Efficiently delivering acoustic stimulation energy to tissue

• US 9,616,235 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2015
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EBR Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: EBR Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Cowan, Mark W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bertram, Eric D.
• Application Number:
  US14/668,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20150196755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/362 Heart stimulators heart defibrillators A61N1/39
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37217 characterised by the communication link, e.g. acoustic or tactile
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 from an external energy source

Abstract

A system for delivering an electrical stimulation pulse to tissue comprises a controller-transmitter and a receiver-stimulator. The controller-transmitter includes circuitry having an energy storage capacitor. The capacitance of the energy storage capacitor is adjusted to improve the efficiency of energy delivered from the receiver-stimulator to tissue by modifying the geometry of an acoustic drive burst from the controller-transmitter.

Claims

1. A method for delivering an electrical stimulation pulse to tissue, said method comprising:

directing an acoustic transmission to a receiver-stimulator having circuitry including an envelope detector, wherein the acoustic transmission comprises an envelope and is powered by circuitry including an energy storage capacitor;

producing an electrical stimulation pulse, by the receiver-stimulator, wherein the electrical stimulation pulse is configured with a voltage proportional to the amplitude of the envelope of the acoustic transmission; and

delivering the electrical stimulation pulse to tissue using electrodes having a tissue-electrode impedance;

wherein the capacitance of the energy storage capacitor is selected to produce an acoustic transmission with an envelope of decreasing amplitude, wherein the stimulation pulse is delivered to cardiac tissue to effect pacing and wherein the acoustic transmission has an envelope selected to compensate for the tissue-electrode impedance.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acoustic transmission is generated by an implanted controller-transmitter.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acoustic transmission is generated by an external controller-transmitter.