EFFICIENTLY DELIVERING ACOUSTIC STIMULATION ENERGY TO TISSUE

• US 20150196755A1
• Filed: 03/25/2015
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EBR Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: EBR Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Cowan, Mark W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,616,235 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/362 Heart stimulators heart defibrillators A61N1/39
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37217 characterised by the communication link, e.g. acoustic or tactile
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 from an external energy source

Abstract

A system for delivering an electrical stimulation pulse to tissue comprises a controller-transmitter and a receiver-stimulator. The controller-transmitter includes circuitry having an energy storage capacitor. The capacitance of the energy storage capacitor is adjusted to improve the efficiency of energy delivered from the receiver-stimulator to tissue by modifying the geometry of an acoustic drive burst from the controller-transmitter.

Claims

1. A method for delivering an electrical stimulation pulse to tissue, said method comprising:

directing an acoustic transmission having an envelope and is powered by circuitry including an energy storage capacitor;

implanting a receiver-stimulator having circuitry including an envelope detector to produce an electrical stimulation pulse having a voltage proportional to the amplitude of the envelope of the acoustic transmission; and

delivering the electrical stimulation pulse to tissue using electrodes having a tissue-electrode impedance;

wherein the capacitance of the energy storage capacitor is selected to produce an acoustic transmission with an envelope of decreasing amplitude.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the stimulation pulse is delivered to cardiac tissue to effect pacing.

3. A method as in claim 2, wherein the acoustic transmission has an envelope selected to compensate for the tissue-electrode impedance.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acoustic transmission is generated by an implanted controller-transmitter.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acoustic transmission is generated by an external controller-transmitter.

6. A system for delivering an electrical stimulation pulse to tissue, said system comprising:

a controller-transmitter having circuitry which produces an acoustic transmission waveform having an envelope and includes an energy storage capacitor; and

a receiver-stimulator having a circuitry which includes an envelope detector which receives the acoustic transmission and produces an electrical stimulation pulse having a voltage proportional to the amplitude of the acoustic transmission envelope;

wherein the capacitance of the energy storage capacitor is selected to produce an acoustic transmission with an envelope of decreasing amplitude.

7. A system as in claim 6, wherein the receiver-stimulator is adapted to deliver a stimulation pulse to cardiac tissue to effect pacing.

8. A system as in claim 7, wherein the acoustic transmission has an envelope selected to compensate for the tissue-electrode impedance.

9. A system as in any of claims 6, wherein the controller-transmitter is implanted.

10. A system as in any of claims 6, wherein the controller-transmitter is external.