IMPLANTABLE BATTERY-OPERATED ELECTROSTIMULATION DEVICE

• US 20070250131A1
• Filed: 03/30/2007
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biotronik SE & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Biotronik CRM Patent AG (Biotronik SE & Company KG)
• Inventors: Doerr, Thomas, Lang, Torsten
• Granted Patent: US 7,769,453 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/32
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3706 Pacemaker parameters stimulation threshold A61N1/371
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3708 for power depletion
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37254 Pacemaker or defibrillator security, e.g. to prevent or inhibit programming alterations by hackers or unauthorised individuals

Abstract

The present invention relates to an implantable battery-operated electrostimulation device (10), particularly for stimulating a heart, having a telemetry unit (11) for wireless data transmission between the electrostimulation device (10) and an external device (21), a control unit (15), which is connected to the telemetry unit (11) and is implemented to trigger a telemetric data transmission, a battery (13) for the power supply of the electrical components of the implant, such as the telemetry unit and the control unit, and a self-test unit, which is implemented to register the functional state of the electrostimulation device and independently detect acute or imminent malfunctions, the self-test unit (17) being connected to the control unit and the control unit being implemented to trigger a data transmission using data on the functional state of the electrostimulation device if an acute or imminent malfunction is detected.

Claims

1. An implantable battery operated electrostimulation device (10), particularly for stimulating a heart comprising:

a telemetry unit (11) for wireless data transmission between said electrostimulation device (10) and an external device (21);

a control unit (15), which is connected to said telemetry unit (11) and implemented to trigger a telemetric data transmission;

a battery (13) to supply power for electrical components of said implant including said telemetry unit and said control unit; and

,

a self-test unit (17), which is implemented to register a functional state of said electrostimulation device and independently detect acute or imminent malfunctions,

wherein said self-test unit (17) is connected to said control unit and is implemented to trigger a data transmission using data on said functional state of said electrostimulation device if said acute or imminent malfunctions are detected.

2. The implantable electrostimulation device (10) according to claim 1 wherein said self-test unit has a battery monitoring unit (12), which is implemented to register an exhaustion state of said battery and, in case of a final exhaustion of said battery to occur soon, to trigger a data transmission using data on said exhaustion state of said battery directly or via said control unit.

3. The implantable electrostimulation device (10) according to claim 2 wherein said battery monitoring unit or said control unit is implemented to detect a state of battery exhaustion, in which a remaining residual charge of said battery (13) is enough that said telemetry unit may still automatically transmit at least one further message comprising information about said battery exhaustion to said external device (21), in order to trigger said data transmission upon reaching said exhaustion state of said battery (13).

4. The implantable electrostimulation device (10) according to claim 1 wherein said self-test unit (17) has an error recognition unit (14) for recognizing device errors, which is connected to said control unit (15), and either said error recognition unit (14) or said control unit (15) is configured to in case of a recognized device error, to switch said electrostimulation device over into a safety mode, and in said safety mode, to automatically trigger at least one data transmission using information about an activation of said safety mode.