Multiple Telemetry and/or Charging Coil Configurations for an Implantable Medical Device System
First Claim
1. An external device for communicating with or providing power to an implantable medical device, comprising:
- a plurality of coils each wound around an axis, wherein none of the axes are parallel to each other;
transceiver circuitry coupled to the plurality of coils; and
controller circuitry for controlling the transceiver circuitry by executing an algorithm, the algorithm comprising;
transmitting a test signal from a first of the plurality of coils;
receiving at the first coil a response to the test signal from the implantable medical device;
assessing the response at the controller circuitry;
repeating the above steps for subsequent of the plurality of coils until all coils have been assessed;
choosing at least one of the coils based on the assessed responses; and
activating the chosen at least one coil to telemeter data or power to be received by at least one device coil in the implantable medical device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of an improved implantable medical device system for orientation-independent telemetry to and from the device are disclosed. The system includes an external controller which produces an electromagnetic field to induce a current in a coil in the implantable medical device and vise versa. In a preferred embodiment, the external controller comprises three orthogonal coils, each of which is potentially activated to generate or receive the electromagnetic field. Algorithms are disclosed to allow for the choice of one or more of the coils best suited for telemetry based on the chosen coil'"'"'s orientation with respect to the telemetry coil in the implantable medical device. Because all three of the orthogonal coils are potentially activated if necessary, the result is that at least one of the coils will be in a proper orientation with respect to the coil in the implantable medical device, thereby improving telemetry efficiency. The disclosed techniques may be used to improve induction-based powering or charging of the device as well.
10 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An external device for communicating with or providing power to an implantable medical device, comprising:
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a plurality of coils each wound around an axis, wherein none of the axes are parallel to each other; transceiver circuitry coupled to the plurality of coils; and controller circuitry for controlling the transceiver circuitry by executing an algorithm, the algorithm comprising; transmitting a test signal from a first of the plurality of coils; receiving at the first coil a response to the test signal from the implantable medical device; assessing the response at the controller circuitry; repeating the above steps for subsequent of the plurality of coils until all coils have been assessed; choosing at least one of the coils based on the assessed responses; and activating the chosen at least one coil to telemeter data or power to be received by at least one device coil in the implantable medical device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An external device for communicating with or providing power to an implantable medical device, comprising:
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a plurality of coils each wound around an axis, wherein none of the axes are parallel to each other; transceiver circuitry coupled to the plurality of coils; and controller circuitry for controlling the transceiver circuitry by executing an algorithm, the algorithm comprising; (a) transmitting a test signal from a first of the plurality of coils; (b) receiving at the first coil a response to the test signal from the implantable medical device; (c) assessing the response at the controller circuitry; (d) if the response at the first coil is satisfactory, activating the first coil to telemeter data or power to be received by at least one device coil in the implantable medical device; (e) if the response at the first coil is not satisfactory, repeating steps (a)-(c) for a second of the plurality of coils; and (f) if the response at the second coil is satisfactory, activating the second coil to telemeter data or power to be received by at least one device coil in the implantable medical device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification