Self-powered resonant leadless pacemaker
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A self-powered medical device, for example a pacemaker uses the variations of blood pressure inside the heart or a major artery to create a mechanical resonance in an electromagnetic or piezoelectric generator. The resonance extends the time power is generated during the cardiac cycle. The pressure variations compress a bellows carrying the resonant generator. The inside of the bellows may be evacuated to a partial or full vacuum, and a spring restores the bellows to the desired equilibrium point, acting against the blood pressure. The current pulses are stored in a capacitor. Eliminating the battery allows dramatic miniaturization of the medical device to the point it can be implanted at the point of desired stimulation via a catheter.
267 Citations
136 Claims
-
1-20. -20. (canceled)
-
21. An in vivo medical device, comprising:
-
a flexible enclosure sized to be received in a portion of a cardiovascular system of a human, the flexible enclosure forming an inside that is sealed; and a resonant generator positioned in the inside of the flexible enclosure, at least a portion of the resonant generator physically coupled to oscillate in response to compression of the flexible enclosure by blood pressure pulses and to produce electrical power in response to the oscillations, a frequency of oscillation of the portion of the resonant generator greater than a frequency of the blood pressure pulses. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
-
-
48. A method of operating a medical device within at least a portion of a body, the method comprising:
-
transforming oscillation of a portion of a resonant generator that results from movement of an at least partially evacuated flexible enclosure in response to compression of the flexible enclosure by blood pressure pulses into electrical current, where the portion of the resonant generator oscillates at a frequency greater than a frequency of the blood pressure pulses; rectifying the electrical current; and supplying the rectified electrical current to a number of electrodes that extend externally from the flexible enclosure within the portion of the body. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51)
-
-
52. A medical device positionable in a body via a catheter, the medical device comprising:
-
resonant generator means for transforming oscillations of a portion of the resonant generator means that results from movement of an at least partially evacuated flexible enclosure in response to compression of the flexible enclosure by blood pressure pulses into electrical current, where the portion of the resonant generator oscillates at a frequency greater than a frequency of the blood pressure pulses; a rectifier electrically coupled to rectify the electrical current; and a number of electrodes that extend externally from the flexible enclosure within the portion of the body, at least one of the electrodes electrically coupled to supply the rectified electrical current to the body. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
-
-
56. A medical device, comprising:
-
an enclosure sized to be positioned percutaneously via a cardiovascular system of a human, the enclosure forming an inside; and a resonant generator, at least a portion of the resonant generator physically coupled to resonantly oscillate in response to movement imparted to the enclosure directly by at least a portion of a heart muscle of the human and to produce electrical power in response to the resonant oscillations, at least the portion of the resonant generator mounted in the inside of the enclosure such that an acceleration of the portion of the resonant generator is greater than an acceleration of the portion of the heat muscle and a frequency of oscillation of the portion of the resonant generator is greater than the frequency of the movement of the portion of the heart muscle. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
-
-
78. A method of operating a medical device within at least a portion of a body, the method comprising:
-
transforming oscillation of a portion of a resonant generator that results from movement imparted to an enclosure directly by movement of at least a portion of a heart muscle of the body into electrical current where a resulting acceleration of the portion of the resonant generator is greater than an acceleration of the portion of the heat muscle and a frequency of oscillation of the portion of the resonant generator is greater than the frequency of the movement of the portion of the heart muscle; rectifying the electrical current; and supplying the rectified electrical current to a number of electrodes that extend externally from the enclosure within the portion of the body. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80, 81)
-
-
82. A medical device positionable in a body via a catheter, the medical device comprising:
-
an enclosure; a resonant generator means for transforming oscillation of a portion of a resonant generator that results from movement imparted to an enclosure directly by movement of at least a portion of a heart muscle of the body into electrical current where a resulting acceleration of the portion of the resonant generator is greater than an acceleration of the portion of the heat muscle and a frequency of oscillation of the portion of the resonant generator is greater than the frequency of the movement of the portion of the heart muscle; a rectifier electrically coupled to rectify the electrical current; and a number of electrodes that extend externally from the enclosure within the portion of the body electrically coupled to supply the rectified electrical current to the body. - View Dependent Claims (83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89)
-
-
90. An in vivo medical device, comprising:
-
a base including at least one anchoring structure configured to physically anchor the base in vivo in a human; an enclosure sized to be percutaneously delivered through a cardiovascular system of the human; an attachment structure that detachably attaches the enclosure to the base; and a generator received in the flexible enclosure and physically mounted to transform mechanical movement into electrical power. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117)
-
-
118. A method of operating a medical device within at least a portion of a body, the method comprising:
-
transforming mechanical movement into an electrical current by a generator located in an enclosure and carried by a circuit board; rectifying the electrical current; and supplying the rectified current to a detachable base to which the circuit board is detachably coupled, the detachable base anchored within the portion of the body. - View Dependent Claims (119, 120, 121, 122)
-
-
123. A medical device positionable in a body via a catheter, the medical device comprising:
-
enclosure means for providing a sealed inside; generator means for transforming mechanical movement into an electrical current;
base means for providing a base anchored in side a portion of a human body; and
attachment means for detachably attaching the enclosure to the base means. - View Dependent Claims (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136)
-
Specification