Implant for in-vivo parameter monitoring, processing and transmitting
First Claim
1. An implant for monitoring intracranial cerebral spinal fluid pressure of a subject, comprising:
- a pressure transducer having a deflectable membrane separating a reference chamber and a local intracranial pressure chamber, the local intracranial pressure chamber in fluid communication with a shunt to receive cerebral spinal fluid, wherein a deflection of the deflectable membrane indicates a pressure differential between the reference chamber and the local intracranial pressure chamber, the deflection being measured by a strain measurement means, the pressure transducer configured to generate a signal representing the measured deflection;
a system controller coupled to the pressure transducer, the system controller including a processor configured to receive and process the generated signal and a transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit said processed signal;
a power source coupled to the system controller and configured to power said system controller, wherein the power source includes an energy storage device and an inductive coil; and
a single housing adapted to fully enclose the pressure transducer, the system controller, the energy storage device and the inductive coil and sized to be fully implanted at a single location surrounding the shunt within a head of said subject,wherein the inductive coil is configured to receive inductive power from an inductive power source positioned outside the single housing, the inductive power source operable to induce current in said inductive coil to recharge the energy storage device and power the system controller.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a completely implantable intracranial pressure monitor, which can couple to existing fluid shunting systems as well as other internal monitoring probes. The implant sensor produces an analog data signal which is then converted electronically to a digital pulse by generation of a spreading code signal and then transmitted to a location outside the patient by a radio-frequency transmitter to an external receiver. The implanted device can receive power from an internal source as well as an inductive external source. Remote control of the implant is also provided by a control receiver which passes commands from an external source to the implant system logic. Alarm parameters can be programmed into the device which are capable of producing an audible or visual alarm signal. The utility of the monitor can be greatly expanded by using multiple pressure sensors simultaneously or by combining sensors of various physiological types.
-
Citations
31 Claims
-
1. An implant for monitoring intracranial cerebral spinal fluid pressure of a subject, comprising:
-
a pressure transducer having a deflectable membrane separating a reference chamber and a local intracranial pressure chamber, the local intracranial pressure chamber in fluid communication with a shunt to receive cerebral spinal fluid, wherein a deflection of the deflectable membrane indicates a pressure differential between the reference chamber and the local intracranial pressure chamber, the deflection being measured by a strain measurement means, the pressure transducer configured to generate a signal representing the measured deflection; a system controller coupled to the pressure transducer, the system controller including a processor configured to receive and process the generated signal and a transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit said processed signal; a power source coupled to the system controller and configured to power said system controller, wherein the power source includes an energy storage device and an inductive coil; and a single housing adapted to fully enclose the pressure transducer, the system controller, the energy storage device and the inductive coil and sized to be fully implanted at a single location surrounding the shunt within a head of said subject, wherein the inductive coil is configured to receive inductive power from an inductive power source positioned outside the single housing, the inductive power source operable to induce current in said inductive coil to recharge the energy storage device and power the system controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. An implant for monitoring intracranial cerebral spinal fluid pressure of a subject, comprising:
-
a pressure transducer coupled to a shunt and configured to generate a signal representing said intracranial cerebral spinal fluid pressure; a system controller coupled to the pressure transducer, the system controller including a processor configured to receive and process the generated signal and a hybrid spread-spectrum transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit said processed signal, the hybrid spread-spectrum transmitter including a spread-spectrum modulation configured to generate a spreading-code signal and to reduce substantially all multi-path reflection errors, wherein the spread-spectrum modulation comprises direct-sequence modulation, frequency-hopping modulation, and time-hopping modulation; a power source coupled to the system controller and configured to power said system controller, wherein the power source includes an energy storage device and an inductive coil; and a single housing adapted to fully enclose the pressure transducer, the system controller, the energy storage device and the inductive coil and sized to be fully implanted at a single location surrounding the shunt within a head of said subject, wherein the inductive coil is configured to receive inductive power from an inductive power source positioned outside the single housing, the inductive power source operable to induce current in said inductive coil to recharge the energy storage device and power the system controller. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
Specification