METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF ACTIVE IMPLANTS IN OR ATTACHED TO BIOLOGICAL HOSTS OR SYSTEMS

• US 20110320170A1
• Filed: 05/12/2011
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokomis Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nokomis Inc.
• Inventors: Keller, Walter J. III, Pathak, Bogdan Amaru
• Granted Patent: US 9,205,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/183
• 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 1/37282 characterised by communication with experts in remote locations using a network
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2001/37294 Means for testing medical devices within the package prior to implantation

Abstract

A method and apparatus to measure and analyze electromagnetic emissions from implanted electronics to accomplish at least one of: detect and identify an active implant comprising electronics implanted in a biological host, diagnose the health of individual electronics as well as their health as an ensemble, and predict probable degradation of individual electronics, degradation of the electronic ensemble, and of the active implant in an automated fashion. The methods comprise filtering techniques to extract the information about the active implant'"'"'s electronics by filtering out relevant biological effects induced by the active implant'"'"'s biological situation. Said detection, identification, diagnosis, and prognosis are based on the measurement of intentional and unintentional electromagnetic emissions that emanate from the implant electronics of the active implant in a given biological situation.

Claims

1. An emissions measurement device used to collect at least one of unintentional and intentional emissions emitted by at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host comprising,

at least one antenna,

a receiver,

a data processing means, and

a data storage means,

wherein said emissions measurement device is used to collect at least one of an unintentional emission and an intentional emission emitted by at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

2. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is attached externally to the biological host.

3. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein said at least one antenna is positioned on an external epidermal layer of the biological host.

4. The emissions measurement device of claim 3, wherein said at least one antenna is a conformal antenna adapted to conform to the external epidermal layer of the biological host.

5. The emissions measurement device of claim 4, wherein said conformal antenna'"'"'s material properties match the impedance of a tissue of the biological host to improve the collection of emissions.

6. The emissions measurement device of claim 4, wherein said conformal antenna'"'"'s material properties match the impedance of the external epidermal layer of the biological host to improve the collection of emissions.

7. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein said receiver comprises a self-tuning matching network connected to the at least one antenna to match the impedance of a tissue of the biological host.

8. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna is a conformal antenna intended to conform to an external epidermal layer of the biological host.

9. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna is implanted in the biological host.

10. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna is positioned at a stand-off location from the biological host.

11. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the measurement device detects at least one electronic device within the biological host.

12. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the measurement device identifies at least one electronic device within the biological host.

13. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein the measurement device performs diagnostics on the at least one electronic device.

14. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein the measurement device performs diagnostics on the at least one electronic device, and

wherein the measurement device receives a near field emission of the electronic device to enhance the amplitude of the emissions received.

15. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna is an antenna structure located circumcentrically around the biological host that contains the at least one electronic device.

16. The measurement device of claim 15, wherein the biological host is moved through the antenna structure that surrounds the biological host.

17. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna moves in relation to the biological host during measurement.

18. The emissions measurement device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna is mounted to a support structure that moves in relation to the biological host for measurement purposes.

19. The emissions measurement device of claim 15, wherein the biological host is located on a support structure that moves through the antenna structure for measurement purposes.

20. The measurement device of claim 1, which is configured to measure the emissions of the implanted electronics across at least one electromagnetic interface of a media with a relative permittivity greater than 1.

21. The measurement device of claim 1, which is configured to measure the emissions of the implanted electronics across at least one electromagnetic interface of a biological tissue.

22. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein the measurement device stores implanted electronic device histories.

23. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device for storing biological host information for signature modification.

24. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing a state of an active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s emissions during manufacturing of said active implant.

25. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing a state of an active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s emissions at the implantation facility.

26. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing a state of an active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s emissions to verify device integrity prior to implantation.

27. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing the state of the active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s unintended or intended emissions immediately after implantation

28. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing the state of the active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s unintended or intended emissions periodically throughout the device'"'"'s lifetime.

29. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing the state of the active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s unintended or intended emissions during device degradation or failure.

30. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing the state of the active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s unintended or intended emissions after explantation.

31. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of measuring and diagnosing the state of the active implant using at least one of the active implant'"'"'s unintended or intended emissions during post failure testing.

32. The measurement device of claim 1, further comprising a device capable of detecting a device whose location within the biological host changes over time.

33. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of detecting an electronic device that passes from the inside to the outside of the biological host.

34. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of interpreting electromagnetic emissions whose signatures are modified by at least one biological tissue layer.

35. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of determining at least one of, a state of functionality and a state of degradation of an implant after said implant has been subjected to an electrical discharge.

36. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of determining at least one of a state of functionality and a state of degradation of an implant'"'"'s electronics after said implant'"'"'s electronics have been intentionally illuminated to power said implant'"'"'s electronics.

37. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of determining at least one of a state of functionality and a state of degradation of an implant'"'"'s electronics after said implant'"'"'s electronics have been illuminated.

38. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of determining the identity of an implanted electronic device by analyzing emitted electromagnetic radiation from said implanted electronics device.

39. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said device predicts the lifespan of any implanted electronics.

40. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device predicts a lifespan of said at least one electronic device wherein said electronic device is implanted.

41. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of at least one unintended electromagnetic emission to provide health monitoring of at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

42. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of at least one unintended electromagnetic emission to provide diagnostics of at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

43. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of an unintended electromagnetic emission to predict failure of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

44. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of unintended electromagnetic emissions to track at least one of a plurality of electronics aging effects on said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

45. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of unintended electromagnetic emissions to provide non-invasive detection of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

46. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of unintended electromagnetic emissions to provide non-invasive identification of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

47. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of unintended electromagnetic emissions to non-invasively locate said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

48. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of at least one intended electromagnetic emission to provide health monitoring of at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

49. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of at least one intended electromagnetic emission to provide diagnostics of at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

50. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of an intended electromagnetic emission to predict failure of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

51. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of intended electromagnetic emissions to track at least one of a plurality of electronic aging effects of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

52. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of intended electromagnetic emissions to provide non-invasive detection of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

53. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of intended electromagnetic emissions to provide non-invasive identification of said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

54. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device uses a measurement of intended electromagnetic emissions to non-invasively locate said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

55. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device verifies that said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host has been implanted properly.

56. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of detecting, identifying, and locating a non-stationary implant within the biological host.

57. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of determining if a non-stationary implant has been ejected from the biological host.

58. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of determining if said at least one electronic device is on or off at any given time.

59. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device determines a degree of change observed as said at least one electronic device degrades.

60. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device determines a degree of change observed as said at least one electronic device degrades, and ultimately fails, along with the types of changes apparent in two different, but functionally connected devices.

61. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device comprises a library of devices and device signatures to compare and assess the health of said at least one electronic device.

62. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device comprises a substantially skull shaped fixture to compensate for at least one factor present in vivo for projection to a realistic environment when at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

63. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device comprises a protocol for signature collection to assure proper collection of signature data without damaging the at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host.

64. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device elucidates the differences between different categories of failures.

65. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device provides general electronic degradation characteristics that are general to any electronic implant.

66. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device provides general electronic degradation characteristics that are specific to subsystems of classes of electronics implant in cases where said at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host is not fully identified.

67. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device provides for implant specific degradation detection via a specified signature database.

68. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device provides the ability to complete health monitoring on non-implanted electronics.

69. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device provides a methodology that uses changes in low power emissions from the electronics embedded in implants to determine the health of the at least one electronic.

71. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic field is used to enhance the unintended emissions of the at least one electronic device implanted in the biological host.

72. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic field generation apparatus is used to generate an electromagnetic field that is absorbed by the at least one electronic device and subsequently re-emitted at one of a same or a different frequency as the electromagnetic field and measured by the emission measurement device.

73. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic field is generated external to the biological host and projected onto the biological host.

74. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic field is generated internal to the biological host and internally launched into the biological host.

82. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device comprises a biologically analogous fixture to control for some of the factors present in vivo or in situ for projection to a realistic environment when said at least one electronic device is implanted in a biological host.

83. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of observing multiple electronic devices in a single active implant simultaneously.

84. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of diagnosing the state of degradation of multiple electronic devices in a single active implant simultaneously.

85. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of diagnosing the state of degradation of multiple electronic devices in at least one of a plurality of active implants in a number of biological situations related to a single biological host.

86. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of diagnosing the state of degradation of multiple implant electronics in at least one of a plurality of active implants in a number of biological situations in a plurality of hosts simultaneously.

87. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of predicting future degradation of multiple electronics in a single active implant simultaneously.

88. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of predicting future degradation of multiple electronics in at least one of a plurality of active implants in a number of biological situations related to a single biological host.

89. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of predicting future degradation of multiple implant electronics in at least one of a plurality of active implants in a number of biological situations in a plurality of biological hosts simultaneously.

90. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of assessing the risk of failure of multiple electronics in a single active implant simultaneously.

91. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of assessing the risk of failure of multiple electronics in at least one of a plurality of active implants in a number of biological situations related to a single biological host.

92. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein said measurement device is capable of assessing the risk of failure of multiple implant electronics in at least one of a plurality of active implants in a number of biological situations in a plurality of biological hosts simultaneously.

70. An emissions measurement device used to collect at least one of unintentional and intentional emissions emitted by at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host comprising,

at least one antenna,

a receiver,

a data processing means, and

a data storage means,

wherein said emissions measurement device is used to collect at least one of an unintentional emission and an intentional emission emitted by at least one electronic device implanted in a biological host, said emission measurement device being configured to measure the emissions of the implanted electronics across at least one electromagnetic interface of a biological tissue,

wherein said measurement device determines a degree of change observed as said at least one electronic device degrades,

wherein said emissions measurement determines distinct electrical states for at least one component of said at least one electronic device, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

75. An emissions measurement device used to collect unintended signatures emitted by at least one implant comprising,

at least one antenna,

a receiver,

a data processing means, and

a data storage means,

wherein said emissions measurement device is used to collect at least one unintended signatures emitted by at least one implant implanted in a biological implant recipient.

76. The emissions measurement device of claim 75, wherein said emissions measurement device operates in the RF frequency range to collect unintended signatures from an implant embedded into said at least one biological implant recipient.

77. The emissions measurement device of claim 75, wherein said emissions measurement device operates in the microwave frequency range to collect unintended signatures from an implant embedded into said at least one biological implant recipient.

78. The emissions measurement device of claim 75, wherein said electromagnetic measurement device operates at infrared wavelengths to collect unintended signatures from an implant embedded into said at least one biological implant recipient.

79. The emissions measurement device of claim 75, wherein said electromagnetic measurement device operates at infrasonic wavelengths to collect unintended signatures from an implant embedded into said at least one biological implant recipient.

80. The emissions measurement device of claim 75, wherein said electromagnetic measurement device operates at X-ray wavelengths to collect unintended signatures from an implant embedded into said at least one biological implant recipient.

81. The emissions measurement device of claim 75, wherein said emissions measurement device operates from DC to optical wavelengths to collect unintended signatures from an implant embedded into said at least one biological implant recipient.

93. A method to capture at least one of unintentional and intentional emissions from electronic devices implanted in a biological host, comprising:

providing an emissions measurement device which comprises a data storage means, a receiver, and a processing means,

collecting at least one electromagnetic emission from an implanted electronic device by means of said emission measurement device,

encoding said at least one electromagnetic emission, and

storing said at least one encoded electromagnetic emission on said data storage means.

94. The method of claim 93, wherein the method further comprises creating a machine readable model from at least in part the at least one encoded electromagnetic emission.

95. The method of claim 93, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

96. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

translating said at least one electromagnetic emission, wherein said at least one electromagnetic emission is collected in a free-space environment, to mimic electromagnetic emissions that would pass through a biological tissue in vivo.

97. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

providing a display,

wherein the processing means determines a predictive risk assessment value derived from at least in part from the electromagnetic emission received by the receiver, and

wherein the predictive risk assessment value is displayed by said display to a user.

98. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

providing a display,

wherein the processing means determines a predictive risk assessment value derived from at least in part from the electromagnetic emission received by the receiver,

wherein the predictive risk assessment value is displayed by said display to a user, and

wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

99. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

validating an intended communication of the implanted electronic device.

100. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

validating a radiation emission of the implanted electronic device.

101. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

applying at least one algorithm to at least one encoded electromagnetic emission for the diagnosis of damage level and to predict failure of the implanted electronic device.

102. The method of claim 93, further comprising a statistical signature database that is developed by measuring a plurality of signatures from at least one physical device.

103. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

developing electronic device signatures by inducing varying levels of deleterious damage to an electronic device.

104. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

correlating collected electromagnetic emissions data to a diagnosable feature of device health.

105. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

applying at least one algorithm, comprising an array of modules automatically selected to determine a health characteristic of the implanted electronic device, to at least one encoded electromagnetic emission.

106. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

providing a centralized database,

wherein said centralized database uploads a set of information to the data storage means,

wherein the set of information is selected from the group comprising an updated biological effect, an updated electronic signature, a specific biological situation information, a specific biological situation, a specific active implant'"'"'s history and a combination thereof.

107. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

providing a centralized database,

wherein said centralized database receives a set of information from the data storage means,

wherein the set of information is selected from the group comprising an updated biological effect, an updated electronic signature, a specific biological situation information, a specific biological situation, a specific active implant'"'"'s history and a combination thereof.

108. The method of claim 93, further comprising:

selecting a set of information from the group comprising an updated biological effect, an updated electronic signature, a specific biological situation information, a specific biological situation, a specific active implant'"'"'s history, an at least one observed electronics degradation modes, newly observed biological effects and a combination thereof,

storing said set of information in the data storage means,

retrieving said set of information in the data storage means,

removing personalized data from the set of information,

providing a centralized database, and

retrieving, with said centralized database, said set of retrieved information having said personalized data removed therefrom.

109. A method to generate a dataset of unintentional and intentional emissions from electronic devices implanted in a biological host, comprising:

providing a first emissions measurement device which comprises a first data storage means, a first receiver, and a first processing means,

providing a second emissions measurement device which comprises a second data storage means, a second receiver, and a second processing means,

collecting with said first emissions measurement device, at least one electromagnetic emission from an implanted electronic device,

encoding said at least one electromagnetic emission, and

storing at least one encoded electromagnetic emission on said first data storage means.

110. The method of claim 109, further comprising:

selecting a set of information from the group comprising an updated biological effect, an updated electronic signature, a specific biological situation information, a specific biological situation, a specific active implant'"'"'s history, an at least one observed electronics degradation modes, newly observed biological effects and a combination thereof,

storing the set of information in the first data storage means, providing a centralized database,

retrieving, with said centralized database, a set of information from the first data storage means, and

uploading, with said centralized database uploads, the set of information to the second data storage means.

111. The method of claim 109, further comprising:

selecting a set of information from the group comprising an updated biological effect, an updated electronic signature, a specific biological situation information, a specific biological situation, a specific active implant'"'"'s history, an at least one observed electronics degradation modes, newly observed biological effects and a combination thereof,

providing a centralized database, and

uploading, with said second data storage means, the set of information to the first data storage means.

112. The method of claim 109, further comprising:

sharing of at least one electromagnetic emission from the implanted electronic device between said first emissions measurement device and said second emission measurement device.

113. The method of claim 109, further comprising:

sharing of at least one electromagnetic emission from the implanted electronic device between said first emissions measurement device and said second emission measurement device to enhance performance of the system.

114. A system for analyzing electromagnetic emissions from an implanted electrical device, comprising:

a receiver,

an antenna electrically coupled to said receiver, a data processor,

a data storage means,

a set of collected electromagnetic emissions data,

a model derived from said set of collected electromagnetic emissions data,

wherein the processor determines at least one characteristic of an implanted electrical device, implanted in a biological host, through the application of the model to at least one signal received by the receiver related to an observed electromagnetic emission from the implanted electrical device.

115. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states.

116. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, and a failed electronic function.

117. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

118. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states for implantable electronics, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

119. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states for implanted electronics, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

120. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states for at least one component of said implanted electrical device, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof, and

wherein the processor determines at least one characteristic of at least one component of the implanted electrical device through the application of the model to at least one signal received by the receiver related to an observed electromagnetic emission from the implanted electrical device.

121. The system of claim 114, wherein the model is in part derived from a knowledge of a biological situation related to said implanted electrical device.

122. The system of claim 114, wherein the processor determines a predictive risk assessment value at least in part from the at least one signal received by the receiver.

123. The system of claim 114, further comprising:

a display,

wherein the processor determines a predictive risk assessment value at least in part from the at least one signal received by the receiver, and

wherein the predictive risk assessment value is displayed by said display to a user.

124. The system of claim 114, wherein the antenna functions at least in part in the near field to collect electromagnetic emissions from the implanted electrical device through at least one biological tissue layer.

125. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data comprises electromagnetic emissions data from implanted electronic devices and non-implanted electronic devices, and

wherein the model correlates parallel histories of electromagnetic emissions data from implanted electronic devices and non-implanted electronic devices.

126. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data comprises electromagnetic emissions data from implanted electronic devices and non-implanted electronic devices, and

wherein the model selects a relevant subset of data from the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data based on at least in part from a detected biological situation.

127. The system of claim 114, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data comprises electromagnetic emissions data from implanted electronic devices and non-implanted electronic devices, and

wherein the model selects a relevant subset of data from the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data based on at least in part from a detected active implant.

128. The system of claim 114, wherein the model is used to measure or diagnose at least one characteristic of the implanted electrical device to verify the implanted electrical device has not been tampered with.

129. A system for analyzing electromagnetic emissions from an implanted electrical device, comprising:

at least one receiver,

an array of at least two antennas electrically coupled to said at least one receiver,

a data processor,

a data storage means,

a set of collected electromagnetic emissions data,

a model derived from said set of collected electromagnetic emissions data,

wherein the processor determines at least one characteristic of an implanted electrical device through the application of the model to at least one signal received by the at least one receiver of an observed electromagnetic emission from the implanted electrical device.

130. The system of claim 129, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states.

131. The system of claim 129, wherein the set of collected electromagnetic emissions data represents or characterizes distinct electrical states, wherein the distinct electrical states are selected from the group comprising a nominal electronic function, a degraded electronic function, a failed electronic function and a combination thereof.

132. The system of claim 129, wherein said at least one receiver comprises at least two receivers each connected to a separate antenna of the array of at least two antennas.

133. The system of claim 129, wherein said at least one receiver comprises at least two receivers each connected to separate antenna of the array of at least two antennas, and wherein each of said at least two receivers is configured to conduct a different signal processing approach on the at least one signal received by each of the at least two receivers.

134. The system of claim 129, wherein said at least one receiver comprises at least two receivers each connected to a separate antenna of the array of at least two antennas, and wherein the processor uses at least one algorithm to provide a diagnostic state of the implanted electrical device.

135. The system of claim 129, wherein the array of at least two antennas functions at least in part in the near field to collect electromagnetic emissions from the implanted electrical device through at least one biological tissue layer.