Acoustically powered implantable stimulating device
First Claim
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1. A method for stimulating heart tissue within a body, comprising:
- transmitting an acoustic wave from a control device implanted within the body to at least one stimulator implanted within the body for generating stimulation energy, the control device comprising a device remote from the stimulator;
receiving the acoustic wave at an acoustic transducer of the stimulator and transforming the acoustic wave into electrical energy for passively powering one or more components of the stimulator, the acoustic wave including at least one stimulation parameter for controlling the stimulation energy generated by the stimulator; and
providing stimulation energy to the heart tissue based on the electrical energy, wherein the stimulation energy is directly transformed from the electrical energy.
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Abstract
An implantable stimulation system comprises an implantable stimulator and a control device. The control device is configured to transmit acoustic waves to the implantable stimulator, and the implantable stimulator is configured to transform the acoustic waves into electrical current, and generate stimulation energy based on the electrical current. For example, the electrical current can be transformed into electrical energy that can be used to generate the stimulation energy. Or the electrical current can contain signals used to directly or indirectly control the generation of the stimulation energy.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for stimulating heart tissue within a body, comprising:
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transmitting an acoustic wave from a control device implanted within the body to at least one stimulator implanted within the body for generating stimulation energy, the control device comprising a device remote from the stimulator; receiving the acoustic wave at an acoustic transducer of the stimulator and transforming the acoustic wave into electrical energy for passively powering one or more components of the stimulator, the acoustic wave including at least one stimulation parameter for controlling the stimulation energy generated by the stimulator; and providing stimulation energy to the heart tissue based on the electrical energy, wherein the stimulation energy is directly transformed from the electrical energy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for stimulating heart tissue within a body, comprising:
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transmitting an acoustic wave from a control device implanted within the body to at least one stimulator implanted within the body, the control device comprising a device remote from the stimulator, the stimulator including a controller and an energy storage device; receiving the acoustic wave at an acoustic transducer of the stimulator and transforming the acoustic wave into electrical current for passively powering one or more components of the stimulator; controlling the discharge of energy from the energy storage device based at least in part on a communications signal contained within the acoustic wave received by the stimulator; and providing stimulation energy to the heart tissue based on the communications signal.
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14. A method for stimulating heart tissue within a body, comprising:
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providing a control device in acoustic communication with a stimulator implanted within the body, the control device comprising a device remote from the stimulator, the control device and stimulator each including an acoustic transducer; transmitting one or more broadband or scanning acoustic waves to the stimulator; determining a frequency for communicating with the stimulator based at least in part on feedback received from the stimulator in response to the one or more broadband or scanning acoustic waves; transmitting an acoustic energizing wave from the control device to the stimulator and activating the stimulator from an energizing mode of operation to an activation mode of operation; transforming the acoustic energizing wave into electrical energy using the acoustic transducer of the stimulator; and providing stimulation energy to the heart tissue based on the electrical energy. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification