Open-loop recharge for an implantable medical device
First Claim
1. A system, comprising:
- a secondary coil implantable within a living body;
a rechargeable power source; and
a recharging device external to the living body configured to induce in an open-loop manner a sequence of pulses in a primary coil that is coupled to the secondary coil, wherein the recharging device is not receiving feedback associated with recharging the rechargeable power source, the sequence including high-amplitude pulses alternating with low-amplitude pulses, each high-amplitude pulse having an amplitude selected to result in transfer of charge to the rechargeable power source during times of poor coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil, each low-amplitude pulse having an amplitude selected to result in transfer of charge to the rechargeable power source during times of good coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and wherein the sequence of pulses is selected to prevent violation of a limiting condition associated with recharging the rechargeable power source when recharging occurs in the open-loop manner.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for recharging a rechargeable power source coupled to a secondary coil implanted within a living body are described. In one embodiment, a recharging device external to the living body induces a sequence of pulses in a primary coil that is coupled to the secondary coil. The sequence includes high-amplitude pulses alternating with low-amplitude pulses, each high-amplitude pulse having an amplitude selected to transfer charge to the rechargeable power source during times of poor coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil, each low-amplitude pulse having an amplitude selected to transfer charge to the rechargeable power source during times of good coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and wherein the sequence of pulses is selected to prevent a violation of a limiting condition such as heating that is associated with recharging the rechargeable power source when recharging occurs in an open-loop manner.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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a secondary coil implantable within a living body; a rechargeable power source; and a recharging device external to the living body configured to induce in an open-loop manner a sequence of pulses in a primary coil that is coupled to the secondary coil, wherein the recharging device is not receiving feedback associated with recharging the rechargeable power source, the sequence including high-amplitude pulses alternating with low-amplitude pulses, each high-amplitude pulse having an amplitude selected to result in transfer of charge to the rechargeable power source during times of poor coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil, each low-amplitude pulse having an amplitude selected to result in transfer of charge to the rechargeable power source during times of good coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and wherein the sequence of pulses is selected to prevent violation of a limiting condition associated with recharging the rechargeable power source when recharging occurs in the open-loop manner. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system to recharge a rechargeable power source of an implantable medical device (IMD), comprising:
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a power source; a primary coil configured to wirelessly couple to a secondary coil of the IMD; and a control unit configured to cause the power source to drive the primary coil with high-amplitude pulses and low-amplitude pulses in an open-loop manner without receiving feedback associated with recharging the rechargeable power source, each high-amplitude pulse followed by a low-amplitude pulse and each low-amplitude pulse followed by a high-amplitude pulse, each high-amplitude pulse being of an amplitude selected to cause the secondary coil to provide charge to the rechargeable power source when poor coupling exists between the primary coil and the secondary coil, each low-amplitude pulse being of an amplitude selected to cause the secondary coil to provide charge to the rechargeable power source when good coupling exists between the primary coil and the secondary coil. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system, comprising:
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an implantable medical device (IMD) having a secondary coil and a rechargeable power source to receive charge from the secondary coil; and a recharging device having a primary coil and a circuit configured to drive the primary coil with a sequence of pulses to perform open-loop recharge of the rechargeable power source, the sequence of pulses including high-amplitude pulses alternating with low-amplitude pulses, each high-amplitude pulse being of a relatively high amplitude, each low-amplitude pulse being of a relatively low amplitude, and wherein none of the low-amplitude pulses and none of the high-amplitude pulses cause violation of a limiting condition that limits the manner in which the rechargeable power source may be recharged. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method, comprising:
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wirelessly coupling a primary coil external to a living body to a secondary coil implantable in the living body; and generating, via the coupling, a sequence of pulses in the secondary coil for use in recharging a rechargeable power source, the sequence including high-amplitude pulses and low-amplitude pulses, the high-amplitude pulses each having an amplitude selected to deliver a flow of charge to the rechargeable power source when the coupling is of a first quality, the low-amplitude pulses each having an amplitude selected to deliver a flow of charge to the rechargeable power source when the coupling is of a second quality that is better than the first quality, and wherein the width of the high-amplitude pulses and the low-amplitude pulses is selected to prevent violation of a limiting condition during open-loop recharge of the rechargeable power source. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification