METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INITIATING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A HOME MONITORING DEVICE AND AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE

• US 20100106222A1
• Filed: 03/27/2007
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: St. Jude Medical AB (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: St. Jude Medical AB (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ljungstrom, Jan, Abrahamson, Hans, Sköldengen, Niklas, Lychou, Leif
• Application Number:
  US12/531,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20100106222A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/60
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37276 characterised by means for reducing power consumption during telemetry

Abstract

In a method and system for establishing a wireless communication session between an implantable medical device IMD and a home monitoring device, the home monitoring device frequently sends communication-initiating signals to an IMD arranged within the body of a patient for establishing a communication session between the monitoring device and the IMD. In order to save energy, RF telemetry circuitry of the IMD is normally set in a low-power, idle mode. Occasionally, the RF circuitry will leave the low-power mode and enter an active mode in which it is able to detect a communication-initiating signal transmitted by the monitoring device. When a communication-initiating signal is detected, the IMD will respond accordingly to the monitoring device and a communication session will be established. In the present invention, the telemetry circuitry of the IMD will be controlled to wake up from low-power mode and enter an active detection mode independently of the transmission of the communication-initiating signals from the monitoring device. Hence, the external monitoring device will frequently transmit communication-initiating signals, but the IMD will only detect a wakeup signal when leaving its low-power mode and entering active mode at a predetermined instant of time.

Claims

1. A method of establishing a wireless communication session between an implantable medical device and a home monitoring device, the method comprising the steps of:

frequently transmitting communication-initiating telemetry signals from said home monitoring device;

activating telemetry circuitry of the implantable medical device from a low-power mode independently of the transmission of the communication-initiating telemetry signals, wherein a rate at which said telemetry circuitry is activated is lower than a rate at which communication-initiating telemetry signals are transmitted;

detecting at least one of the communication-initiating telemetry signals at the implantable medical device; and

establishing a communication session between the implantable medical device and the monitoring device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting a communication-initiating telemetry signal further comprises the step of:

sending, from the implantable medical device to the monitoring device, a confirmation signal that the communication-initiating telemetry signal was detected.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

terminating, at said monitoring device, the communication session when a requested data set has been received at the monitoring device from the implantable medical device; and

setting the telemetry circuitry of the implantable medical device in the low-power mode when the communication session is terminated.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the frequent transmission of communication-initiating telemetry signals from said monitoring device are controlled to occur in a time interval that overlaps an instant of time at which the telemetry circuitry of the implanted medical device is activated from its low-power mode for detection.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a patient in which the medical device is implanted herself can select an instant of time at which the telemetry circuitry of the implantable medical device is activated for detection.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected instant of time at which the telemetry circuitry of the implantable medical device is activated is programmed into the implantable medical device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rate at which the selected instant of time occurs is programmed into the implantable medical device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein a random rate for selecting the instant of time is programmed into the implantable medical device.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if the telemetry circuitry of the implantable medical device is activated and a communication-initiating telemetry signal is not detected, said telemetry circuitry is activated again after a predetermined instant of time.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of communication-initiating telemetry signals and the subsequent communication session is undertaken in the medical implant communication service (MICS) band.

11. The method according to claim 5, wherein the activation of the telemetry circuitry by the patient is undertaken in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band.

12. A system comprising:

an implantable medical device and a home monitoring device, said system being arranged such that a communication session can be established between the implantable medical device and the home monitoring device;

the home monitoring device comprising a transceiver for frequently transmitting communication-initiating telemetry signals to the implantable medical device;

the implantable medical device comprising telemetry circuitry configured to be activated from a low-power mode independently of the transmission of the communication-initiating telemetry signals, wherein a rate at which said telemetry circuitry is activated is lower than a rate at which communication-initiating telemetry signals are transmitted, said telemetry circuitry further being configured to detect at least one of the communication-initiating telemetry signals, wherein a communication session can be established between the implantable medical device and the monitoring device.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the implantable medical device configured to send a confirmation signal that the communication-initiating telemetry signal has been detected.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein

the home monitoring device further is configured to terminate the communication session when a requested data set has been received from the implantable medical device;

and

the implantable medical device further is configured comprising a controller for setting the telemetry circuitry in the low-power mode when the communication session is terminated.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein said home monitoring device is configured to control the frequent transmission of communication-initiating telemetry signals to occur in a time interval that overlaps an instant of time at which the telemetry circuitry of the implanted medical device is activated from its low-power mode for detection.

16. The system according to claim 12, wherein the implantable medical device is arranged with storage means in which the selected instant of time at which the telemetry circuitry (27) is activated can be programmed, and/or the rate at which the selected instant of time occurs.