Implantable medical devices with dual-memory support

• US 20050182458A1
• Filed: 02/17/2004
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Goedeke, Steven D.
• Application Number:
  US10/781,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20050182458A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/59
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/025 Digital circuitry features of electrotherapy devices, e.g. memory, clocks, processors
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37211 Means for communicating with stimulators
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37229 Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37264 Changing the program; Upgrading firmware

Abstract

The invention is directed to implantable medical devices (IMDS) with dual-memory support. An IMD is designed to detect the presence or absence of a programmable non-volatile memory, such as flash memory. The IMD processor determines whether operation instructions reside in non-programmable non-volatile memory or in programmable non-volatile memory as a function of an output from a detector circuit.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a first model of an implantable medical device, the first model of the implantable medical device including a non-programmable non-volatile memory and a programmable non-volatile memory; and

providing a subsequent model derived from the first model, a second model of the implantable medical device, wherein the subsequent model including non-programmable non-volatile memory and excluding the programmable non-volatile memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the programmable non-volatile memory in the first model stores operation instructions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the programmable non-volatile memory comprises one of a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and a non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-programmable non-volatile memory comprises a read-only memory (ROM).

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising waiting for a stabilization period after providing the first model and before providing the second model.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the stabilization period comprises ninety days to one year.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising manufacturing the first and second models of the implantable medical device including a detector circuit configured to detect one of a presence and an absence of the programmable non-volatile memory.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-programmable non-volatile memory in the second model stores at least one operation instruction stored in the programmable non-volatile memory of the first model.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein confirming one of a presence and an absence of a programmable non-volatile memory comprises first detecting a condition of the implantable medical device.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the implantable medical device comprises at least one of a cardiac pacemaker, a physiologic monitor, a drug dispenser, a nerve stimulator, a muscle stimulator, a brain stimulator, a cochlear implant, a blood pump, a cardiomyostimulator, and a tachyarrhythmia-control device.

13. The implantable medical device of claim 11, further comprising a non-programmable non-volatile memory module.

14. The implantable medical device of claim 11, wherein the implantable medical device comprises one of a cardiac pacemaker, a physiologic monitor, a drug dispenser, a nerve stimulator, a muscle stimulator, a brain stimulator, a cochlear implant, a blood pump, a cardiomyostimulator, and a tachyarrhythmia-control device.

15. The implantable medical device of claim 11, wherein the programmable non-volatile memory module comprises one of a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and a non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM).

9. A method comprising:

confirming one of a presence and an absence of a programmable non-volatile memory in an implantable medical device;

loading an operation instruction from the programmable non-volatile memory when said presence is confirmed; and

loading an operation instruction from a non-programmable non-volatile memory when said absence is confirmed.

12. An implantable medical device comprising:

a processor;

a non-programmable, non-volatile memory circuit.

a connector element configured to couple to a programmable non-volatile memory module; and

a detector circuit in operable electrical contact with the connector element configured to detect the presence of the programmable non-volatile memory, wherein the detector circuit is in communication with the processor, and the processor determines where to obtain operating instructions, based on an output from the detector circuit.