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Sensitivity analysis for selecting therapy parameter sets

Sensitivity analysis for selecting therapy parameter sets description/claims

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/081,873, filed Mar. 16, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/553,769, filed Mar. 16, 2004, the entire content of both which is incorporated herein by reference.

The invention relates to medical devices and, more particularly, to medical devices that deliver a therapy.

In some cases, an ailment may affect a patient's sleep quality or physical activity level, or a therapy delivered to the patient to treat the ailment may produce undesirable side effects. For example, chronic pain may cause a patient to have difficulty falling asleep, and may disturb the patient's sleep, e.g., causing the patient to wake. Further, chronic pain may cause the patient to have difficulty achieving deeper sleep states, such as one of the nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep states associated with deeper sleep. Other ailments that may negatively affect patient sleep quality include movement disorders, psychological disorders, sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, gastrointestinal disorders and incontinence. As another example, chronic pain may cause a patient to avoid particular physical activities, or activity in general, where such activities increase the pain experienced by the patient. Movement disorders and congestive heart failure may also affect patient activity level.

Furthermore, in some cases, poor sleep quality may increase the symptoms experienced by a patient due to an ailment. For example, poor sleep quality has been linked to increased pain symptoms in chronic pain patients. The link between poor sleep quality and increased symptoms is not limited to ailments that negatively impact sleep quality, such as those listed above. Nonetheless, the condition of a patient with such an ailment may progressively worsen when symptoms disturb sleep quality, which in turn increases the frequency and/or intensity of symptoms.

In some cases, these ailments are treated via a medical device, such as an implantable medical device (IMD). For example, patients may receive an implantable neurostimulator or drug delivery device to treat chronic pain or a movement disorder. Congestive heart failure may be treated by, for example, a cardiac pacemaker.

In general, the invention is directed to systems, devices and techniques for controlling delivery of a therapy to a patient by a medical device, such as an implantable medical device (IMD), based on a sensitivity analysis of a performance metric. The performance metric may relate to efficacy or side effects associated with a particular therapy. For example, the performance metric may comprise a sleep quality metric, an activity level metric, a posture metric, a movement disorder metric for patients with Parkinson's disease, a side-effects metric, or the like. The sensitivity analysis facilitates generation of a therapy parameter set that defines a substantially maximum or minimum value of the performance metric. A medical device according to an embodiment of the invention may conduct the sensitivity analysis for the performance metric, and identify values for each of a plurality of physiological parameters based on the sensitivity analysis. A system according to an embodiment of the invention may include a monitor, a programmer, and a therapy device to conduct the sensitivity analysis for the performance metric, and determine a baseline therapy parameter set based on the sensitivity analysis. In either case, the medical device or another medical device may control delivery of the therapy based on a baseline therapy parameter set that includes the identified values. The baseline therapy parameter set may be a therapy parameter set found to be most efficacious or to result in the least side effects, as indicated by the performance metric value associated with that therapy parameter set.

For the sensitivity analysis, a medical device may deliver therapy according to a plurality of different therapy parameter sets. Each of the therapy parameter sets comprises a value for each of a plurality of therapy parameters. The plurality of therapy parameter sets for the sensitivity analysis encompass a range of therapy parameter values. The therapy parameter sets may be generated either randomly or non-randomly. The therapy parameter sets may be defined, for example, by the medical device or an external programming device. The medical device, programming device, or another device may monitor performance metric values for each therapy parameter set in order to conduct the sensitivity analysis.

Furthermore, after a baseline therapy parameter set has been identified, the medical device that delivers therapy according to the baseline therapy parameter set may periodically perturb at least one therapy parameter value of the baseline therapy parameter set to determine whether the performance metric value has changed over time. The therapy parameter may be increased or decreased in small increments relative to the range values. If perturbing the therapy parameter improves the performance metric, the therapy parameter value is further increased or decreased to again define a substantially maximum or minimum performance metric value. The baseline therapy parameter set is then updated to correspond to the therapy parameter set with the perturbed therapy parameter value or values. If changing the therapy parameter worsens the performance metric, the baseline therapy parameter set is maintained. The medical device that delivers therapy according to the baseline therapy parameter set, a programming device, or another device may determine the performance metric values for each perturbation, and update the baseline therapy parameter set if indicated by the comparison to the performance metric value for the baseline therapy parameter set.

The medical device or a separate monitor, as examples, may monitor one or more physiological parameters of the patient in order to determine values for the one or more performance metrics. Example physiological parameters that the medical device may monitor include activity level, posture, heart rate, ECG morphology, respiration rate, respiratory volume, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, partial pressure of oxygen within blood, partial pressure of oxygen within cerebrospinal fluid, muscular activity and tone, core temperature, subcutaneous temperature, arterial blood flow, brain electrical activity, eye motion, and galvanic skin response. These parameters may be indicative of sleep quality and activity level, and therefore may be useful in determining the performance metric values for different therapy parameter sets. In some embodiments, the medical device additionally or alternatively monitors the variability of one or more of these parameters. In order to monitor one or more of these parameters, the medical device may include, be coupled to, or be in wireless communication with one or more sensors, each of which outputs a signal as a function of one or more of these physiological parameters.

In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a method comprising delivering a therapy to a patient via a medical device according to each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets, each of the therapy parameter sets including a value for each of a plurality of therapy parameters, and monitoring a value of a performance metric of a patient in response to therapy delivered according to each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets. The method further comprises conducting a sensitivity analysis of the performance metric for each of the plurality of therapy parameter sets, and identifying a baseline value for each of the therapy parameters based on the sensitivity analysis to form a baseline therapy parameter set.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a medical device that includes a therapy module and a processor. The therapy module delivers a therapy to a patient according to each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets, each of the therapy parameter sets including a value for each of a plurality of therapy parameters. The processor monitors a value of a performance metric of the patient in response to therapy delivered according to each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets. The processor further conducts a sensitivity analysis of the performance metric for each of the plurality of therapy parameter sets, and identifies a baseline value for each of the therapy parameters based on the sensitivity analysis to form a baseline therapy parameter set.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a computer-readable medium containing instructions. The instructions cause a programmable processor to monitor a value of a performance metric of a patient for each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets, wherein a medical device delivers a therapy to the patient according to each of the therapy parameters sets, and each of the parameter sets includes a value for each of a plurality of therapy parameters. The instructions further cause the processor to conduct a sensitivity analysis of the performance metric for each of the plurality of therapy parameter sets, and identify a baseline value for each of the plurality of therapy parameters based on the sensitivity analysis to form a baseline therapy parameter set.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a system comprising a therapy device, a monitor, and a computing device. The therapy device delivers therapy to a patient according to each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets, each of the therapy parameter sets including a value for each of a plurality of therapy parameters. The monitor monitors values of at least one physiological parameter of a patient in response to therapy delivered according to each of the plurality of therapy parameter sets. The computing device receives the physiological parameter values from the monitor, identifies values of a performance metric of the patient for each of the plurality of parameter sets based on the physiological parameter values monitored during delivery of therapy according to each of the plurality of therapy parameter sets, conducts a sensitivity analysis of the performance metric for each of the plurality of therapy parameter sets, and identifies a baseline value for each of the therapy parameters based on the sensitivity analysis to form a baseline therapy parameter set.

The invention is capable of providing one or more advantages. For example, through the sensitivity analysis of the performance metric, a baseline therapy parameter set that provides substantially maximum or minimum value of the performance metric may be identified. A medical device may provide therapy according to the baseline therapy parameter set.

Further, the medical device may be able to adjust therapy to produce an improved performance metric value. In particular, the adjustments may address symptoms that cause a poor performance metric value or symptoms that are worsened by a poor performance metric value. Adjusting therapy based on the performance metric value information may significantly improve the patient's performance quality and condition. The ability of a medical device to periodically check performance metric values and adjust therapy parameters based on the performance metric values may reduce the need for the patient to make time consuming and expensive clinic visits when the patient's sleep is disturbed, physical activity level has decreased, or symptoms have worsened.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

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