×

System and method for sharing a common communication channel between multiple systems of implantable medical devices

  • US 7,406,105 B2
  • Filed: 06/10/2004
  • Issued: 07/29/2008
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A method of enabling a plurality of systems to cooperatively coexist on a common communication channel wherein each system is comprised of a master device having a unique identification code and one or more associated slave devices that communicate with said master device during periodic and temporally contiguous frame periods determined by each said master device and having occupied temporal portions of each said frame period comprised of transmission communication periods dedicated to each master device and to each slave device and wherein each said frame period has a start and an end that spans an entire temporal bandwidth of said common communication channel, said method comprising the steps of:

  • transmitting a plurality of beacon messages during each frame period from each said master device wherein each said beacon message has a unique beacon marker code portion and at least one beacon message has a moveable temporal offset from the start of its respective frame period;

    receiving beacon messages by said master devices from other said master devices that are within communication range;

    calculating a relative temporal displacement of the frame periods of other master devices according to relative temporal offsets of one or more of said beacon messages to the start of the frame periods of said master devices;

    determining whether at least one of said systems may interfere with communications of another one of said systems and accordingly calculating a new temporal placement for the frame period of a selected one of said systems according to said received beacon messages and said unique identification codes; and

    causing said selected one of said systems comprised of a master device and one or more associated slave devices to temporally displace the start of its frame period to allow said occupied temporal portions of said selected one of said systems to be temporally interleaved with other occupied temporal portions of said systems on said common communication channel when said determining step has determined a potential for communication interference between two or more of said systems.

View all claims
  • 1 Assignment
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×