Delivery system for intracorporeal smooth muscle stimulation

Abstract

An electrical stimulation system includes a stimulator having at least one electrode and a power supply. The electrode is connectable to the power supply, and the power supply delivers electrical stimulation energy in the form of a capacitive discharge voltage through the stimulator and electrode to tissue proximate a target anatomy to induce an observable response in the target anatomy during a medical procedure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electrical power supply for inducing an observable response in a target anatomy for use with a stimulator having at least one electrode configured to treat the target anatomy, said electrical power supply comprising:
 circuitry connectable to said at least one electrode and configured to deliver electrical stimulation energy through said stimulator to tissue proximate the target anatomy, wherein the stimulation energy comprises a plurality of stimulatory electrical pulses, each pulse consisting of an undriven capacitive discharge comprising an initial charge which discharges with an exponential waveform having a time constant equal to the product of an uncontrolled tissue resistance and a capacitance of a capacitor in a closed circuit with the tissue proximate the target anatomy.   
     
     
         2 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1  wherein the circuitry is configured to elicit a peristaltic response from a ureter when said at least one electrode is positioned so as to deliver said stimulation energy to tissue proximate the ureter. 
     
     
         3 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1  wherein the undriven capacitive discharge has a peak voltage in the range from 5V to 500V. 
     
     
         4 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 3  wherein the peak voltage is in the range from 6V to 60V. 
     
     
         5 . An electrical according to  claim 3  wherein the undriven capacitive discharge has a resultant variable current less than 1 A. 
     
     
         6 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 4  wherein the resultant variable current is in the range from 5 mA to 125 mA. 
     
     
         7 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 5  wherein the undriven capacitive discharge is greater than 30 μC. 
     
     
         8 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 6  wherein the undriven capacitive discharge is in the range from 40 μC to 450 μC. 
     
     
         9 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 7  wherein each undriven capacitive discharge has a resultant total energy greater than 0.05 mJ. 
     
     
         10 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 8  wherein each undriven capacitive discharge has a resultant total energy in the range from 0.05 mJ to 9 mJ. 
     
     
         11 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 9  wherein each undriven capacitive discharge has a decay constant duration in the range from 10 μs to 20 ms. 
     
     
         12 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 10  wherein the duration is in the range from 100 μs to 4 ms. 
     
     
         13 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 11  wherein consecutive undriven capacitive discharges are delivered at a rate from 0.1 Hz to 2 Hz. 
     
     
         14 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 12  wherein the power supply is configured to deliver consecutive undriven capacitive discharges are delivered at a rate from 0.5 Hz to 1 Hz. 
     
     
         15 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1  wherein the circuitry is configured to allow a user to adjust parameters of said undriven capacitive. 
     
     
         16 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1  wherein the parameters of said undriven capacitive discharges are preset. 
     
     
         17 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1  wherein the circuitry is configured to deliver a bipolar capacitive discharge. 
     
     
         18 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1  wherein the circuitry is configured to deliver a monopolar capacitive discharge to single electrode and to connect to a dispersive pad. 
     
     
         19 . An electrical power supply according to  claim 1 , wherein the power supply is a tabletop power supply connected to the electrical stimulator by a tether cord.