Acoustically-powered wireless defibrillator
First Claim
1. A method for treating cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia, said method comprising:
- implanting a controller-transmitter at a subcutaneous implantation site to generate acoustic energy, wherein the controller-transmitter comprises sensing electrodes that are configured to detect undesirable cardiac arrhythmias;
implanting a receiver-defibrillator at a cardiac implantation site, wherein the receiver-defibrillator comprises one or more electrode assemblies adapted to deliver defibrillation energy to cardiac tissue;
generating acoustic energy at the subcutaneous implantation site using the controller-transmitter;
receiving said acoustic energy at the cardiac implantation site using the receiver-defibrillator; and
using an external programmer to program one or more settings of the controller-transmitter;
wherein said acoustic energy is converted to electrical energy by the receiver-defibrillator at a rate of 1-10 J/sec, stored at a level to produce appropriate amplitude, and delivered with an appropriate waveform sufficient to treat the cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An acoustic transmitter produces a pulsed ultrasound waveform which is transmitted through body tissues to an implanted receiver-stimulator device. The waveform has an acoustic amplitude, pulse width, and pulse repetition period, which corresponds to a pacing pulse electrical amplitude, pacing pulse width, and pacing cycle length, respectively. The receiver-stimulator device intercepts at least a portion of the transmitted acoustic energy and coverts that acoustic energy into electrical energy using piezoelectric or other devices. This electrical energy is applied to circuitry, which produces a desired stimulating pulse waveform, which is then applied to tissue-contacting electrodes.
123 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for treating cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia, said method comprising:
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implanting a controller-transmitter at a subcutaneous implantation site to generate acoustic energy, wherein the controller-transmitter comprises sensing electrodes that are configured to detect undesirable cardiac arrhythmias; implanting a receiver-defibrillator at a cardiac implantation site, wherein the receiver-defibrillator comprises one or more electrode assemblies adapted to deliver defibrillation energy to cardiac tissue; generating acoustic energy at the subcutaneous implantation site using the controller-transmitter; receiving said acoustic energy at the cardiac implantation site using the receiver-defibrillator; and using an external programmer to program one or more settings of the controller-transmitter; wherein said acoustic energy is converted to electrical energy by the receiver-defibrillator at a rate of 1-10 J/sec, stored at a level to produce appropriate amplitude, and delivered with an appropriate waveform sufficient to treat the cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia.
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2. A system for treating cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia, said system comprising:
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an implantable acoustic controller-transmitter comprising sensing electrodes configured to detect undesirable cardiac arrhythmias; and an implantable acoustic receiver-defibrillator having electrode assemblies adapted to deliver defibrillation energy to the cardiac muscle tissue; and an external programmer configured to program one or more settings of the controller-transmitter; wherein the controller-transmitter and receiver-defibrillator are adapted to transmit and receive acoustic energy, respectively, which provides both defibrillation energy and signal information to the receiver-defibrillator sufficient to provide cardiac defibrillation or termination of cardiac tachycardia, and wherein the receiver-defibrillator is configured to convert the received acoustic energy to electrical energy at a rate of 1-10 J/sec. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for treating cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia and stimulating cardiac muscle, said method comprising:
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implanting a controller-transmitter at a subcutaneous implantation site to generate acoustic energy, wherein the controller-transmitter comprises sensing electrodes that are configured to detect undesirable cardiac arrhythmias; implanting a receiver-defibrillator-stimulator at a cardiac implantation site, wherein the receiver-defibrillator-stimulator comprises one or more electrode assemblies adapted to be in direct contact with cardiac tissue and deliver defibrillation or stimulation energy to cardiac muscle tissue; generating acoustic energy at the subcutaneous implantation site using the controller-transmitter; and receiving said acoustic energy at the cardiac implantation site using the receiver-defibrillator-stimulator; and using an external programmer to program one or more settings of the controller-transmitter; wherein said acoustic energy is converted by the receiver-defibrillator-stimulator to electrical energy at a rate of 1-10 J/sec, wherein the electrical energy is suitable for either cardiac defibrillation or for treating cardiac tachycardia or for cardiac muscle stimulation based on both energy and signal information encoded in the generated acoustic energy. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A system for treating cardiac fibrillation or cardiac tachycardia and for stimulating cardiac muscle tissue, said system comprising:
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an implantable acoustic controller-transmitter comprising sensing electrodes configured to detect cardiac arrhythmias; and an implantable acoustic receiver-defibrillator-stimulator having electrode assemblies adapted to deliver defibrillation energy or stimulation energy to the cardiac muscle tissue; and an external programmer configured to program one or more settings of the controller-transmitter; wherein the controller-transmitter and receiver-defibrillator-stimulator are adapted to transmit and receive acoustic energy, respectively, which provides energy to the receiver-defibrillator-stimulator sufficient for accomplishing one of either stimulation or defibrillation, and which also provides signal information sufficient to perform cardiac defibrillation or termination or cardiac tachycardia, and wherein the receiver-defibrillator-stimulator is configured to convert the received acoustic energy to electrical energy at a rate of 1-10 J/sec. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification