Fault tolerant system for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator or pulse generator
First Claim
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1. An implantable medical device having a fault tolerant circuit for controlling delivery of a stimulus therapy signal, comprising:
- a stimulus therapy generator for generating the stimulus therapy signal;
a therapy output circuit including a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors coupled to the stimulus therapy generator and further having;
a plurality of therapy output channels, wherein any one of the plurality of therapy output channels is selectively coupled to the stimulus therapy generator to deliver stimulus therapy signal to a patient;
a first switching array having at least one switch selected from a plurality of switches, wherein the at least one switch in the first switching array is controlled to selectively couple;
a first of the plurality of hold capacitors to either a first or a second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a first period to define a first of said therapy output channels, ora second of the plurality of hold capacitors to either the first or the second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a second period to define a second of said therapy output channels; and
control circuitry coupled to the therapy output circuit for generating a trigger signal to control the selective coupling to define the first or second of the plurality of therapy output channels.
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Abstract
The disclosure describes circuits for providing therapy in an implantable medical device. The illustrative circuits include features that provide fault tolerance with graceful degradation as well as switching control methods that reduce component count and improves reliability.
22 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An implantable medical device having a fault tolerant circuit for controlling delivery of a stimulus therapy signal, comprising:
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a stimulus therapy generator for generating the stimulus therapy signal; a therapy output circuit including a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors coupled to the stimulus therapy generator and further having; a plurality of therapy output channels, wherein any one of the plurality of therapy output channels is selectively coupled to the stimulus therapy generator to deliver stimulus therapy signal to a patient; a first switching array having at least one switch selected from a plurality of switches, wherein the at least one switch in the first switching array is controlled to selectively couple; a first of the plurality of hold capacitors to either a first or a second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a first period to define a first of said therapy output channels, or a second of the plurality of hold capacitors to either the first or the second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a second period to define a second of said therapy output channels; and control circuitry coupled to the therapy output circuit for generating a trigger signal to control the selective coupling to define the first or second of the plurality of therapy output channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An implantable medical device system, comprising
means for generating a stimulus therapy; -
a therapy output circuit having a plurality of therapy output channels, wherein any one of the plurality of therapy output channels is selectively coupled to the means for generating the stimulus therapy to deliver stimulus therapy signal to a patient, the therapy output circuit including a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors, and wherein each of the plurality of therapy output channels is formed by selectively coupling any one of at least a first and a second of the plurality of hold capacitors to any one of at least a first and a second of the plurality of tip capacitors, the circuit being connected to the stimulus therapy generating means; means for coupling one of the plurality of therapy output channels to the stimulus therapy generating means; means for detecting a fault in a component of the therapy output circuit; and control means for generating a trigger signal to control the coupling means to couple the one of the plurality of therapy output channels to the means for generating the stimulus therapy, wherein the selection of the one of the first or second tip capacitors is switched to a third tip capacitor responsive to detection of a failure of the first or second tip capacitors, and wherein the third tip capacitor is coupled to the first hold capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method comprising:
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providing a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors; selecting any one of at least a first and a second hold capacitors from the plurality of hold capacitors; selecting any one of at least a first and a second tip capacitors from the plurality of tip capacitors; coupling the selected hold capacitor to the selected tip capacitor; performing a test of the integrity of the plurality of hold capacitors and the plurality of tip capacitors to detect a failure, and switching the selection of the first tip capacitor to select a second tip capacitor in response to detection of a failure of the first tip capacitor and coupling the first hold capacitor to the second tip capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An implantable medical device having a fault tolerant circuit for controlling delivery of a stimulus therapy signal, comprising:
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a stimulus therapy generator for generating the stimulus therapy signal; a therapy output circuit including a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors coupled to the stimulus therapy generator and further having; a plurality of therapy output channels for coupling of said stimulus therapy signal to a patient, any one of the plurality of hold capacitors and any one of the plurality of tip capacitors being selectable to define any one of the plurality of therapy output channels; a first switching array having at least one switch selected from a plurality of switches, wherein the at least one switch in the first switching array is controlled to selectively couple; a first of the plurality of hold capacitors to either a first or a second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a first period to define a first of said therapy output channels, or a second of the plurality of hold capacitors to either the first or the second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a second period to define a second of said therapy output channels; and control circuitry coupled to the therapy output circuit for generating a trigger signal to control the selective coupling to define the first or second of the plurality of therapy output channels. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. An implantable medical device having a fault tolerant circuit for controlling delivery of a stimulus therapy signal, comprising:
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a stimulus therapy generator for generating the stimulus therapy signal; a therapy output circuit including a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors coupled to the stimulus therapy generator and further having; a plurality of therapy output channels for coupling of said stimulus therapy signal to a patient; a first switching array coupled to the plurality of therapy output channels, wherein one of the switches in the first switching array is controlled to couple any one of at least a first and a second of the plurality of hold capacitors to any one of at least a first and a second of the plurality of tip capacitors to define one of said therapy output channels, wherein the first switching array directly connects the selected one of the plurality of hold capacitors to the selected one of the plurality of tip capacitors; and fault detection circuitry coupled to the therapy output circuit for generating a trigger signal to control the coupling between the plurality of therapy output channels and the stimulus therapy generator, wherein the at least one switch of the first switching array is controlled to switch the selection of the one of the first or second tip capacitors to a third tip capacitor responsive to detection of a failure of the first or second tip capacitors, and wherein the third tip capacitor is coupled to the first hold capacitor.
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32. An implantable medical device having a circuit for controlling delivery of a stimulus therapy signal, comprising:
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a stimulus therapy generator for generating the stimulus therapy signal; a therapy output circuit including a plurality of hold capacitors and a plurality of tip capacitors coupled to the stimulus therapy generator and further having; a plurality of therapy output channels, wherein any one of the plurality of therapy output channels is selectively coupled to the stimulus therapy generator to deliver stimulus therapy signal to a patient; a first switching array having at least one switch, wherein the at least one switch in the first switching array is controlled; to selectively couple a first of the plurality of hold capacitors to either a first or a second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a first period to define a first of said therapy output channels, or to selectively couple a second of the plurality of hold capacitors to either the first or the second of the plurality of tip capacitors during a second period to define a second of said therapy output channels; and control circuitry coupled to the therapy output circuit for generating a trigger signal to control the selective coupling to define the first or second therapy output channels.
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Specification