject. 
     
     
         18 . A method of monitoring a subject, the method comprising:
 collecting acoustic data from an acoustic sensor;   collecting acceleration data from a accelerometer;   measuring, by a device implanted within a subject, a progression of a neurological disease of the subject using the acoustic data and the acceleration data; and   recording, by the device, progression data indicating the progression of the neurological disease.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising transmitting, by the device, the progression of the neurological disease to an external device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein measuring the progression of the neurological disease comprises using at least one of a magnitude, a frequency of movement of a tremor, a duration or a frequency of occurrence of one or more tremor to measure a progression of epilepsy of the subject.