Surgery: light – thermal – and electrical application – Light – thermal – and electrical application – Electrical therapeutic systems
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-30
2001-04-03
Layno, Carl H. (Department: 3737)
Surgery: light, thermal, and electrical application
Light, thermal, and electrical application
Electrical therapeutic systems
C607S050000, C607S063000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212432
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a method, apparatus and system for low-frequency therapy.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, electric therapeutic machines have been used as a sort of physical therapy, and a part of the electric therapeutic machine includes a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus which aims at treating a disease by applying electrodes on the surface of skin of a patient, and passing therewith a low-frequency current through the patient's body.
The low-frequency therapeutic apparatus comprises a therapeutic electrode (active electrode) applied on a site to be treated, and an inactive electrode to couple with the above electrode, and applying a low-frequency electric current between the two electrodes via a voltage delivered from an oscillator.
Such a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus is required, for example by Japanese Industrial Standards, to have an oscillator which can generate waves of at least one frequency for each of four bands of not more than 5 Hz, 5-50 Hz, 50-500 Hz and 500-1000 Hz.
Such a low frequency therapeutic apparatus has been used for the purpose of, for example, prevention of disuse atrophy of paralyzed muscles, pain relief and recovery of failed local blood circulation, through stimulation by way of electric currents. Furthermore, particularly a small low-frequency therapeutic apparatus has been used for relaxing stiffened shoulder muscles.
The conventional low-frequency therapeutic apparatuses as described above have been exclusively used for stimulation of muscles, pain relief, and recovery of failed circulation, but remains practically ineffective for the treatment of definitive diseases.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
This invention aims at providing a method, apparatus and system for low-frequency therapy capable of effectively treating definitive diseases by applying a low-frequency current.
One aspect of this invention relating to the method achieves above object by providing a low-frequency therapy comprising passing a current of a low-frequency through the patient's body from the skin wherein at least a part of 1-10000 Hz is chosen as the frequency of low-frequency current, and a series of those frequencies are delivered step by step in an ascending order at specified time intervals.
This method is based on the findings the present inventors have obtained themselves through experimentation. Namely, the inventors have found that, when an electric current is passed through a human body, the effective lowest frequency varies according to the kind of disease, but more or less damaged cells pass more readily the current than do normal cells. To put it otherwise, an electric current of a low frequency tends to pass more readily through damaged sections within a human body. Hence, when the current passing through the patient's body is gradually increased in its frequency, the most seriously damaged parts receive the current most amply at first, which are followed step by step by less damaged parts, and thus treatment proceeds from more damaged parts to less damaged parts in order.
As for the therapeutic effect, the following assumption may be offered: if for example a cell has its membrane so sclerosed as to disrupt the interchange of intracellular and extracellular fluids, or if for example a nerve cell can not or can scarcely transmit nerve impulses as a result of sclerosis, stimulation of the cell or nerve cell by passing a weak current whose frequency is raised step by step at specified intervals will soothe the stiffness these cells have undergone, to recover their normal activity which will eventually result in the subsidence of disease or healing of the disease.
The present inventors have made another discovery that an electric current having a specific frequency (for example chosen from 69 specific kinds of frequencies between 1 and 10000 Hz) has a particularly notable therapeutic effect.
This invention comprises selecting in advance plural kinds of frequencies, and applying a low-frequency current having the thus selected frequencies for therapy.
This is because, as different cells, muscle systems, blood vessels and lymphatics, and nervous systems are involved according to the kind of disease, it is necessary for achieving a quite satisfactory therapeutic effect to choose appropriate frequencies according to the type of cells involved in the disease of interest, and to combine those frequencies for therapy.
According to this invention, the appropriate frequency to be chosen includes 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160, 440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730, 740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878, 880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000, 5000 and 10000 Hz and the therapy consists of selecting a part thereof.
This invention is characterized by including a basic therapy consisting of applying an electric current having frequencies of 20, 60, 70, 72, 75, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787, 790 and 10000 Hz in this order, and, an adaptive therapy consisting of applying another current having frequencies previously chosen as appropriate according to the kind of disease to be treated.
This invention is characterized by applying plural times in repetition a low-frequency current having a part of the choice frequencies as described above to the patient's body for therapy.
Further, this invention is characterized by applying in repetition a low-frequency current having the highest choice frequency as described above to the patient's body for therapy.
This invention adopts 20 Hz as the lowest of all the choice frequencies as described above.
Alternatively, this invention adopts 666 Hz as the lowest of all the choice frequencies as described above.
Furthermore, this invention adopts 10000 Hz as the highest of all the choice frequencies as described above.
Still further, this invention adopts 5000 Hz as the highest of all the choice frequencies as described above.
One aspect of this invention relating to the therapeutic apparatus achieves above object by providing a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus comprising a therapeutic electrode to be applied to a treated site, an inactive electrode placed on the same human body in conjunction with the therapeutic electrode for passage of electric current through the body, and an oscillating unit generating a weak electric current having a low-frequency to be given between the two electrodes, wherein the oscillating unit contains a frequency control device which chooses from among plural frequencies previously selected from at least part of 1-10000 Hz, and achieves a switching of the thus chosen frequencies in an ascending order at specified time intervals.
Another aspect of this invention relating to the therapeutic apparatus provides the low-frequency therapeutic apparatus which further comprises a memory section to memorize the data of plural frequencies previously chosen appropriately in accordance with the kind of disease, and a selection signal delivering section to read from the memory section the data of plural frequencies previously chosen as described above, in response to an instruction signal fed in accordance with the kind of disease to be treated, and to achieve a switching of oscillation frequencies of wave from the oscillating unit according to the thus read data in an orderly fashion.
According to still another aspect of this invention relating to the therapeutic apparatus, the plural frequencies chosen in advance include a part of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160, 440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730, 740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878, 880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000, 5000 and 10000 Hz.
According to still another aspect of this invention, the frequencies chosen for the basic therapy introdu
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Layno Carl H.
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