Implanted sensor processing system and method
First Claim
1. Apparatus for retrieving information from a sensor device, comprising:
- an internal sensor unit for taking quantitative analyte measurements, including a first coil forming part of a power supply for said sensor unit, a load coupled to said first coil, and a sensor circuit for modifying said load in accordance with sensor measurement information obtained by said sensor circuit;
an external unit including a second coil which is mutually inductively coupled to said first coil upon said second coil being placed within a predetermined proximal distance from said first coil, an oscillator for driving said second coil to induce a charging current in said first coil, and a detector for detecting variations in a load on said second coil induced by changes to said load in said internal sensor unit and for providing information signals corresponding to said load changes; and
a processor for receiving and processing said information signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A quantitative measurement system includes an external unit (101a) and an internal unit (102a) are provided for obtaining quantitative analyte measurements, such as within the body. In one example of an application of the system, the internal unit (102a) would be implanted either subcutaneously or otherwise within the body of a subject. The internal unit (102a) contains optoelectronics circuitry (102b), a component of which may be comprised of a fluorescence sensing device. The optoelectronics circuitry (102b) obtains quantitative measurement information and modifies a load (102c) as a function of the obtained information. The load (102c) in turn varies the amount of current through coil (102d), which is coupled to a coil (101f) of the external unit (101a). A demodulator (101b) detects the current variations induced in the external coil (101f) by the internal coil (102d) coupled thereto, and applies the detected signal to processing circuitry, such as a pulse counter (101c) and computer interface (101d), for processing the signal into computer-readable format for inputting to a computer (101e).
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. Apparatus for retrieving information from a sensor device, comprising:
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an internal sensor unit for taking quantitative analyte measurements, including a first coil forming part of a power supply for said sensor unit, a load coupled to said first coil, and a sensor circuit for modifying said load in accordance with sensor measurement information obtained by said sensor circuit;
an external unit including a second coil which is mutually inductively coupled to said first coil upon said second coil being placed within a predetermined proximal distance from said first coil, an oscillator for driving said second coil to induce a charging current in said first coil, and a detector for detecting variations in a load on said second coil induced by changes to said load in said internal sensor unit and for providing information signals corresponding to said load changes; and
a processor for receiving and processing said information signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22)
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17. A sensor device for detecting the presence or concentration of an analyte in a medium, comprising:
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an enclosed sensor body having an outer surface surrounding said sensor body;
a radiation source in said sensor body which emits radiation within said sensor body;
an indicator element having an optical characteristic that is affected by the presence or concentration of an analyte, said indicator element being positioned on said sensor body to receive radiation that travels from said radiation source, and which transmits radiation into said sensor body;
a photosensitive element located in said sensor body and positioned to receive radiation within the sensor body from said indicator element; and
an inductive element located in said sensor and coupled to said photosensitive element, said inductive element being adapted to receive from an external inductive element a magnetically induced electric current for supplying power to said sensor device, and being further adapted to induce in said external inductive element an electric current which changes as a function of the amount of radiation received by said photosensitive element.
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18. Apparatus for retrieving information from a sensor device, comprising:
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an internal sensor unit for taking quantitative analyte measurements, including a first coil forming part of a power supply for said sensor unit, a load coupled to said first coil, and a sensor circuit for modifying said load in accordance with sensor measurement information obtained by said sensor circuit, said sensor circuit including a signal channel detector responsive to analyte measurement information, and a reference channel detector responsive to reference measurement information, outputs of said signal channel detector and said reference channel detector being combined in said sensor information for modifying said load;
an external unit including a second coil which is mutually inductively coupled to said first coil upon said second coil being placed within a predetermined proximal distance from said first coil, an oscillator for driving said second coil to induce a charging current in said first coil, and a detector for detecting variations in a load on said second coil induced by changes to said load in said internal sensor unit and for providing information signals corresponding to said load changes; and
a processor for receiving and processing said information signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification