Method for cross-diagnostic identification and treatment of neurologic features underpinning mental and emotional disorders

A system and method for diagnosing mental or emotional disorders is disclosed. An affective BCI component is incorporated into a closed loop, symptom—responsive psychiatric DBS system. A series of input data related to a brain of the patient is acquired while the patient performs a battery of behavioral tasks. From the patient's performance on the task battery, the system identifies what is abnormal for that individual patient in terms of functional domains. Patient-specific behavioral measurements are then linked to patterns of activation and de-activation across different brain regions, identifying specific structures that are the source of the patient's individual impairment.

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US2017042474A1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

• Interface and electrodes

  Electrodes and arrays · Optical interfaces · Ultrasound

• Power

  Wireless power

• Stimulation

  Closed loop

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61B3/112, A61B3/113, A61B5/0008, A61B5/0075, A61B5/0205). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Interface and electrodes

Everything downstream works with what the contacts pick up. Their number, size and distance from the neurons set the ceiling on the signal. The problem behind it: more contacts, closer to neurons, that still record after years in tissue that reacts to them.

Power

A wire through the skin is a standing infection risk, and a battery sets how long a device runs and how large it is. The problem behind it: enough power through the skin without heating it, and without a connector that breaks the skin.

Stimulation

Restoring sensation, sight or movement needs information going in, and a therapy that adapts needs to sense and stimulate at once. The problem behind it: evoking a precise, stable effect without damaging tissue or electrodes, and without blinding the recording.

Why the layer matters to the field, not a judgement of this filing. A patent family shows that protection was sought. It does not show that the technology was built, is used in a product, or works in people. The whole stack

One invention, published 7 times in 2 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

• International (PCT)a route to several countries, not a countryWO2015164477A129 Oct 2015WO2016069058A16 May 2016
• United StatesUS2017042474A116 Feb 2017US2017043167A116 Feb 2017US10413235B217 Sep 2019 · grantUS2019374159A112 Dec 2019US10758174B21 Sep 2020 · grant

1. 25 Apr 2014First filingEarliest priority, at United States. The family is counted in this year.
2. 22 Apr 2015ApplicationsFiled at International (PCT), United States.
3. 29 Oct 2015First publicationWO2015164477A1, International (PCT).
4. 26 Jul 2017Office recordInternational (PCT), on WO2015164477A1: ep: pct application non-entry in european phase.
5. 21 Mar 2019Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017043167A1: assignment; owner named: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON.
6. 21 Mar 2019Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017043167A1: assignment; owner named: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MASSACHUSET.
7. 21 Mar 2019Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017043167A1: assignment; owner named: THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION, MASSACHUSETTS.
8. 5 Aug 2019ApplicationFiled at United States.
9. 22 Jul 2020Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017042474A1: assignment; owner named: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS.
10. 1 Sep 2020Grant publishedUS10758174B2, United States.
11. 18 Nov 2022Office recordUnited States, on US2019374159A1: information on status: application discontinuation.

Dates as the offices published them. Office records are in the offices' own words and are a selection: refusals, lapses and withdrawals, and records that name an owner. Each concerns one member of the family, not the family as a whole, and another member in the same office may stand. Whether a patent is in force today is not assessed.

Use case

CognitiveNeuromodulation

• Bibliographic data, family members and office records: European Patent Office, Open Patent Services (the DOCDB and INPADOC databases), read 7 Oct 2026.
• The record itself, with its claims and description: US2017042474A1 in Espacenet
• Counted as a BCI patent family: uses the field's wording; classified G06F3/015 (input arrangements based on nervous-system activity); describes neural hardware or methods without naming the field. How families are found and judged