Systems and methods for establishing a communication link between an implantable medical device and an external instrument

• US 10,362,629 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2018
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hellman, Heidi, Singh, Tejpal, Wu, Yongjian, Shahandeh, Reza, Huang, Youjing, Young, Chao-Wen
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US16/004,228
• Publication Number:
  US 20180295667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/076 Permanent implantations telemetry using implanted circuitry A61B5/0031; implanted stimulators for therapy A61N1/3605, A61N1/362, A61N1/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37252 Details of algorithms or data aspects of communication system, e.g. handshaking, transmitting specific data or segmenting data
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37276 characterised by means for reducing power consumption during telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37288 Communication to several implantable medical devices within one patient
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 999/99 dummy group
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for establishing a bi-directional communication link with an implantable medical device. The systems and methods include an implantable medical device (IMD) and an external instrument configured to establish a wireless bi-directional communication link there between over a wireless protocol. The wireless bi-directional communication link is established based on a scanning interval. The external instrument includes one or more processors electrically coupled to a radio frequency (RF) circuit and a memory device. The one or more processors are configured to define the scanning interval based on an advertising schedule received from the IMD.

Claims

1. A system for establishing a bi-directional communication link comprising:

an implantable medical device (IMD) configured to operate in accordance with a wireless protocol, the IMD having a sensing circuit to collect sensed data, a first radio frequency (RF) circuit and a memory configured to store an advertising schedule based on the wireless protocol, wherein the advertising schedule includes an advertisement interval having a length longer than a defined advertisement interval of the wireless protocol; and

an external instrument configured to operate in accordance with a wireless protocol, the external instrument having one or more processors electrically coupled to a second RF circuit and a memory, the IMD configured to transmit the advertising schedule to the external instrument during a first communication session with the external instrument, the one or more processors of the external instrument being configured to define a scanning interval for the external instrument based on the advertising schedule transmitted to the external instrument from the IMD, the RF circuit of the external instrument is configured to establish a wireless bi-directional communication link with the IMD over the wireless protocol based on the scanning interval.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory is further configured to store the wireless protocol syntax in the IMD memory.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the RF circuit of the IMD is further configured to periodically transmit an advertisement notice along a dedicated advertisement channel based on the advertising schedule.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the advertising schedule includes an advertisement delay defining a length of time a first advertisement notice is transmitted relative to a termination of the first communication session.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the RF circuit of the IMD is configured to transmit first and second advertisement notices based on the advertising schedule, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request for a communication session interposed between the first and second advertisement notices.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the request is based on a user input or a predetermined schedule stored in the memory.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the external instrument is configured scan during the second advertisement notice.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the scanning interval is based on when the request is received.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the advertising schedule is transmitted by the IMD in response to a termination request transmitted by the external instrument.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless protocol constitutes at least one of a Bluetooth protocol, a Bluetooth low energy protocol, or a Medical Implant Communication Service protocol.

11. A method for establishing a bi-directional communication link between an implantable medical device (IMD) and an external instrument, the method comprising:

determining an advertising schedule having an advertising interval with a length longer than a defined advertisement interval of an wireless protocol;

storing the advertising schedule in the IMD;

configuring the IMD to periodically transmit an advertisement notice through a dedicated advertisement channel based on the advertisement interval of the advertising schedule;

transmitting the advertising schedule from the IMD to the external instrument;

configuring the external instrument to define a scanning interval based on the advertising schedule transmitted by the implantable medical device (IMD); and

configuring the external instrument to establish a wireless bi-directional communication link with the IMD.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing the wireless protocol syntax in the IMD memory.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the advertising schedule includes an advertisement delay defining a length of time until the advertisement notice is transmitted by the IMD subsequent to a termination of a first communication session.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving a request for a communication session at the external instrument interposed between a preceding advertisement notice and the advertisement notice.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the receiving operation is based on a user input or a predetermined schedule.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the scanning interval is defined based on when the request is received.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the scanning interval is defined based on a length of time between the preceding advertisement notice and when the request is received.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the scanning interval is defined to occur during the advertisement notice.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising configuring the IMD to transmit the advertising schedule in response to a termination request transmitted by the external instrument.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless protocol constitutes at least one of a Bluetooth protocol, a Bluetooth low energy protocol, or a Medical Implant Communication Service protocol.