High duty cycle electrical stimulation therapy

Abstract

In some examples, a medical device is configured to deliver high dose electrical stimulation therapy to a patient by at least generating and delivering an electrical stimulation signal having a relatively high duty cycle, and a stimulation intensity less than a perception or paresthesia threshold intensity level for the patient. The pulses of the electrical stimulation signal may each have a relatively low amplitude, but due at least in part to a relatively high number of pulses per unit of time, a dose of the electrical stimulation may be high enough to elicit a therapeutic response from the patient.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 determining a paresthesia or perception threshold for a patient;   determining, for a selected frequency of an electrical stimulation signal, a strength-duration curve based on the paresthesia or perception threshold; and   determining, by processing circuitry and based on the strength-duration curve, a set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values for generating the electrical stimulation signal having stimulation intensity less than at least one of the perception threshold or the paresthesia threshold of the patient, and having a duty cycle in a range of about 5% to about 50%, a frequency in a range of about 1 Hertz to about 1400 Hertz, and a pulse width in a range of about 0.1 millisecond to about 5 milliseconds.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the frequency is in a range of about 1 Hertz to about 1000 Hertz. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pulse width is in a range of about 0.1 millisecond to about 1 millisecond. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the duty cycle is in a range of about 10% to about 40%. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the duty cycle is an on-time of the pulses per second. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values comprises determining a plurality of therapy programs each including a respective electrode combination, the method further comprising delivering the electrical stimulation signal to the patient by at least interleaving delivery of electrical stimulation according to the plurality of therapy programs. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pulses have substantially the same pulse width. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least two of the pulses have different pulse widths. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the strength-duration curve defines a relationship between amplitude and pulse width for the selected frequency. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising delivering the electrical stimulation signal according to the set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values. 
     
     
         11 . A system comprising:
 processing circuitry configured to:
 determine a paresthesia or perception threshold stimulation intensity level of a patient, 
 determine, for a selected frequency, a strength-duration curve based on the paresthesia or perception threshold stimulation intensity level, and 
 determine, based on the strength-duration curve, a set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values for generating an electrical stimulation signal having stimulation intensity less than at least one of the perception threshold or the paresthesia threshold of the patient, and having a duty cycle in a range of about 5% to about 50%, a frequency in a range of about 1 Hertz to about 1400 Hertz, and a pulse width in a range of about 0.1 millisecond to about 5 milliseconds. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the frequency is in a range of about 1 Hertz to about 1000 Hertz. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the pulse width is in a range of about 0.1 millisecond to about 1 millisecond. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the duty cycle is in a range of about 10% to about 40%. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values by at least determining a plurality of therapy programs each including a respective electrode combination, the method further comprising delivering the electrical stimulation signal to the patient by at least interleaving delivery of electrical stimulation according to the plurality of therapy programs. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the pulses have substantially the same pulse width. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein at least two of the pulses have different pulse widths. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the strength-duration curve defines a relationship between amplitude and pulse width for the selected frequency. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a stimulation generator, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the stimulation generator to deliver the electrical stimulation signal according to the set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to:
 determine a paresthesia or perception threshold stimulation intensity level of a patient,   determine, for a selected frequency, a strength-duration curve based on the paresthesia or perception threshold stimulation intensity level, and   determine, based on the strength-duration curve, a set of one or more electrical stimulation parameter values for generating an electrical stimulation signal having stimulation intensity less than at least one of the perception threshold or the paresthesia threshold of the patient, and having a duty cycle in a range of about 5% to about 50%, a frequency in a range of about 1 Hertz to about 1400 Hertz, and a pulse width in a range of about 0.1 millisecond to about 5 milliseconds.