Architectures for an implantable medical device system having daisy-chained electrode-driver integrated circuits
First Claim
1. An implantable stimulator device comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes configured to provide stimulation to a patient'"'"'s tissue, comprising:
- a first integrated circuit comprising a first stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of first electrodes;
a second integrated circuit identical to the first integrated circuit comprising a second stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of second electrodes; and
a conductive case for housing the first and second integrated circuits;
wherein each of the first and second electrodes are operable as either an anode or a cathode,wherein any of the first electrodes is selectable to operate as an anode or as cathode, and wherein any of the second electrodes is selectable to simultaneously operate as the other of the anode or cathode, to pass a stimulation current from the anode to the cathode,wherein the first or second integrated circuit is configured to operate as a master integrated circuit, and wherein the other of the first or second integrated circuit is configured to operate as a slave integrated circuit to the master integrated circuit, andwherein bond programming of the first and second integrated circuits is used to configured the first or second integrated circuit as the master integrated circuit, and the other of the first or second integrated circuit as the slave integrated circuit, wherein one or more circuit blocks in the master integrated circuit are enabled while those one or more circuit blocks are disabled in the slave integrated circuit.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Architectures for an implantable neurostimulator system having a plurality of electrode-driver integrated circuits (ICs) in provided. Electrodes from either or both ICs can be chosen to provide stimulation, and one of the IC acts as the master while the other acts as the slave. A parallel bus operating in accordance with a communication protocol couples the ICs, and certain functional blocks not needed in the slave are disabled. Stimulation parameters are loaded via the bus into each IC, and a stimulation enable command is issued on the bus to ensure simultaneous stimulation from the electrodes on both ICs. Clocking strategies are also disclosed to allow clocking of the master and slave ICs to be independently controlled, and to ensure that relevant internal and bus clocks used in the system are synchronized.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. An implantable stimulator device comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes configured to provide stimulation to a patient'"'"'s tissue, comprising:
-
a first integrated circuit comprising a first stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of first electrodes; a second integrated circuit identical to the first integrated circuit comprising a second stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of second electrodes; and a conductive case for housing the first and second integrated circuits; wherein each of the first and second electrodes are operable as either an anode or a cathode, wherein any of the first electrodes is selectable to operate as an anode or as cathode, and wherein any of the second electrodes is selectable to simultaneously operate as the other of the anode or cathode, to pass a stimulation current from the anode to the cathode, wherein the first or second integrated circuit is configured to operate as a master integrated circuit, and wherein the other of the first or second integrated circuit is configured to operate as a slave integrated circuit to the master integrated circuit, and wherein bond programming of the first and second integrated circuits is used to configured the first or second integrated circuit as the master integrated circuit, and the other of the first or second integrated circuit as the slave integrated circuit, wherein one or more circuit blocks in the master integrated circuit are enabled while those one or more circuit blocks are disabled in the slave integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. An implantable stimulator device comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes configured to provide stimulation to a patient'"'"'s tissue, comprising:
-
a first integrated circuit comprising a first stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of first electrodes; a second integrated circuit identical to the first integrated circuit comprising a second stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of second electrodes; and a conductive case for housing the first and second integrated circuits; wherein the first and second integrated circuits are configured to receive a stimulation enable command to cause the first and second stimulation circuitry blocks to simultaneously provide a stimulation current to at least one of the first electrodes and at least one of the second electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. An implantable stimulator device comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes configured to provide stimulation to a patient'"'"'s tissue, comprising:
-
a first integrated circuit comprising a first stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of first electrodes; a second integrated circuit identical to the first integrated circuit comprising a second stimulation circuitry block configured to provide a stimulation current to only the plurality of second electrodes; and a conductive case for housing the first and second integrated circuits; wherein each of the first and second electrodes are operable as either an anode or a cathode, wherein any of the first electrodes is selectable to operate as an anode or as cathode, and wherein any of the second electrodes is selectable to simultaneously operate as the other of the anode or cathode, to pass a stimulation current from the anode to the cathode, and wherein the first or second integrated circuit is configured to operate as a master integrated circuit, and wherein the other of the first or second integrated circuit is configured to operate as a slave integrated circuit to the master integrated circuit, and further comprising a telemetry antenna, wherein the telemetry antenna is coupled to the master integrated circuit but not coupled to the slave integrated circuit.
-
Specification