Power consumption reduction in medical devices employing multiple supply voltages and clock frequency control
First Claim
1. An implantable medical device of the type having an energy source and providing a therapy to a patient'"'"'s body and/or monitoring a physiologic condition of the body, comprising:
- a clock source that draws energy from the energy source to develop a clock signal having a clock frequency defining a clock cycle between successive clock signals;
timing control means for sequentially defining a sequence of predetermined time periods during which a medical device function is performed including one of delivering a therapy or monitoring physiologic events representative of a physiologic condition and providing a physiologic signal, wherein each predetermined time period extends between a prior predetermined time period and a subsequent predetermined time period;
at least one circuit that performs a function related to the provision of a therapy or monitoring a physiologic condition during at least one of the defined predetermined time periods, the circuit requiring a predetermined number of clock signals to perform the function; and
means for operating the clock source during the predetermined time period to provide a clock signal at a clock frequency providing the predetermined number clock signals to operate the circuit over the predetermined time period;
such that substantially the entire predetermined time period is used to perform the function, wherein the function is completed just prior to the subsequent time period and the number of clock signals applied to the circuit is minimized to conserve energy drawn from the energy source.
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Abstract
Power consumption in medical devices is reduced through the operation of circuits at clock speeds of lower levels to adequately complete desired functions during predetermined time periods (e.g., blanking interval, upper rate interval, etc.) just-in-time prior to subsequent required functional processes; by providing supply voltages tailored for various circuits of an integrated circuit; by operating two or more circuits of an integrated circuit at different clock frequencies; by changing the supply voltage level “on the fly” as required by specific circuit timing functions required for various circuitry based on clock frequencies used to control operation of such circuitry; and/or by tailoring back gate bias or adjusting back gate bias “on the fly” for circuits based on the supply voltage level applied to the circuits.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An implantable medical device of the type having an energy source and providing a therapy to a patient'"'"'s body and/or monitoring a physiologic condition of the body, comprising:
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a clock source that draws energy from the energy source to develop a clock signal having a clock frequency defining a clock cycle between successive clock signals;
timing control means for sequentially defining a sequence of predetermined time periods during which a medical device function is performed including one of delivering a therapy or monitoring physiologic events representative of a physiologic condition and providing a physiologic signal, wherein each predetermined time period extends between a prior predetermined time period and a subsequent predetermined time period;
at least one circuit that performs a function related to the provision of a therapy or monitoring a physiologic condition during at least one of the defined predetermined time periods, the circuit requiring a predetermined number of clock signals to perform the function; and
means for operating the clock source during the predetermined time period to provide a clock signal at a clock frequency providing the predetermined number clock signals to operate the circuit over the predetermined time period;
such that substantially the entire predetermined time period is used to perform the function, wherein the function is completed just prior to the subsequent time period and the number of clock signals applied to the circuit is minimized to conserve energy drawn from the energy source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
a plurality of supply voltage sources derived from the energy source that provide a respective plurality of supply voltages; and
means for applying a supply voltage from a supply voltage source to the circuit as a function of the clock frequency provided to the at least one circuit to minimize energy drawn from the energy source.
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9. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one circuit comprises at least a first logic circuit for performing a first function and a second logic circuit for performing a second function, wherein each of the first and second logic circuits is operated at a clock frequency provided by the means for operating the clock source, and further wherein each of the logic circuits has a supply voltage applied thereto from one of the plurality of supply voltage sources correlated with the clock frequency.
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10. The device of claim 8, wherein:
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the at least one circuit comprises a processing device, the processing device operable to perform a plurality of functions, wherein each of at least two of the plurality of functions is performed at a predetermined clock frequency provided by the means for operating the clock source such that substantially the entire associated predetermined time period for each function is used to perform the function prior to the subsequent time period in which another of the plurality of functions is performed; and
a first supply voltage is applied to the processing device during performance of one of the at least two functions and a second supply voltage is applied to the processing device during performance of the other function, wherein the first and second supply voltages are applied based on the clock frequencies provided to the processing device.
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11. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one circuit is of a type selected from the group consisting of CMOS circuits, CML circuits, SOS circuits, SOI circuits, BICMOS circuits and NMOS circuits.
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12. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is an hermetically sealed implantable medical device.
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13. The device of claim 12, wherein the implantable medical device is selected from the group consisting of an implantable stimulator, an implantable nerve stimulator, an implantable pacemaker, an IPG, an implantable cardioverter, an implantable PCD, an implantable defibrillator, an implantable ICD and an implantable drug pump.
Specification