IN-BODY DEVICE HAVING DEPLOYABLE ANTENNA

• US 20110257491A1
• Filed: 03/07/2008
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Proteus Digital Health, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Proteus Digital Health, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Robertson, Timothy, Zdeblick, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 9,270,025 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/302
• 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 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1104 induced by stimuli or drugs; A61B5/1102 takes precedence; investigating medicinal preparations G01N33/15
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/08 Means for collapsing antennas or parts thereof collapsible loop antennas H01Q7/02; means for collapsing H-antennas or Yagi antennas H01Q19/04
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/20 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a curvilinear path slotted waveguide arrays H01Q21/005; circularly or helically slotted waveguides H01Q21/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

Deployable antennas for in-body devices, such as implantable and ingestible devices, are provided. Aspects of the in-body deployable antennas of the invention include antennas configured to go from a first configuration to a second configuration following placement in a living body, e.g., via ingestion or implantation. Embodiments of the in-body devices are configured to emit a detectable signal upon contact with a target physiological site. Also provided are methods of making and using the devices of the invention.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A device for indicating contact with a conducting liquid, the device comprising:

a housing;

a control unit secured to the housing, wherein the control unit includes a plurality of outputs and wherein the control unit is activated upon contact with the conducting liquid and produces a detectable pattern;

a plurality of deployable antennas for emitting the detectable pattern upon activation of the control unit, wherein each deployable antenna is electrically coupled to an output of the control unit and wherein each deployable antenna is held in a collapsed position until activation of the control unit and in a deployed position once the control unit is activated; and

a plurality of transmission elements each of which is coupled to one deployable antenna of the plurality of deployable antennas.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the plurality of deployable antennas have a longer dipole when in the deployed position that in the collapsed position.

27. The device of claim 25, wherein the distance that separates the transmission elements increases upon deployment of the plurality of antennas.

28. The device of claim 25, wherein the plurality of transmission elements are electrodes.

29. The device of claim 25, wherein the plurality of deployable antennas comprises a coil that unfolds.

30. The device of claim 25, wherein the control unit is activated upon contact with liquid at a target site.

31. The device of claims 30, wherein the liquid at the target site is stomach fluid.

32. The device of claim 25, wherein the device is used with a pharmaceutical product and the device is configured to conform to the dimensions of the pharmaceutical product and the plurality of deployable antennas are configured to conform to the shape of the pharmaceutical product.

33. The device of claim 25, wherein the deployable antennas dissolve in the liquid.

34. The device of claim 33, wherein the transmission elements dissolve in the liquid.

35. A system for providing a detectable signal in a conducting liquid, the system comprising:

a structure for defining a space that is sealed from the liquid;

a conductance control unit including at least two outputs, wherein the unit is positioned within the defined sealed space of the structure and wherein the unit produces an electrical identifiable pattern; and

at least two dissolvable transmission elements each secured to the structure at different locations and each being electrically coupled to one output of the unit, wherein the unit delivers the pattern to the element.

36. A system for delivering a dissolvable product into a liquid and indicating the occurrence of an event, the system comprising:

an active agent;

a control device comprising;

a structure for defining a space that is sealed from the liquid;

a control unit positioned within the defined sealed space of the structure, wherein the control unit produces an electrical identifiable pattern;

a dissolvable element secured to one surface of the structure and electrically coupled to the control unit, wherein the control unit delivers the pattern to the element and the element radiates the pattern, and

wherein the structure is activated when in contact with the liquid and begins radiating the pattern until the element is dissolved.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the dissolvable element is a dissolvable deployable antenna positioned within the active agent.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the dissolvable element is a dissolvable conducting coil that is wrapped on the exterior of the active agent and wherein the control device is positioned on the exterior of the active agent and electrically coupled to the dissolvable element.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the dissolvable element comprises a plurality of dissolvable antennas, wherein each dissolvable antenna is electrically coupled to the output of the control unit and wherein each dissolvable antenna is within the active agent in a collapsed position until the active agent dissolves and thereby deploys the plurality of dissolvable antennas.

40. The system of claim 39, further comprising a plurality of dissolvable transmission elements each of which is coupled to one dissolvable antenna of the plurality of dissolvable antennas.

41. The system of claim 39, wherein the dissolvable antennas represent a high voltage potential and the system comprises a low voltage element secured to the structure such that a conducting path is created between the dissolvable antennas and the low voltage element.

42. The system of claims 41, wherein the control unit controls the conductance path between the dissolvable antennas and the low voltage element to produce a detectable current signature.

43. The system of claim 41, wherein the low voltage element is dissolvable such that dissolving of the low voltage element and the dissolving of the dissolvable antennas result in the voltage potential that supplies the power.

44. The system of claim 36, further comprising a differential voltage element secured to an opposite surface of the structure, wherein the differential voltage element is electrically isolated at the contact point to the structure from the dissolvable element and wherein the dissolvable element and the differential voltage element dissolve when the system is in contact with the liquid to produce a voltage potential that powers the system.