Magnetic field sensor for magnetically-coupled medical implant devices
First Claim
1. A medical implant system comprising:
- an implantable portion positionable beneath skin of a patient, the implantable portion comprising a first magnet and circuitry configured to control timing and amplitude of electrical stimulation delivered by the implantable portion;
an external portion positionable outside the skin of the patient, the external portion including a second magnet, wherein the second magnet and the first magnet generate a magnetic field therebetween to hold the external portion in position relative to the internal portion against skin of the patient; and
a magnetic field sensor associated with either the implantable portion or the external portion configured to output a value characterizing the magnetic field, wherein the sensor output can be used to infer the relative positioning of the internal portion and the external portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a cochlear stimulation system and associated methods that utilizes a magnetic field sensor to determine the status of magnetically-coupled components. The cochlear stimulation system includes an implantable portion positionable beneath the skin of a patient and an external portion positionable outside the skin of the patient. The implantable portion includes a multi-electrode array having a plurality of electrodes configured to be placed in cochlear duct of a patient and an internal magnet. The external portion includes a speech processor configured to generate control signals in response to received sound signals and an external magnet. The external magnet and the internal magnet generate an attractive magnetic force that maintains the external portion in position relative to the internal portion against the scalp of the patient. The cochlear stimulation system further includes a magnetic field sensor configured to sense the value of a magnetic field generated by the external magnet and the internal magnet in order to monitor changes in the magnetic field.
135 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A medical implant system comprising:
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an implantable portion positionable beneath skin of a patient, the implantable portion comprising a first magnet and circuitry configured to control timing and amplitude of electrical stimulation delivered by the implantable portion; an external portion positionable outside the skin of the patient, the external portion including a second magnet, wherein the second magnet and the first magnet generate a magnetic field therebetween to hold the external portion in position relative to the internal portion against skin of the patient; and a magnetic field sensor associated with either the implantable portion or the external portion configured to output a value characterizing the magnetic field, wherein the sensor output can be used to infer the relative positioning of the internal portion and the external portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of monitoring a magnetically-coupled cochlear implant system, comprising:
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deploying an external portion of a cochlear implant over the skin of a patient above a deployed implantable portion of the cochlear implant system under the skin of the patient, wherein the deployed implantable portion includes circuitry configured to control timing and amplitude of electrical stimulation delivered by the implantable portion; measuring a value of an attractive magnetic field generated between a magnet in the implantable portion and a magnet in the external portion, wherein the attractive magnetic field is of sufficient strength to hold the external portion to the implantable portion; and determining a baseline value of the magnetic field to characterize the external portion as being properly held to the implantable portion. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A cochlear stimulation system comprising:
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an implantable portion positionable beneath the skin of a patient, the implantable portion including (i) a multi-electrode array having a plurality of electrodes configured to be placed in cochlear duct of patient, (ii) a first magnet, and (iii) circuitry configured to control timing and amplitude of electrical stimulation delivered by the implantable portion; an external portion positionable outside the skin of the patient, the external portion including (i) a speech processor configured to generate control signals in response to received sound signals, and (ii) a second magnet, wherein the second magnet and the first magnet generate a magnetic field to hold the external portion in position relative to the internal portion against the scalp of the patient, and (iii) a sensor for sensing a value of the magnetic field generated by the second magnet and the first magnet. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification