Energy transfer control adapted to a medical device system

• US 10,549,107 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2017
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peter Forsell
• Original Assignee: Peter Forsell
• Inventors: Forsell, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Wehrheim, Lindsey G
• Application Number:
  US15/803,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20180133488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36125 Details of circuitry or electric components
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37211 Means for communicating with stimulators
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 from an external energy source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/23 The load being a medical device, a medical implant, or a life supporting device
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters

Abstract

A method of transmitting wireless energy from an external energy transmitting device placed externally to a human body to an internal energy receiver placed internally in the human body. The method comprises applying to the external transmitting device electrical pulses from a first electric circuit to transmit the wireless energy, the electrical pulses having leading and trailing edges, varying the lengths of first time intervals between successive leading and trailing edges of the electrical pulses and/or the lengths of second time intervals between successive trailing and leading edges of the electrical pulses. The method further comprises transmitting wireless energy, the transmitted energy generated from the electrical pulses having a varied power, the varying of the power depending on the lengths of the first and/or second time intervals.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting wireless energy from an external energy transmitting device placed externally to a human body to an internal energy receiver placed internally in the human body, the method comprising,

supplying by a first electric circuit, electrical pulses having leading and trailing edges to the external transmitting device, according to at least one of the following:

varying the lengths of first time intervals between successive leading and trailing edges of the electrical pulses and/or the lengths of second time intervals between successive trailing and leading edges of the electrical pulses, and

varying the first and second time intervals to have lengths in the range of, that are in the magnitude of order of or are shorter than, a time constant of the first electric circuit, and a relationship or proportion between the lengths of the first and second time intervals, whereby, by the varying a varying power is transmitted, the method further comprising;

transmitting by the external energy transmitting device, the wireless energy generated from the electrical pulses to the internal energy receiver placed internally in the human body.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

varying the first and second time intervals to have lengths in the range of, that are in the magnitude of order of or are relatively longer than the time constant of the first electric circuit, according to at least one of the following;

for first time intervals having lengths that are long compared to the first time constant and second time intervals having adapted lengths shorter than the lengths of the first time intervals, adapted lengths that are in the range of, particularly are in the magnitude of order of or are shorter than, the first time constant, for second time intervals having lengths that are long compared to the first time constant and first time intervals having adapted lengths shorter than the lengths of the first time intervals, adapted lengths that are in the range of, particularly are in the magnitude of order of or are shorter than, the first time constant, or for first and second time intervals both having adapted lengths, that are in the range of, particularly are in the magnitude of order of or are shorter than, the first time constant, and

varying the lengths of the first and/or second time intervals in the range from lengths relatively long compared to the time constant in the magnitude of order of the first time constant to shorter lengths, to transmit a varying power.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving by the first electric circuit, feedback information transmitted from the internal energy receiver, the wireless feedback information being related to the level of the power of the transmitted wireless energy as received by the receiver, and

varying by the first electric circuit, the first and second time intervals to vary the transmitted power in response to said feedback information.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

regulating by an external control unit, the amount of energy emitted from the external energy source transmitting device, wherein this step is repeated intermittently at intervals during ongoing energy transfer, in the preferred embodiment many times per second, and/or executed on a more or less continuous basis during the energy transfer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein when supplying the electrical pulses, the electrical pulses remain unchanged, except for varying the first and/or second time intervals.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

keeping by the first electrical circuit, at least one of;

the frequency of the electrical pulses substantial constant when the first and/or second time intervals are varied and the amplitude of the electrical pulses substantial constant when the first and/or second time intervals are varied.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

supplying a train of two or more electrical pulses in a row, wherein when supplying the train of pulses, said train has a first electrical pulse at the start of the pulse train and has a second electrical pulse at the end of the pulse train, and

supplying two or more pulse trains in a row, wherein the lengths of the second time intervals between successive trailing edge of the second electrical pulse in a first pulse train and leading edge of the first electrical pulse of a second pulse train are varied.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of the following:

a) regulating an output power from an amplifier by repetitive switching the power on and off; and

b) supplying a train of two or more electrical pulses in a row, wherein when supplying the train of pulses, said train has a first electrical pulse at the start of the pulse train and has a second electrical pulse at the end of the pulse train, and supplying two or more pulse trains in a row, wherein the lengths of the second time intervals between successive trailing edge of the second electrical pulse in a first pulse train and leading edge of the first electrical pulse of a second pulse train are varied, wherein the method further comprising;

switching a continuous pulse train off during one or more pulse periods and then on again for one or more pulse periods thereby being capable of adjusting the amount of power supplied to a receiving circuit.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving resulting pulses from the transmitted wireless energy having a varied power by a receiver placed internally in the human body.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

supplying the energy received by the internal energy receiver to a medical device with at least one of;

at least one constant voltage, wherein the constant voltage is created by a constant voltage circuitry, and at least one constant current, wherein the constant current is created by a constant current circuitry.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

supplying the energy with at least one of;

at least two different voltages, including the at least one constant voltage, and at least two different currents including said at least one constant current.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving by a second electric circuit having a second time constant, the transmitted wireless energy as received pulses, and

varying by a second time constant control device of the second electric circuit, the second time constant to make the received wireless energy varied.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the wireless energy inductively from a primary coil in the external energy transmitting device to a secondary coil in the internal energy receiver.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

reducing the energy transmission over the primary coil, when the lengths of the first time intervals are reduced, and

increasing the resulting energy transmission over the primary coil, when the lengths of the second time intervals are reduced.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reducing the energy transmission over external energy transmitting device, when the lengths of the first time intervals are reduced, and

increasing the resulting energy transmission over external energy transmitting device, when the lengths of the second time intervals are reduced.

16. The method according to claim 1, for controlling transmission of wireless energy supplied to an electrically operable medical device when implanted in a patient, comprising:

receiving by an internal energy receiver located inside the patient, said wireless energy from said external energy source located outside the patient, wherein the internal energy receiver being connected to the medical device for directly or indirectly supplying received energy thereto, the method further comprising;

determining an energy balance between the energy received by the internal energy receiver and the energy used for the medical device, and

controlling the transmission of wireless energy from the external energy transmitting device, based on the determined energy balance, having varying power depending on the lengths of the first and/or second time intervals.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

detecting a change in said energy balance,

controlling the transmission of wireless energy based on said detected energy balance change, and

controlling a difference between energy received by said internal energy receiver and energy used for the medical device, and the transmission of wireless energy, based on said detected energy difference, the method further comprising;

decreasing the amount of transmitted wireless energy if at least one of, the detected energy balance change implies that the energy balance is increasing, or vice versa, wherein the decrease/increase of energy transmission corresponds to a detected change rate, and the detected energy difference implies that the received energy is greater than the used energy, or vice versa, wherein the decrease/increase of energy transmission corresponds to the magnitude of said detected energy difference.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising at least one of;

detecting the change in the amount of consumed and/or stored energy by determining over time the derivative of a measured electrical parameter related to said amount of consumed and/or stored energy, the derivative at a first given moment corresponding to the rate of the change at the first given moment, wherein the rate of change includes the direction and speed of the change, the method further comprising;

determining said derivative based on a detected rate of change of an electrical parameter, and

determining the energy balance based on a detected difference between the total amount of energy received by the internal energy receiver and the total amount of consumed and/or stored energy, said detected difference being related to the integral over time of at least one measured electrical parameter related to said energy balance, thus when plot values of said electrical parameter over time as a graph in a parameter-time diagram, said integral depends from the size of the area beneath the plotted graph, wherein said integral of the electrical parameter relates to the energy balance as an accumulated difference between the total amount of energy received by said internal energy receiver and the total amount of consumed and/or stored energy.

19. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining electrical and/or physical parameters of the medical device and/or physical parameters of the patient, to calculate a required energy for the medical device to operate, and

storing the energy in at least one energy storage device of the medical device with a storing rate which is determined based on at least one of said parameters.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

storing the energy received by the internal energy receiver in a first energy storage device of the energy storage devices, such that the first energy storage device being charged at a higher energy rate than a second energy storage device, enabling a faster charging, and

supplying the energy from the first energy storage device to the second energy storage device at a later stage, wherein the first energy storage device is being able to charge more often, having a larger life-time in terms of charging events.

21. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

controlling by an implantable construction device in a medical device, a flow of fluid and/or other bodily matter in a lumen formed by a tissue wall of a patient'"'"'s organ for gently constricting at least one portion of the tissue wall to influence the flow in the lumen.

22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

supplying by the first electric circuit, a continuums square wave pulse signal with a constant frequency, and

regulating the width of the output pulses from a PWMT amplifier in a linear manner.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of supplying by the first electric circuit the electrical pulses, said relationship or proportion between the lengths of the first and second time intervals varies according to a sinusoidal.

24. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

stabilizing by a capacitor, the energy received by the internal energy receiver, before the energy is supplied directly or indirectly to the medical device.

25. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

regulating the amount of transferred energy by using at least one PWMT in the energy source, and

modulating at least one of;

a voltage, a current, an amplitude, a wave frequency, and a pulse characteristic, when modulating the width of the energy pulses to vary at least one of said first and second time intervals.