SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A THERAPY INCLUDING A DRUG REGIMEN USING AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE

摘要

Systems and methods rely on feedback from an active medical device or devices (e.g., neurostimulator coupled to sensing and stimulation elements such as electrodes) to assess the effectiveness of a patient's drug regimen. Such reliance may include analyzing characteristics in physiological data acquired by the medical device(s), for example, in the form of responses evoked from the patient by electrical stimulation waveforms. Systems and methods further involved adjusting one or more parameters according to which a combination therapy consisting of at least a drug regimen and an electrical stimulation therapy are delivered to a patient, in an effort to optimize the therapeutic effect of the combination. The adjustments may be automatically by one or more implanted or external hosts working together or alone, and/or with the input of a physician.