Device and Method for Examining Pathological Interaction Between Different Brain Regions

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

This invention describes a device and method for investigating abnormal, disease-related interactions between different areas of the brain. The system works by delivering repetitive, identical stimuli to a patient, measuring the resulting neural activity (through non-invasive or invasive sensors), and analyzing the neural responses for signs of abnormal synchrony or phase relation that indicate pathological interactions, such as those seen in various neurological or psychiatric conditions. Unlike traditional methods, this approach only requires recording from a single brain area, using statistical analysis of phase distributions in response to the stimuli to detect these pathological network interactions.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease by detecting abnormal brain synchrony.
• Non-invasive assessment of psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, OCD) through neural activity analysis.
• Evaluation of epilepsy and other seizure disorders by identifying pathological brain area interactions.
• Diagnosis or monitoring of tinnitus, migraine, and neuropathic pain based on abnormal neural coupling.
• Guidance and optimization of brain stimulation therapies (e.g., deep brain stimulation).
• Screening and monitoring of patients after stroke for abnormal brain connectivity.
• Research into the neural basis of complex brain disorders involving network dysfunction.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables reliable, electrophysiology-based diagnosis of abnormal brain network interactions from a single recording site, reducing complexity and invasiveness.
• Can differentiate between pathological and normal brain activity, even when traditional methods fail.
• Supports both non-invasive (e.g., EEG, MEG) and invasive (e.g., implanted electrodes) measurement approaches for flexibility in clinical/research settings.
• Applicable to a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders characterized by abnormal neural synchrony.
• Eliminates the need for complex bivariate or multivariate analyses across multiple brain sites, simplifying workflow and reducing data requirements.
• Provides quantitative, objective information to support diagnosis, therapy decision, or disease monitoring.
• May improve patient outcomes by enabling earlier or more precise diagnosis and personalized treatments.

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for examining a pathological interaction between different brain areas, comprising a stimulation unit (11), which administers identical stimuli (22) to a patient in a sequential manner, wherein the stimuli stimulate neurons of the patient in the brain areas to be examined, a measuring unit (12) for recording measurement signals (23) that represent a neural activity of the stimulated neurons, and a control and analysis unit (10) for controlling the stimulation unit and for analyzing the measurement signals. According to the invention, the control and analysis unit transforms the measurement signals into the complex plane, examines the distribution of the phases of stimuli of the measurement signals absorbed by the measuring unit in response to the stimuli delivered to the patient, and determines the probability, with which the phase distribution differs from a uniform distribution, in order to ascertain whether a pathological interaction between the brain areas exists.