IMPLANTED ANTENNA AND RADIO COMMUNICATIONS LINK
First Claim
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1. A medical implant comprising:
- a housing;
an antenna member carried by the housing, the antenna member being configured to be capacitively coupled to body tissue in which the housing is implanted to form, together with the impedance of the body tissue, part of a resonant circuit;
a reference electrode carried by the housing as a return for the antenna member, the reference electrode forming a further part of the resonant circuit; and
transceiver circuitry operable as at least one of a source and a load for the antenna member and forming yet a further part of the resonant circuit.
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Abstract
A medical implant comprising a housing and an antenna member carried by the housing. The antenna member is configured to be capacitively coupled to body tissue in which the housing is implanted. This forms, together with the impedance of the body tissue, part of a resonant circuit. A reference electrode carried by the housing as a return for the antenna member also forms a further part of the resonant circuit. Transceiver circuitry is also provided and is operable as at least one of a source and a load for the antenna member and forms yet a further part of the series resonant circuit
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. A medical implant comprising:
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a housing; an antenna member carried by the housing, the antenna member being configured to be capacitively coupled to body tissue in which the housing is implanted to form, together with the impedance of the body tissue, part of a resonant circuit; a reference electrode carried by the housing as a return for the antenna member, the reference electrode forming a further part of the resonant circuit; and transceiver circuitry operable as at least one of a source and a load for the antenna member and forming yet a further part of the resonant circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 39, 40, 41)
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28. A medical implant comprising:
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a housing; control circuitry contained within the housing; a plurality of electrodes each of which is connected via a lead to the control circuitry; and a frequency-dependent isolating module interposed between at least one of the electrode leads and the control circuitry to permit the at least one electrode and its lead to function as an antenna for transmission of signals between the control circuitry and an external unit arranged externally of a patient'"'"'s body. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 43)
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44. A method of transmitting a signal between a medical implant and an external unit arranged externally of a patient'"'"'s body, the method including the steps of:
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feeding signals to an antenna member of the implant, the antenna member being capacitively coupled to body tissue in which the implant is arranged; and using the capacitively coupled body tissue as an extension of the antenna to transmit the signals between the implant and the external unit.
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45. A method of transmitting a signal between a medical implant and an external unit arranged externally of a patient'"'"'s body, the implant including a plurality of electrodes each of which is connected by an electrode lead to control circuitry in a housing of the implant, the method including the steps of:
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generating signals to be transmitted to or from the implant; electrically coupling at least one of the electrodes and its associated lead to the control circuitry of the implant; and using the at least one electrode and its associated lead as an antenna to effect transmission of signals between the implant and the external unit.
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Specification