MINIMIZING MECHANICAL TRAUMA DUE TO IMPLANTATION OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
First Claim
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1. An implantable medical device comprising:
- a carrier member configured for implantation into a patient, the carrier member having a patient contact region;
one or more operative components disposed in the carrier member;
a fiber optic sensor including a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) disposed in the patient contact region of the carrier member; and
, and an optical fiber extending from the FBG.
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Abstract
A medical implant component including a fiber Bragg grating sensor is described. The sensor may be located so as to be at a leading end of the implant when the implant is being inserted, allowing feedback to be provided to a surgeon of the force being applied to the leading end of the implant during implantation. An interrogator for a sensor fiber Bragg grating is also described. The interrogator includes a matched fiber Bragg grating to the sensor fiber Bragg grating, which passes a proportion of the return light signal from the sensor fiber Bragg grating, the intensity of which can be related to the strain/force applied to the sensor Bragg grating.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. An implantable medical device comprising:
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a carrier member configured for implantation into a patient, the carrier member having a patient contact region; one or more operative components disposed in the carrier member; a fiber optic sensor including a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) disposed in the patient contact region of the carrier member; and
, and an optical fiber extending from the FBG. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An interrogator for a sensor fiber Bragg grating, the interrogator comprising:
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a light source for providing incident light to the sensor fiber Bragg grating over a forward light path; a return light path for receiving return light from the sensor fiber Bragg grating; a reference fiber Bragg grating disposed in the return light path, the reference fiber Bragg grating having a grating pattern to reflect return light received from the sensor fiber Bragg grating, whereby variations in the environment of the sensor fiber Bragg grating within an operating range of the sensor fiber Bragg grating that affect the return light, result in variations in the proportion of the return light passed by the reference fiber Bragg grating; and a light detector for receiving and detecting the return light passed by the reference fiber Bragg grating. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of implanting a medical implant for providing stimulation signals to the nervous system of a recipient, the method comprising:
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using a medical implant comprising a flexible carrier at a leading end of the medical implant as it is implanted in the recipient, the flexible carrier carrying a fiber optic including a fiber Bragg grating; connecting the fiber optic to an interrogator, including a light detector for detecting variations in the reflection/transmission characteristics of the fiber Bragg grating responsive to forces applied to the fiber Bragg grating through the flexible carrier and provide an output indicative of the force applied to the fiber Bragg grating; and as the medical implant is implanted in the recipient, monitoring the outputx. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification