External charger for a medical implantable device using field sensing coils to improve coupling
First Claim
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1. An external charger for issuing a magnetic field to charge an implantable medical device, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors;
a primary coil for issuing the magnetic field to charge the implantable medical device wherein the plurality of sensors are located within a center of the primary coil; and
an alignment sensing circuit configured to determine an alignment of the external charger relative to the implantable medical device, wherein the determination is based on electrical measurements taken from the plurality of sensors in response to an interaction between the magnetic field and the implantable medical device.
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Abstract
By incorporating magnetic field sensing coils in an external charger, it is possible to determine the position of an implantable device by sensing the reflected magnetic field from the implant. In one embodiment, two or more field sensing coils are arranged to sense the reflected magnetic field. By comparing the relative reflected magnetic field strengths of the sensing coils, the position of the implant relative to the external charger can be determined. Audio and/or visual feedback can then be communicated to the patient to allow the patient to improve the alignment of the charger.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An external charger for issuing a magnetic field to charge an implantable medical device, comprising:
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a plurality of sensors; a primary coil for issuing the magnetic field to charge the implantable medical device wherein the plurality of sensors are located within a center of the primary coil; and an alignment sensing circuit configured to determine an alignment of the external charger relative to the implantable medical device, wherein the determination is based on electrical measurements taken from the plurality of sensors in response to an interaction between the magnetic field and the implantable medical device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An external charger for issuing a magnetic field to charge an implantable medical device, comprising:
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a primary coil for issuing a magnetic field to charge the implantable medical device wherein the primary coil is wound around a central axis; a plurality of sensors oriented to sense magnetic fields along second axes, wherein each second axis is perpendicular to the central axis; and an alignment sensing circuit configured to determine an alignment of the external charger relative to the implantable medical device, wherein the determination is based on electrical measurements taken from the plurality of sensors in response to an interaction between the magnetic field and the implantable medical device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification