TAP SENSOR-ENABLED IMD

• US 20160243373A1
• Filed: 02/22/2016
• Published: 08/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Kalgren, James R., Maile, Keith R., Kelly, Jonathan H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,639,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0015 characterised by features of the telemetry system
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/026 Measuring blood flow A61B3/1233, A61B3/1241 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/333 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37217 characterised by the communication link, e.g. acoustic or tactile
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/39622 Pacing therapy
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3987 characterised by the timing or triggering of the shock

Abstract

An implantable medical device (IMD) includes a tap sensor configured to detect an impact event occurring on the surface of the patient'"'"'s body. The tap sensor is configured to determine whether the impact event (which may be, for example, a tap of a finger or hand upon a surface of the body) likely is a communication directed at the tap sensor. In response to determining that the impact event likely is a communication directed at the tap sensor, the IMD is configured to transition from a first state to a second state.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an implantable medical device configured to record a physiological parameter measurement, the implantable medical device comprising;

a communication component configured to communicate the physiological parameter measurement to a receiving device; and

a tap sensor configured to (1) detect an impact event on an external portion of the patient'"'"'s body; and

(2) in response to detecting the impact event, cause the communication component to transition from a first state, in which the communication component is dormant, to a second state, in which the communication component is configured to actively listen for incoming communication; and

a receiving device configured to receive the physiological parameter measurement from the implantable medical device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the implantable medical device comprises at least one of an implantable loop recorder (ILR), a cardiac pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device, and a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiving device is an external device.

4. The system of claim 1, the tap sensor comprising at least one of an accelerometer and an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the physiological parameter measurement comprises a measurement of a cardiac activation signal.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the tap sensor is further configured to determine whether the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the tap sensor comprises:

an impact event detector configured to detect the impact event and generate a detection signal in response thereto; and

a processing unit configured to;

receive the detection signal from the impact event detector;

determine at least one characteristic of the detection signal; and

determine whether the at least one characteristic of the detection signal satisfies one or more criteria, wherein the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor if the at least one characteristic of the detection signal satisfies the one or more criteria.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one characteristic is related to a force of the impact event.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises a number of detected impact events occurring within a specified time period.

10. An implantable medical device, configured to be implanted within a body of a patient, the implantable medical device comprising:

a sensing component configured to sense one or more physiological parameters;

a memory configured to store the one or more physiological parameters; and

a tap sensor configured to;

detect an impact event on an external surface of the body of the patient;

determine that the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor; and

cause, in response to determining that the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor, the implantable medical device to be transitioned from a first state to a second state.

11. The implantable medical device of claim 10, wherein the implantable medical device comprises at least one of an implantable loop recorder (ILR), a cardiac pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device, and a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device.

12. The implantable medical device of claim 10, wherein the first state and the second state correspond to the sensing component, wherein:

when the implantable medical device is in the first state, the sensing component does not sense the one or more physiological parameters; and

when the implantable medical device is in the second state, the sensing component senses the one or more physiological parameters.

13. The implantable medical device of claim 10, further comprising a communication component configured to communicate the one or more physiological parameters to a receiving device, wherein the first state and the second state correspond to the communication component, wherein:

when the implantable medical device is in the first state, the communication component is dormant; and

when the implantable medical device transitions to the second state, the communication component begins listening for a communication from the receiving device.

14. The implantable medical device of claim 10, the tap sensor comprising:

an impact event detector configured to detect the impact event and generate a detection signal in response thereto; and

a processing component configured to;

receive the detection signal from the impact event detector;

determine at least one characteristic of the detection signal; and

determine whether the at least one characteristic of the detection signal satisfies one or more criteria, wherein the processing component determines that the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor when the at least one characteristic of the detection signal satisfies the one or more criteria.

15. The implantable medical device of claim 14, wherein the at least one characteristic of the detection signal is related to an amount of force associated with the impact event.

16. The implantable medical device of claim 10, the tap sensor comprising at least one of an accelerometer and an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

17. The implantable medical device of claim 10, wherein the tap sensor is activated and deactivated based on a pulse width modulation (PWM) cycle.

18. A method of facilitating communication between an implantable medical device and a receiving device, the implantable medical device configured to be implanted within a body of a patient, the method comprising:

detecting, using a tap sensor, an impact event, wherein the impact event comprises an impact of an object with an external surface of the body of the patient;

determining that the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor; and

causing, in response to determining that the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor, a communication component to transition from a first state to a second state, wherein, in the second state, the communication component is configured to listen for communications from the receiving device.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

sensing a plurality of cardiac measurements;

recording the plurality of cardiac measurements;

detecting an initial communication from the receiving device to the communication component;

in response to detecting the initial communication, establishing a communication session with the receiving device; and

communicating the plurality of cardiac measurements to the receiving device.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein determining that the impact event likely comprises a communication directed at the tap sensor comprises:

detecting, using an impact event detector, the impact event;

generating, in response to detecting the impact event, a detection signal;

determining at least one characteristic of the detection signal; and

determining whether the at least one characteristic of the detection signal satisfies one or more criteria.