PHARMA-INFORMATICS SYSTEM

• US 20150230729A1
• Filed: 04/29/2015
• Published: 08/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Proteus Digital Health, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Proteus Digital Health, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Zdeblick, Mark, Thompson, Andrew, Pikelny, Aleksandr, Robertson, Timothy, Hafezi, Hooman
• Application Number:
  US14/699,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20150230729A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0462 Apparatus with built-in sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/162 Capsule shaped sensor housings, e.g. for swallowing or implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0028 Body tissue as transmission medium, i.e. transmission systems where the medium is the human body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/07 Endoradiosondes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/076 Permanent implantations telemetry using implanted circuitry A61B5/0031; implanted stimulators for therapy A61N1/3605, A61N1/362, A61N1/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1473 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter A61B5/1482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4839 combined with drug delivery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6861 Capsules, e.g. for swallowing or implanting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/007 Marking tablets or the like apparatus for printing on tablets or the like B41F17/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10168 the powering being adversely affected by environmental influences, e.g. unwanted energy loss in the interrogation signal due to metallic or capacitive objects in the proximity of the interrogation device or in the proximity of the interrogated record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 : Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

An apparatus that includes a partial power source including a first material and a second material, the partial power source configured to generate, upon contact with a conducting medium, a potential difference between the first material and the second material to provide power to a control device, and generate, using the first material and the second material, a current flow within the conducting medium, the current flow including information encoded based on a variable conductance between the first material and the second material.

Claims

1. A system for communicating information within a body of a patient, the system comprising:

a first device comprising a transmitter configured to transmit a quasi-electrostatic signal to the body of the patient; and

a second device comprising a receiver configured to receive the transmitted quasi-electrostatic signal, wherein the receiver is configured to couple to the body of the patient; and

wherein the quasi-electrostatic signal is transmitted between the first device and the second device via a conducting medium for the quasi-electrostatic signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the quasi-electrostatic signal is transmitted between the first and second device within the body of the patient and wherein the body of the patient is the conducting medium for the quasi-electrostatic signal.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one third device, wherein the at least one third device is configured to receive the transmitted quasi-electrostatic signal via a quasi-electrostatic coupling to the body of the patient, wherein the quasi-electrostatic signal is received by the at least one third device within the body of the patient, and wherein the body of the patient is the conducting medium for the quasi-electrostatic signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the quasi-electrostatic signal comprises an identifier of the first device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a signal generating circuit coupled to a power supply, and wherein the signal generating circuit is configured to generate the quasi-electrostatic signal.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the signal generating circuit comprises an oscillator coupled to an antenna.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the oscillator is configured to operate at a frequency such that a radiation field generated by the antenna has a wavelength more than 10 times longer than a largest dimension of the body.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the oscillator is configured to operate at a frequency of about 10 MHz or less.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first device is an ingestible medical device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first device is a pharmaceutical delivery device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a power source.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the power source comprises two dissimilar materials that are configured to provide a voltage potential difference when in contact with a conducting fluid.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the second device is configured to transmit a control signal to an effector located in the body.

14. A communications device comprising:

a power supply;

a signal generating circuit coupled to the power supply and configured to generate a signal; and

an antenna coupled to the signal generating circuit and configured to transmit the signal via a quasi-electrostatic coupling to a patient'"'"'s body.

15. The communications device of claim 14, wherein the power supply comprises a battery.

16. The communications device of claim 14, wherein the power supply comprises:

an antenna configured to receive energy from an energy source via a quasi-electrostatic coupling to the body; and

a converter circuit configured to convert the received energy to electrical power.

17. The communications device of claim 14, wherein the antenna comprises a pair of electrodes.

18. The communications device of claim 14, wherein the signal generating circuit comprises an oscillator coupled to the antenna.

19. The communications device of claim 18, wherein the oscillator is configured to operate at a frequency of about 10 MHz or less.

20. The communications device of claim 14, wherein the signal generating circuit comprises:

a driver coupled to drive a time varying potential on the antenna;

an oscillator having an output, wherein the driver is configured to receive the output of the oscillator; and

a modulator configured to modulate a frequency or a phase of the output of the oscillator to encode information in the signal.

21. A communications device comprising:

a power supply;

a signal generating circuit coupled to said power supply and configured to generate a quasi-electrostatic signal;

an antenna coupled to said signal generating circuit and configured to transmit the quasi-electrostatic signal via quasi electrostatic coupling to said body; and

wherein the signal generating circuit comprises;

a driver coupled to drive a time varying potential on the antenna;

an oscillator having an output, wherein the driver is configured to receive the output of the oscillator; and

a modulator configured to modulate a frequency or a phase of the output of the oscillator to encode information in the quasi-electrostatic signal.

22. The communications device of claim 21, wherein the communications device is an implantable medical device.

23. The communications device of claim 21, wherein the oscillator is configured to operate at a frequency of about 10 MHz or less.

24. The communications device of claim 23, wherein the oscillator is configured to operate at a frequency of between about 300 Hz and about 1 MHz.

25. The communications device of claim 21, wherein the oscillator is configured to operate at a frequency such that a radiation field generated by the antenna has a wavelength more than 10 times longer than a largest dimension of the body.