National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Charles Tak Ming Choi

Shu-Hai Sun

Yi-Hsuan Lee

Chien Hua Hsu

A three dimensional electrical impedance tomographic method is disclosed. The three dimensional electrical impedance tomographic method includes steps of disposing an implantation body, wherein an electrode array formed by a plurality of electrodes is disposed on the implantation body; disposing an electrode controller to control any electrode in the electrode array; generating more independent voltage data measured on the plurality of electrodes on the same curve surface by combining current control technology or virtual electrode technology; and performing a calculation to convert the plurality of horizontal or vertical voltage data into a three dimensional electrical impedance tomographic image.

Three dimensional electrical impedance tomographic method

The present disclosure provides a method for improving imaging resolution of electrical impedance tomography (EIT). More specifically, the present disclosure forms virtual electrode(s) using an electric current steering technique, which is used to improve imaging resolution of an EIT system without physically increasing a number of conducting electrodes. The EIT system of the present disclosure may includes a plurality of conducting electrodes, at least one signal generator, at least one signal receiver and at least one electric current steering device. In other words, the present disclosure applies both the electric current steering technique and the virtual electrode technique to EIT. Consequently, imaging resolution of EIT can be improved without physically increasing the number of conducting electrodes.

Three-dimensional electrical impedance tomography system

Method for improving imaging resolution of electrical impedance tomography

A method for analyzing nerve fibers distribution is provided, including inputting a stimulation signal into a nerve tissue through at least two sensing and conducting electrodes, applying a stimulation signal ratio to control the stimulation signal using an electric current steering technique to electrically stimulate a plurality of nerve fibers within a plurality of stimulations areas of the nerve tissue; receiving a plurality of evoked compound action potentials (ECAP) using at least two sensing and conducting electrodes due to the nerve fibers electrically stimulated and computing a distance between the nerve fiber and the conducting electrodes including eliminating non-ideal effect caused by an electric potential attenuation factor, wherein the electric potential attenuation factor is a function of the distance between each of the conducting electrodes and the nerve tissue; and integrating and comparing the received ECAPs and analyzing the nerve fibers distribution of the nerve tissue.

Method for analyzing nerve fiber distribution and measuring normalized evoked compound action electric potential

A method for identifying a stimulation target is provided, which uses microelectrode recording and electrical impedance tomography techniques together in a composite probe. The composite probe includes at least a microelectrode recording sensor and a plurality of microelectrodes, so that after the composite probe is guided and implanted to a depth suitable for the stimulation target based on microelectrode recording signals, tissue structures surrounding the composite probe are delineated by using the plurality of microelectrodes, and the boundary of the stimulation target and the precise location of the composite probe within the stimulation target are determined. Accordingly, the present invention provides a quick and accurate direction for surgeons, eliminating the problem of not knowing the exact location of the implanted probe within the stimulation target as in the case during deep brain stimulation surgeries.

Method for identifying stimulation target

A parameter adjustment device and method thereof for a stimulator is disclosed. The parameter adjustment device comprises a generation unit, a user interface and a process unit. The generation unit generates a test MAP based on a current MAP. The user interface displays the current MAP and the test MAP for choosing one of them as the preferred MAP, and displays a major and a minor for choosing again, the major and the minor is defined as a significant difference and a little difference between the test MAP and the current MAP respectively. The process unit computes the acceptance probability of the preferred MAP based on a major or minor probability correspondence relationship and determines a next MAP by comparing the acceptance probability with the test probability. When one of the termination conditions is satisfied in an iterative operation, the next MAP is outputted as the best MAP.

Parameter adjustment device and method thereof

An apparatus and method for controlling an electrical stimulation system to increase the resolution of the stimulation region with multiple independent power source electrodes is proposed. In the apparatus, the electrode set contains at least three electrodes of which two adjacent electrodes are of the same power polarity to control the location of the composite stimulation signal and the others are of an inverse power polarity to balance the total power polarity and narrow the stimulation region. The method for the apparatus comprises steps of: receiving a target stimulation location and level, generating at least one parameter to adjust power settings of the electrodes, thereby obtaining a composite stimulation signal corresponding to a virtual channel of which a location and level match the target stimulation location and level.

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Hsinchu, Taiwan

Charles Tak Ming Choi