Body electronic implant and artificial vision system thereof
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A body implant assembly comprising:
- an electrode array having multiple adjacent electrodes directed towards respective stimulation sites;
an antenna;
a full custom mixed-signal chip including a transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna, an AC to DC transformation circuit coupled to the transceiver circuit and powering the full custom mixed-signal chip from energy contained in a control signal received by the transceiver circuit, a controller connected to the transceiver circuit and processing operation data contained in the control signal received by the transceiver circuit, and a stimuli generator circuit connected to the controller and generating stimulation signals in accordance with the operation data;
an electrode selection circuit connected to the stimuli generator circuit and having selectable outputs for transmission of the stimulation signals to selected ones of the electrodes in accordance with the operation data; and
a substrate support having a first side receiving the full custom mixed-signal chip, the antenna and the electrode selection circuit, and a second, opposite side receiving the electrode array, the first side having contacts lying around the full custom mixed-signal chip and connected to the outputs of the electrode selection circuit respectively, the second side having an array of adjacent contacts aligned with and connected to the electrodes respectively, the contacts on the first and second sides being interconnected respectively together by an interconnection circuit across the substrate support.
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Abstract
A miniaturized body electronic implant for providing artificial vision to a blind person or for other uses as neuro-muscular sensors and microstimulators. The implant has a high resolution electrode array connected to a chip integrating implant stimulation and monitoring circuits, mounted on the back of the electrode array. The implant is powered by and communicates with an external unit through an inductive bi-directional link.
115 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A body implant assembly comprising:
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an electrode array having multiple adjacent electrodes directed towards respective stimulation sites; an antenna; a full custom mixed-signal chip including a transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna, an AC to DC transformation circuit coupled to the transceiver circuit and powering the full custom mixed-signal chip from energy contained in a control signal received by the transceiver circuit, a controller connected to the transceiver circuit and processing operation data contained in the control signal received by the transceiver circuit, and a stimuli generator circuit connected to the controller and generating stimulation signals in accordance with the operation data; an electrode selection circuit connected to the stimuli generator circuit and having selectable outputs for transmission of the stimulation signals to selected ones of the electrodes in accordance with the operation data; and a substrate support having a first side receiving the full custom mixed-signal chip, the antenna and the electrode selection circuit, and a second, opposite side receiving the electrode array, the first side having contacts lying around the full custom mixed-signal chip and connected to the outputs of the electrode selection circuit respectively, the second side having an array of adjacent contacts aligned with and connected to the electrodes respectively, the contacts on the first and second sides being interconnected respectively together by an interconnection circuit across the substrate support. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A body implant comprising:
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an electrode array having multiple adjacent electrodes directed towards respective stimulation sites; an antenna; a transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna; an AC to DC voltage transformation circuit coupled to the transceiver circuit and providing implant power supply from energy contained in an implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a controller connected to the transceiver circuit and processing operation data contained in the implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a stimuli generator circuit connected to the controller and generating stimulation signals in accordance with the operation data; and an electrode selection circuit connected between the stimuli generation circuit and the electrode array, the electrode selection circuit having selectable outputs for transmission of the stimulation signals to selected ones of the electrodes in accordance with the operation data; the controller having a decoder circuit decoding the operation data contained in the implant control signal, a configuration controller storing common and specific stimulation parameters specified in the operation data and respectively addressed to all of the stimulation sites and specific ones of the stimulation sites, and a stimulation command controller transmitting stimulation control signals to the stimuli generator circuit in accordance with the common and specific stimulation parameters. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A body implant comprising:
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an electrode array having multiple adjacent electrodes directed towards respective stimulation sites; an antenna; a transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna; an AC to DC voltage transformation circuit coupled to the transceiver circuit and providing implant power supply from energy contained in an implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a controller connected to the transceiver circuit and processing operation data contained in the implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a stimuli generator circuit connected to the controller and generating stimulation signals in accordance with the operation data; an electrode selection circuit connected between the stimuli generation circuit and the electrode array, the electrode selection circuit having selectable outputs for transmission of the stimulation signals to selected ones of the electrodes in accordance with the operation data; and a monitoring unit coupled between the controller and the electrode selection circuit, and controllably taking signal measurements at selected ones of the stimulation sites in response to monitoring control signals and producing test result signals indicative of the signal measurements; the controller having a decoder circuit decoding the operation data contained in the implant control signal, a monitoring command generator decoding diagnosis instructions contained in the operation data and transmitting the monitoring control signals to the monitoring unit in accordance with the diagnosis instructions, and a diagnosis controller receiving and processing the test result signals from the monitoring unit. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A body implant comprising:
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an electrode array having multiple adjacent electrodes directed towards respective measurement sites; an antenna; a transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna; an AC to DC voltage transformation circuit coupled to the transceiver circuit and providing implant power supply from energy contained in an implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a controller connected to the transceiver circuit and processing operation data contained in the implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; an electrode selection circuit connected to the electrode array, the electrode selection circuit having selectable outputs for communication with selected ones of the electrodes and the respective measurement sites; and a monitoring unit coupled between the controller and the electrode selection circuit, and controllably taking signal measurements at the selected ones of the measurement sites in response to monitoring control signals and producing test result signals indicative of the signal measurements; the controller having a decoder circuit decoding the operation data contained in the implant control signal, a monitoring command generator decoding diagnosis instructions contained in the operation data and transmitting the monitoring control signals to the monitoring unit in accordance with the diagnosis instructions, and a diagnosis controller receiving and processing the test result signals from the monitoring unit. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A body implant comprising:
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an electrode array having multiple adjacent electrodes directed towards respective stimulation sites; an antenna; a transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna; an AC to DC voltage transformation circuit coupled to the transceiver circuit and providing implant power supply from energy contained in an implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a controller connected to the transceiver circuit and processing operation data contained in the implant control signal received by the transceiver circuit; a stimuli generator circuit connected to the controller and generating stimulation signals in accordance with the operation data; and an electrode selection circuit connected between the stimuli generation circuit and the electrode array, the electrode selection circuit having selectable outputs grouped into channels for transmission of the stimulation signals to selected ones of the electrodes in accordance with the operation data; the electrode selection circuit including, for each channel, a demultiplexer circuit connected to and operating switch arragements in accordance with site and polarity control signals, the switch arrangements being subjected to the stimulation signals and connected respectively to the outputs assigned to the channel; the stimuli generator circuit including, for each channel, a signal generator controlled by a channel controller assisted by a timer connected to a register circuit receiving stimulation control signals, the signal generator producing the stimulation signals in accordance with the stimulation control signals, the register circuit and the channel controller producing the site and polarity control signals in accordance with the stimulation control signals; and the controller having a decoder circuit decoding the operation data contained in the implant control signal, a configuration controller storing stimulation parameters specified in the operation data, and a stimulation command controller transmitting the stimulation control signals to the stimuli generator circuit in accordance with the stimulation parameters. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification