University of Minnesota

Hubert H Lim

Hongsun Guo

Cory Gloeckner

Mark L Hamilton

Sarah J Offutt

Craig D Markovitz

Daniel Zachs

Yezihalem Mesfin

Claire Kaiser

Systems and methods are provided for combined ultrasound and electrical stimulation for treating inflammation, autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and the like. Noninvasive ultrasound stimulation may be applied to the spleen, joints, limbs, or a region experiencing pain that has local swelling, and electrical stimulation may be applied to the face, neck, or other body region to access a peripheral nerve, vagus nerve, trigeminal nerve, or other nerves in appropriately-timed patterns to drive therapeutic effects. Stimulation timings or delay timings may be optimized based upon a desired clinical effect or treatment. Multiple targets may be stimulated in a coordinated fashion to better mimic natural physiology. A wearable ultrasound phased array device may be used to beam form energy to target the spleen while also having imaging capabilities to track the motion of the spleen to maintain localized stimulation of target regions.

Systems and methods for combined ultrasound and electrical stimulation for treating a subject

The invention provides methods for treating a neurological disorder or deficit, such as tinnitus and phantom limb pain.

Multi-modal synchronization therapy

A hearing system to activate an auditory system using cerebrospinal fluids includes at least one processor configured to receive an audio signal captured using a sound sensor (e.g., a microphone), extract temporal and spectral features from the audio signal, and create modulated ultrasound signals in a range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz with ultrasound carrier frequencies in the range of 50 kHz to 4 MHz, which are ultrasound frequencies that are well-suited to reach the cerebrospinal fluids (e.g., can pass across the skull/bones to reach the cerebrospinal fluids). The system further includes at least one ultrasonic transducer which receives the modulated signal and delivers the modulated signal to the body and activates the auditory system via vibration of cerebrospinal fluids that vibrate cochlear fluids, bypassing the normal conductive pathway that uses middle ear bones and minimizing bone conduction and distortion through the skull.

Ultrasonic hearing system and related methods

A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system including: an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium; and a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor to: obtain an audio signal, extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, transpose the audio signal to the target frequency range based on extracting the at least one of the temporal feature or the spectral feature from the audio signal, generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal having at least one frequency between 100 kHz and 4 MHz by the transposed audio signal, and provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium.

System and method for multiplexed ultrasound hearing

Systems and methods for treating hearing loss and/or tinnitus or enhancing hearing to sounds or sound features such as in a noisy environment are disclosed. An apparatus includes a hearing aid and associated electrodes for electrically stimulating a portion near, on or in the ear, where the electrical stimulation is synchronized with a sound input and/or sound output of the hearing aid.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Hubert H Lim