System and method for recovery from memory errors in a medical device
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- an implantable medical device comprising;
a memory; and
a controller circuit, coupled to the memory, wherein the controller circuit is operable to enter a memory scrubbing mode when the controller circuit determines the implantable device is in a high-energy radiation environment by;
monitoring a number of errors encountered while accessing memory locations in a normal operation mode, the monitoring including error checking all memory locations of the memory using a first rate of error checking per time period during the normal operation mode;
using the monitored number of errors to determine a rate of memory errors per time period;
comparing the rate of memory errors per time period to a programmable threshold rate of memory errors per time period; and
when the rate of memory errors per time period exceeds the programmable threshold error rate of memory errors per time period, then entering the memory scrubbing mode; and
wherein the memory scrubbing mode has an increased rate of error checking all memory locations of the memory per time period to detect and correct single bit errors in the memory.
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Abstract
A system comprising an implantable medical device that comprises at least one electrical input to receive sensed electrical activity of a heart of a patient, a memory, and a controller circuit. The controller circuit is coupled to the electrical input and memory and is operable to enter a memory scrubbing mode that increases a rate of detecting and correcting single bit errors in the memory when the controller circuit determines the implantable device is in a high-energy radiation environment.
31 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
an implantable medical device comprising; a memory; and a controller circuit, coupled to the memory, wherein the controller circuit is operable to enter a memory scrubbing mode when the controller circuit determines the implantable device is in a high-energy radiation environment by; monitoring a number of errors encountered while accessing memory locations in a normal operation mode, the monitoring including error checking all memory locations of the memory using a first rate of error checking per time period during the normal operation mode; using the monitored number of errors to determine a rate of memory errors per time period; comparing the rate of memory errors per time period to a programmable threshold rate of memory errors per time period; and when the rate of memory errors per time period exceeds the programmable threshold error rate of memory errors per time period, then entering the memory scrubbing mode; and wherein the memory scrubbing mode has an increased rate of error checking all memory locations of the memory per time period to detect and correct single bit errors in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method comprising:
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determining that an implantable medical device is in a high-energy radiation environment by; monitoring a number of errors encountered while accessing memory locations in a normal operation mode, the monitoring including error checking all memory locations of the memory at a first rate of error checking per time period during the normal operation mode; using the monitored number of errors to determine a rate of memory errors per time period; comparing the rate of memory errors per time period to a programmable threshold rate of memory errors per time period; and when the rate of memory errors per time period exceeds the programmable threshold error rate, then entering a memory scrubbing mode; and during the memory scrubbing mode, increasing a rate of error checking of all memory locations of the memory per time period to detect and correct memory errors in the device. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system comprising:
an implantable medical device comprising; a memory; and a controller circuit, coupled to the memory, wherein the controller circuit is operable to enter a memory scrubbing mode when the controller circuit determines the implantable device is in a high-energy radiation environment by; monitoring a number of errors encountered while accessing memory locations in a normal operation mode; using the monitored number of errors to determine a rate of memory errors per time period; comparing the rate of memory errors to a programmable threshold rate of memory errors per time period; and detecting that the rate of memory errors exceeds the programmable threshold error rate; wherein the memory scrubbing mode has an increased rate of error checking to detect and correct single bit errors in the memory; a sensor coupled to the controller circuit to determine the implantable device has entered a high-energy radiation environment; and wherein the memory includes a plurality of memory cells, wherein the sensor includes at least one memory cell designed to be more susceptible to radiation energy than other memory cells, and wherein the controller circuit determines a high-energy radiation environment by detecting a rate of memory errors in the memory cell that exceeds a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A method comprising:
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determining that an implantable medical device is in a high-energy radiation environment by; monitoring a number of errors encountered while accessing memory locations in a normal operation mode; using the monitored number of errors to determine a rate of memory errors per time period; comparing the rate of memory errors to a programmable threshold rate of memory errors per time period; and detecting that the rate of memory errors exceeds the programmable threshold error rate; determining that an implantable medical device is in a high-energy radiation environment by using the implantable medical device for detecting that at least one memory cell susceptible to lower levels of radiation energy than other memory cells has a rate of memory errors that exceeds a predetermined threshold rate; enabling a memory scrubbing mode in response to the implantable medical device entering the high-energy radiation environment; and increasing a rate of error checking to detect and correct memory errors in the device upon the enabling of the scrubbing mode. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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43. An apparatus comprising:
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means for determining that an implantable medical device is in a high-energy radiation environment; means for; monitoring a number of errors encountered while accessing memory locations in a normal operation mode, the monitoring including error checking all memory locations of the memory at a first rate of error checking per time period during the normal operation mode; using the monitored number of errors per time period to determine a rate of memory errors per time period; comparing the rate of memory errors per time period to a programmable threshold rate of memory errors per time period; and detecting that the rate of memory errors per time period exceeds the programmable threshold error rate per time period; means for enabling a memory scrubbing mode in response to the implantable medical device entering the high-energy radiation environment as determined by the rate of memory errors per time period exceeds the programmable threshold error rate per time period; and means for increasing a rate of error checking of all memory locations of the memory per time period during the memory scrubbing mode to detect and correct memory errors in the device upon the enabling of the scrubbing mode.
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Specification