NEUROSTIMULATION PROGRAMMERS WITH IMPROVED RF ANTENNA RADIATION PATTERNS

• US 20120029599A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TC1 LLC (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Spinal Modulation, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Judkins, James G., O'Connor, Richard W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,750,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/60
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37229 Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37235 Aspects of the external programmer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/42 with folded element, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of the operating wavelength

Abstract

To provide for an improvement in the communication between an external handheld programmer and an implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted within a patient or an external pulse generator attached to the patient, an antenna of the programmer is positioned relative to the ground plane of the programmer such that when a person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation a radiation pattern produced by the antenna has substantially maximum RF radiation generally directed toward the patient, regardless whether the person that handholds the programmer is the patient or another person located near the patient.

Claims

1. A handheld external programmer adapted to wirelessly communicate with an implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted within a patient or an external pulse generator attached to the patient, the programmer having a predetermined intended orientation that specifies how a person should handhold the programmer so that the person can view and interact with a user interface of the programmer in a predetermined intended manner, the external programmer comprising:

a ground plane;

a power supply;

a telemetry transceiver powered by the power supply and grounded by the ground plane; and

an antenna electrically connected to the telemetry transceiver;

wherein the antenna is positioned relative to the ground plane such that when the person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation a radiation pattern produced by the antenna has substantially maximum radio frequency (RF) radiation generally directed toward the patient, regardless whether the person that handholds the programmer is the patient or another person located near the patient.

2. The handheld programmer of claim 1, wherein the antenna is positioned relative to the ground plane such that when the person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation the radiation pattern produced by the antenna has a generally toroidal shape having an axis of rotation such that a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation intersects the patient, regardless whether the person that handholds the programmer is the patient or another person located near the patient.

3. The handheld programmer of claim 1, wherein:

the programmer has a width extending between left and right sides of the programmer when the programmer is held in its predetermined intended orientation; and

the antenna is positioned relative to the ground plane such that the radiation pattern produced by the antenna has a generally toroidal shape having an axis of rotation generally parallel to the width of the programmer.

4. The handheld external programmer of claim 1, wherein:

the ground plane is substantially planer and has a left boundary, a right boundary, a top boundary and a bottom boundary, which collectively form a substantially planar outer boundary of the ground plane; and

when the person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation, substantially the entire antenna is located left of outer boundary of the ground plane and/or right of the outer boundary of the ground plane.

5. The handheld external programmer of claim 1, wherein when the person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation:

the ground plane has a left boundary, a right boundary, a top boundary and a bottom boundary, which collectively form a substantially planar outer boundary of the ground plane;

substantially the entire antenna is located left of the left boundary of the ground plane and/or right of the right boundary of the ground plane;

the antenna does not extend substantially beyond the top boundary of the ground plane; and

the antenna does not extend substantially beyond the bottom boundary of the ground plane.

6. The handheld external programmer of claim 1, wherein when the person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation:

the ground plane has a left boundary, a right boundary, a top boundary and a bottom boundary, which collectively form a substantially planar outer boundary of the ground plane;

substantially the entire antenna is located left of the left boundary of the ground plane and/or right of the right boundary of the ground plane;

no more than 10% of the antenna extends beyond the top boundary of the ground plane; and

no more than 10% of the antenna extends beyond the bottom boundary of the ground plane.

7. The handheld external programmer of claim 1, wherein the ground plane comprises a conductive surface on a printed circuit board (PCB).

8. The handheld external programmer of claim 7, wherein the antenna comprises a conductive trace on a printed circuit board (PCB).

9. The handheld external programmer of claim 8, wherein the PCB on which is the conductive trace of the antenna is separated from the PCB on which is the conductive surface of the ground plane.

10. The handheld external programmer of claim 9, wherein the PCB on which is the conductive trace of the antenna is substantially perpendicular to the PCB on which is the conductive surface of the ground plane.

11. The handheld external programmer of claim 8, wherein the PCB on which is the conductive trace of the antenna is the same as the PCB on which is the conductive surface of the ground plane.

12. The handheld external programmer of claim 1, wherein the antenna is selected from the group consisting of:

a conductive wire antenna;

a conductive strip of metal antenna;

a slotted antenna; and

a microstrip antenna.

13. The handheld external programmer of claim 1, further comprising a housing within which is located the ground plane, the power supply and the telemetry transceiver.

14. The handheld external programmer of claim 13, wherein the antenna is located within the housing.

15. The handheld external programmer of claim 13, wherein the antenna is located outside the housing or integral with the housing such that when a person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation the antenna is adjacent the left side and/or right side of the housing.

16. The handheld external programmer of claim 13, wherein:

the user interface of the programmer is associated with a front surface of the housing; and

when the person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation, the front surface of the housing is positioned at any angle between and inclusive of parallel to the earth'"'"'s surface and perpendicular to the earth'"'"'s surface, which enables the person to view and interact with the user interface of the programmer in the predetermined intended manner.

17. A handheld external programmer adapted to wirelessly communicate with an implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted within a patient or an external pulse generator attached to the patient, the programmer having a predetermined intended orientation that specifies how a person should handhold the programmer so that the person can view and interact with a user interface of the programmer in a predetermined intended manner, the external programmer comprising:

a ground plane;

a power supply;

a telemetry transceiver powered by the power supply and grounded by the ground plane; and

an antenna electrically connected to the telemetry transceiver;

wherein the programmer has a width extending between left and right sides of the programmer when the programmer is held in its predetermined intended orientation; and

wherein the antenna is positioned relative to the ground plane such that the radiation pattern produced by the antenna has a generally toroidal shape having an axis of rotation generally parallel to the width of the programmer.

18. The handheld external programmer of claim 17, wherein:

the user interface of the programmer is associated with a front of the programmer; and

when a person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation, the front of the programmer is positioned at any angle between and inclusive of parallel to the earth'"'"'s surface and perpendicular to the earth'"'"'s surface, which enables the person to view and interact with the user interface of the programmer in the predetermined intended manner.

19. A handheld external programmer adapted to wirelessly communicate with an implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted within a patient or an external pulse generator attached to the patient, the programmer having a predetermined intended orientation that specifies how a person should handhold the programmer so that the person can view and interact with a user interface of the programmer in a predetermined intended manner, the external programmer comprising:

a ground plane;

a telemetry transceiver grounded by the ground plane; and

an antenna electrically connected to the telemetry transceiver;

wherein when a person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation

(i) substantially the entire antenna is located to the left and/or to the right of the ground plane; and

(ii) the antenna, due to its relative position to the ground plane, produces a radiation pattern that has substantially maximum gain generally directed toward the patient while wirelessly communicating with the IPG.

20. The handheld external programmer of claim 19,

wherein when a person handholds the programmer in its predetermined intended orientation

(iii) a front of the programmer, with which the user interface is associated, is positioned at any angle between and inclusive of parallel to the earth'"'"'s surface and perpendicular to the earth'"'"'s surface;

and

(iv) the radiation pattern produced by the antenna, due to its relative position to the ground plane, has a generally toroidal shape having an axis of rotation such that a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation intersects the patient within which the IPG is implanted.

21. A handheld external programmer adapted to wirelessly communicate with an implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted within a patient or an external pulse generator attached to the patient, the programmer configured to be handheld and be usable in both a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation, the external programmer comprising:

a ground plane;

a power supply;

a telemetry transceiver powered by the power supply and grounded by the ground plane;

a first antenna;

a second antenna generally perpendicular to the first antenna; and

an orientation sensor that generates information indicative of whether the programmer is being held in its portrait orientation or its landscape orientation;

wherein one of the first and second antennas is selectively connected to the telemetry transceiver, in dependence on the information generated by the orientation sensor, so that the selectively connected antenna is positioned relative to the ground plane such that a radiation pattern produced by the connected antenna has substantially maximum radio frequency (RF) radiation generally directed toward the patient, regardless whether the programmer is handheld in its portrait orientation or its landscape orientation, and regardless whether the person that handholds the programmer is the patient or another person located near the patient.