REMOTE TITRATION OF THERAPY DELIVERED BY AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE

• US 20100228314A1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Goetz, Steven M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,615,299 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/41
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1723 using feedback of body parameters, e.g. blood-sugar, pressure measurement of body parameters A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36007 of urogenital or gastrointestinal organs, e.g. for incontinence control
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36071 Pain
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37252 Details of algorithms or data aspects of communication system, e.g. handshaking, transmitting specific data or segmenting data
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37282 characterised by communication with experts in remote locations using a network

Abstract

Techniques for remotely titrating a therapy delivered using an implantable medical device system are disclosed. An implantable medical device delivers therapy according to a first program. The system collects patient data relating to at least one of an efficacy of, or side effects resulting from, the delivered therapy, and transmits the patient data to a remote network device. A clinician may then analyze the patient data and determine if changes to the therapy are warranted. The clinician may then transmit a programming change, e.g., a modification to the first program or a new, second program, to the implantable medical device system, and the implantable medical device may deliver therapy according to the changed programming. The process of receiving patient data and modifying the therapy programming may be repeated multiple times until the therapy is adequately titrated, e.g., until the patient data indicates adequate efficacy and/or acceptable side effects.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

delivering a therapy from an implantable medical device to a patient according to at least one therapy program;

generating patient data with an implantable medical device system that comprises the implantable medical device, wherein the patient data relates to at least one of an efficacy or a side effect of the therapy;

transmitting the patient data from the IMD system to a remote networking device via a network; and

receiving at the implantable medical device system a programming change for the therapy from the remote networking device via the network, wherein the programming change is determined by a user at the remote networking device based on an analysis of the patient data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the implantable medical device system comprises a physiological sensor, and generating patient data comprises generating sensor data with the sensor.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the therapy is configured to treat urinary incontinence, and wherein the sensor data comprises at least one of urine pressure, urine volume, urine flow, urine pH, temperature, bladder contraction, or urinary sphincter contraction.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the therapy is configured to treat at least one of a neurological disorder, a movement disorder, or pain, and the sensor data comprises at least one of patient motion or posture.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the therapy is configured to treat gastrointestinal disorders, and the data comprises at least one of blood glucose concentration, insulin concentration, core body temperature, distension of a stomach, or pH level of a stomach.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the therapy is configured to treat diabetes, and the data comprises at least one of blood glucose concentrations, insulin concentration, patient body temperature, or patient activity levels.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical device system comprises a programmer, and the patient data further comprises data manually entered by the patient using the programmer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a programming change comprises receiving at least one of a new therapy program, a modification to at least one therapy parameter of the existing program, or a command that initiates a subsequent therapy program in a sequence of programs.

9. An implantable medical device system comprising:

an implantable medical device that delivers a therapy to a patient according to at least one therapy program; and

at least one device that generates patient data, wherein the patient data relates to at least one of an efficacy or a side effect of the therapy, transmits the patient data to a remote networking device via a network, and receives a programming change for the therapy from the remote networking device via the network, wherein the programming change is determined by a user at the remote networking device based on an analysis of the patient data.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one device comprises the implantable medical device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one device comprises a programming device.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one device comprises a physiological sensor, and the patient data comprises sensor data gathered with the sensor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the sensor comprises an implantable sensor.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one device comprises a programmer, and the patient data further comprises data manually entered by the patient using the programmer.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein receiving a programming change comprises receiving at least one of a new therapy program, a modification to at least one therapy parameter of the existing program, or a command that initiates a subsequent therapy program in a sequence of programs.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein receiving a programming change comprises receiving the programming change at the implantable medical device.

17. A method comprising:

receiving patient data from an implantable medical device system at a remote networking device via a network, wherein the implantable medical device system comprises an implantable medical device that delivers a therapy according to at least one therapy program, and the patient data relates to at least one of an efficacy or a side effect of the therapy delivered by the implantable medical device;

analyzing the patient data at the remote networking device;

determining, based on the analysis of the data, a programming change for the therapy; and

transmitting the programming change to the implantable medical device system via the network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving patient data comprises receiving sensor data collected with a physiological sensor of the implantable medical device system.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving patient data comprise receiving data manually entered by the patient with a programmer of the implantable medical device system.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein analyzing the patient data at the remote networking device comprises presenting, by the remote networking device, the patient data to a clinician for analysis.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein analyzing the patient data at the remote networking device comprises automatically analyzing the patient data by the remote networking device.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein analyzing the patient data at the remote networking device comprises guiding selection of a new program by traversing a programming tree based on the patient data, and wherein the programming tree comprises a plurality of nodes in each of a plurality of levels, each of the levels corresponding to one therapy parameter.

23. A remote networking device comprising:

a communication module;

a user interface; and

a processor that;

receives patient data from an implantable medical device system via a network and the communication module, wherein the implantable medical device system comprises an implantable medical device that delivers a therapy according to at least one therapy program, and the patient data relates to at least one of an efficacy or a side effect of the therapy delivered by the implantable medical device,

presents the patient data to a user via the user interface,

receives a programming change, based on an analysis of the patient data, for the therapy via the user interface, and

transmits the programming change to the implantable medical device system via the network and the communication module.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the processor guides selection of a new program for the therapy by traversing a programming tree based on the patient data, and wherein the programming tree comprises a plurality of nodes in each of a plurality of levels, each of the levels corresponding to one therapy parameter.

25. The device of claim 23, wherein the programming change comprises a command that initiates a subsequent therapy program in a sequence of programs.