HERMETICALLY SEALED RFID MICROELECTRONIC CHIP CONNECTED TO A BIOCOMPATIBLE RFID ANTENNA

• US 20100194541A1
• Filed: 03/22/2010
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Greatbatch Limited (Greatbatch Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Greatbatch Limited (Greatbatch Incorporated)
• Inventors: Frysz, Christine A., Stevenson, Robert A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,248,232 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/90 Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/98 using electromagnetic means, e.g. transponders
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37 Monitoring; Protecting
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3718 Monitoring of or protection against external electromagnetic fields or currents
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37223 Circuits for electromagnetic coupling
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37229 Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3752 Details of casing-lead connections
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3754 Feedthroughs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card

Abstract

An implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes a hermetically sealed biocompatible housing for an active implantable medical device (AIMD), an RFID microelectronics chip is disposed within the housing, and a biocompatible antenna extends from the RFID microelectronic chip and exteriorly of the housing. In a preferred form of the invention, the antenna is disposed within a header block of the AIMD, and the RFID chip is disposed within the AIMD housing.

Claims

1. An implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:

a hermetically sealed biocompatible housing for an active implantable medical device (AIMD);

an RFID microelectronics chip disposed within the housing; and

a biocompatible antenna extending from the RFID microelectronics chip and exteriorly of the housing.

2. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the AIMD comprises a cardiac pacemaker, an implantable defibrillator, a congestive heart failure device, a hearing implant, a cochlear implant, a neurostimulator, a drug pump, a ventricular assist device, an insulin pump, a spinal cord stimulator, an implantable sensing system, a deep brain stimulator, an artificial heart, an incontinence device, a vagus nerve stimulator, a bone growth stimulator, a gastric pacemaker, a Bion or a prosthetic device, and component parts thereof, including lead wires and abandoned lead wires.

3. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the antenna is disposed within a non-hermetically sealed portion of the AIMD.

4. The RFID tag of claim 3, wherein the antenna is disposed within a header block of the AIMD.

5. The RFID tag of claims 1 or 4, including at least one lead connecting the antenna to the RFID chip, and a hermetic terminal associated with the AIMD housing through which the lead extends.

6. The RFID tag of claim 5, wherein the RFID chip is disposed adjacent to the hermetic terminal.

7. The RFID tag of claim 5, wherein the RFID chip is remotely disposed within the housing relative to the hermetic terminal.

8. The RFID tag of claim 5, wherein the at least one lead comprises a unitary extension of the antenna.

9. The RFID tag of claim 5, wherein the at least one lead comprises an active lead which extends through the hermetic terminal in non-conductive relation with the AIMD housing, and a ground lead extending through the AIMD housing in conductive relation.

10. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the housing has a helium leak rate of no more than 10⁻

7 cubic centimeters per second.

11. The RFID tag of claim 10, wherein the housing is taken from the group including biocompatible metals and alloys, ceramic, glass, porcelain, sapphire and composites thereof, and specialty polymer composites.

12. The RFID tag of claim 11, including a desiccant within the housing.

13. The RFID tag of claim 11, wherein the housing comprises titanium and/or stainless steel.

14. The RFID tag of claims 1 or 4, wherein the RFID chip is read-only or readable/writable.

15. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein a radio frequency of between 125 kHz and 915 MHz is used to communicate with the RFID chip.

16. The RFID tag of claim 15, wherein the radio frequency used to communicate with the RFID chip is approximately 13.56 MHz.

17. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag comprises a portion of a system which includes an interrogator for electromagnetically communicating with the RFID chip.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the interrogator is a read only or a reader/writer device.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the interrogator is in communication with a computer or a computer network.

20. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID chip includes information pertaining to the AIMD.

21. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID chip includes information relating to a patient in which the RFID tag is implanted.

22. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the antenna is wound around a ferrite-based core.

23. The RFID tag of claim 22, wherein the ferrite-based core comprises a high temperature sintered ferrite-based material.

24. The RFID tag of claim 23, including a biocompatible dielectric material at least partially coating the ferrite-based material.

25. The RFID tag of claim 24, wherein the biocompatible dielectric material comprises parylene, ETFE, PTFE, polyimide, polyurethane or silicone.

26. The RFID tag of claim 22, wherein the ferrite-based core is comprised of a ferrite material that will not exhibit permanent remanence after exposure to MRI fields.

27. The RFID tag of claim 1, including a sensor conductively coupled to the RFID microelectronics chip.

28. The RFID tag of claim 27, wherein the sensor is disposed exterior of the AIMD housing.

29. The RFID tag of claim 27, wherein the sensor is disposed within the AIMD housing.

30. The RFID tag of claims 28 or 29, wherein the sensor measures and the RFID tag is capable of transmitting measured properties in real time.

31. The RFID tag of claim 30, wherein the measured properties comprise activities within the human body.

32. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the biocompatible antenna comprises at least one biocompatible conductive material taken from the group of:

titanium, platinum and platinum/iridium alloys, tantalum, niobium, zirconium, hafnium, nitinol, Co—

Cr—

Ni alloys such as MP35N, Havar®

, Elgiloy®

, stainless steel, gold and its various alloys, palladium, pyrolytic carbon, or any other noble metal.

33. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the biocompatible antenna is comprised of a conductive metal compound taken from any of the following:

ZrC, ZrN, TiN, NbO, TiC and TaC.

34. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the biocompatible antenna comprises a substrate and a conductive polymer taken from the group of:

Polyethylene, oxide with ionic addition such as NaCl, Polyurethane, Silicone, Polyesters, Polycarbonate, polyethylene, Polyvinyl Chloride, Polypropylene, Methylacrylate, or Para-xylylene.

35. The RFID tag of claim 1, including the capacitor electrically disposed in parallel with the biocompatible antenna.

36. The RFID tag of claim 35, wherein the capacitor is disposed interiorly of the housing.

37. The RFID tag of claim 35, wherein the capacitor is disposed exteriorly of the housing.