Combining waveforms to treat chronic pain without causing paresthesia

Abstract

A neuromodulation system and method of providing therapy to a patient. A plurality of individual electrical pulse trains is generated at a respective plurality of individual pulse rates. The plurality of individual electrical pulse trains are concurrently respectively from a plurality of electrodes to a common electrode via tissue of the patient, thereby creating a combined electrical pulse train having an average pulse rate equal to or greater than 1 KHz.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method comprising:
 treating chronic pain without causing paresthesia using a plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electrodes including a common electrode adjacent to spinal cord tissue to be therapeutically modulated to treat chronic pain and further including at least two electrodes different than the common electrode,   wherein treating chronic pain without causing paresthesia includes delivering a combined electrical waveform, including concurrently delivering at least two waveforms from the at least two electrodes, respectively, to the common electrode to provide the combined waveform from the common electrode to the volume of tissue to treat the chronic pain without causing paresthesia.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein delivering the combined electrical waveform includes delivering a combined electrical waveform with a frequency equal to or greater than 1 KHz and less than 50 KHz to treat chronic pain without causing paresthesia. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the combined waveform has a frequency greater than either of the at least two waveforms. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the combined waveform includes pulses, and the frequency of the combined waveform includes a pulse rate. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the combined electrical waveform at the common electrical terminal is anodic. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two electrical waveforms have pulse rates, and the combined electrical waveform has an average pulse rate equal to a sum of the pulse rates for the at least two electrical waveforms. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two electrical waveforms are generated using a single electrical source. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two electrical waveforms are generated using a plurality of electrical sources. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising using a user interface to receive a user input identifying the common electrode. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein further comprising automatically selecting the at least two electrodes in response to the user input identifying the common electrode. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising using the user interface to receive a user input identifying the at least two electrodes different than the common electrode. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising using the user interface to receive a user input identifying an electrode to be excluded when selecting the at least two electrodes. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two electrical waveforms have different amplitudes. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two electrical waveforms have different shapes. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two waveforms are multiphasic. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising generating each of the at least two waveforms in accordance with a cyclically varying set of modulation parameters. 
     
     
         18 . A method, comprising:
 treating chronic pain without causing paresthesia using a plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electrodes including both a first common electrode and a second common electrode adjacent to spinal cord tissue to be therapeutically modulated to treat chronic pain and further including a first group of at least two electrodes different than the first common electrode and a second group of at least two electrodes different than the second common electrode,   wherein treating chronic pain without causing paresthesia includes delivering both a first combined electrical waveform and a second combined electrical waveform, including concurrently delivering at least two electrical waveforms from the first group of at least two electrodes to the first common electrode to provide the first combined electrical pulse train from the first common electrode to the volume of spinal cord tissue, wherein delivering the second combined electrical waveform includes delivering at least two electrical waveforms from the second group of at least two of electrodes to the second common electrode to provide the second combined electrical waveform from the second common electrode to the volume of spinal cord tissue.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the first and second combined electrical waveforms block or otherwise disrupt naturally occurring action potentials within neural fibers to treat chronic pain without causing paresthesia. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein delivering the combined electrical waveform includes delivering a combined electrical waveform with a frequency equal to or greater than 1 KHz and less than 50 KHz to treat chronic pain without causing paresthesia. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the at least two electrical waveforms have different shapes.