Transcutaneous energy coupling using piezoelectric device
First Claim
1. A cardiac stimulation system comprising:
- a cardiac stimulator having;
a hermetically sealed container,a cardiac stimulation circuit within said container for producing an output to stimulate the heart,an electrode coupled to said cardiac stimulation circuit for delivering said output to the heart,a rechargeable battery coupled to said cardiac stimulation circuit,a rectifier coupled to said battery, anda piezoelectric device coupled to said rectifier said piezoelectric device including a ferromagnetic plate and a ceramic disc, said piezoelectric device capable of responding to any of at least two different types of external stimuli,andan external charging unit havingmeans for displacing said piezoelectric device to cause said piezoelectric device to vibrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An energy transmission system for transmitting energy non-invasively from an external unit to an implanted medical device to recharge a battery in the medical device. An alternating magnetic field is generated by the external charging unit and a piezoelectric device in the implanted medical device vibrates in response to the magnetic flux to generate a voltage. The voltage is rectified and regulated to provide charging current to a rechargeable battery in the medical device. A series of piezoelectric devices may be connected in series to produce a larger voltage than can be produced by any one piezoelectric device. Acoustic waves generated by the external charging unit alternatively can be used to vibrate the piezoelectric device instead of a changing magnetic flux. The acoustic waves are generated by an external source coupled to a piezoelectric transducer.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A cardiac stimulation system comprising:
- a cardiac stimulator having;
a hermetically sealed container, a cardiac stimulation circuit within said container for producing an output to stimulate the heart, an electrode coupled to said cardiac stimulation circuit for delivering said output to the heart, a rechargeable battery coupled to said cardiac stimulation circuit, a rectifier coupled to said battery, and a piezoelectric device coupled to said rectifier said piezoelectric device including a ferromagnetic plate and a ceramic disc, said piezoelectric device capable of responding to any of at least two different types of external stimuli, and an external charging unit having means for displacing said piezoelectric device to cause said piezoelectric device to vibrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
- a cardiac stimulator having;
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6. An energy transmission system for providing energy to an implantable medical device, comprising:
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an implantable piezoelectric device including a ferromagnetic plate and a ceramic disc; an implantable rectifier coupled to said piezoelectric device; an implantable battery coupled to said rectifier; an external coil; and an external alternating current source coupled to said external coil, wherein said external coil receives an alternating current from said alternating current source and generates a changing magnetic field which causes said piezoelectric device to vibrate. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. An energy transmission system for an implantable device, comprising:
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an external acoustic source; an external speaker connected to said external acoustic source for generating an acoustic stimulus in response to signals from said external acoustic source; an implantable energy receiver means for responding to both said acoustic waves generated by said external speaker and at least one other type of external stimulus; an implantable rectifier coupled to said implantable energy receiver; and an implantable battery coupled to said rectifier. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for transcutaneously recharging a battery in an implantable medical device comprising:
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a sealed container for implanting in a patient; a rechargeable battery in said container; a piezoelectric device in said container electrically coupled to said battery for generating a voltage to recharge said battery said piezoelectric device including a ferromagnetic plate and a ceramic disc, said piezoelectric device responsive to at least two external stimuli, any of which causes said piezoelectric device to vibrate; a charging unit external to said container for stimulating said piezoelectric device by causing said piezoelectric device to vibrate to generate said voltage. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification