Electrical stimulation of body tissue using interconnected electrode assemblies
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- at least one wirelessly powered control assembly sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially in heart tissue, the control assembly comprising a conductive coil configured to wirelessly receive magnetically -coupled energy from a magnetic field;
a plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially into myocardial heart tissue;
a conductive wire assembly configured to electrically connect the plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies to the control assembly, the conductive wire assembly configured to be contained entirely within at least one of a heart or a pericardium;
wherein the control assembly is configured to deliver the received magnetically-coupled energy as electrical stimulation energy to at least one of the plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies using the conductive wire assembly; and
wherein the stimulation electrode assemblies are configured to receive the electrical stimulation energy from the control assembly using the conductive wire assembly and to deliver the received electrical stimulation energy as an electrical stimulation to the myocardial heart tissue.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments of a cardiac stimulation system may include a plurality of electrode assemblies that are interconnected by one or more wires while at least one of the electrode assemblies (e.g., a control electrode) wirelessly receives energy through inductive coupling with a power communication unit external to the heart (e.g., a device implanted along one or more ribs). These embodiments may provide an arrangement for efficient inductive coupling from the power communication unit to the control electrode. Also, in some circumstances, the cardiac stimulation system may eliminate the need for wired leads that extend to a location outside the heart, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection that passes along the wire and into the heart.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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at least one wirelessly powered control assembly sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially in heart tissue, the control assembly comprising a conductive coil configured to wirelessly receive magnetically -coupled energy from a magnetic field; a plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially into myocardial heart tissue; a conductive wire assembly configured to electrically connect the plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies to the control assembly, the conductive wire assembly configured to be contained entirely within at least one of a heart or a pericardium; wherein the control assembly is configured to deliver the received magnetically-coupled energy as electrical stimulation energy to at least one of the plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies using the conductive wire assembly; and wherein the stimulation electrode assemblies are configured to receive the electrical stimulation energy from the control assembly using the conductive wire assembly and to deliver the received electrical stimulation energy as an electrical stimulation to the myocardial heart tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a wirelessly powered control assembly sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially in heart tissue near a heart apex, the control assembly comprising a conductive coil configured to wirelessly receive magnetically -coupled RF (radio frequency) energy from an RF magnetic field; a plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially into myocardial heart tissue, each stimulation electrode assembly comprising at least one electrode pole to contact the myocardial heart tissue; a conductive wire assembly configured to electrically connect the plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies to the control assembly, the conductive wire assembly configured to be contained entirely within at least one of a heart or a pericardium; a transmitter sized and shaped to be capable of implant at a subcutaneous site near at least one of one or more ribs or the heart apex, the transmitter comprising a power source and an RF antenna, the RF antenna conductively coupled to the power source and the RF antenna configured to generate the RF magnetic field to provide the magnetically-coupled RF energy; wherein the control assembly is configured to deliver the received magnetically-coupled RF energy as electrical stimulation energy to at least one of the plurality of stimulation electrode assemblies using the conductive wire assembly; and wherein the stimulation electrode assemblies are configured to receive the electrical stimulation energy from the control assembly via the conductive wire assembly and to deliver the received electrical stimulation energy as an electrical stimulation to the myocardial heart tissue. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A system comprising:
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an implantable stimulation pulse generator sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially in heart tissue, the stimulation pulse generator including a receiver coil configured to wirelessly receive inductively-coupled energy; multiple implantable electrode assemblies sized and shaped to be capable of delivery via an intravascular route and configured for implant at least partially in myocardial heart tissue; a conductive wire assembly configured to electrically connect the implantable stimulation pulse generator with each of the multiple implantable electrode assemblies, the conductive wire assembly configured to be contained entirely within at least one of a heart or a pericardium; wherein the implantable stimulation pulse generator is configured to deliver the received inductively-coupled energy as electrical stimulation energy to at least one of the multiple implantable electrode assemblies using the conductive wire assembly; and wherein the multiple implantable electrode assemblies are configured to receive the electrical stimulation energy from the implantable stimulation pulse generator using the conductive wire assembly and to deliver the received electrical stimulation energy as an electrical stimulation to the myocardial heart tissue. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification