CONFIGURABLE MEDICAL TELEMETRY RADIO SYSTEM

• US 20070260293A1
• Filed: 05/03/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Bange, Joseph, Mass, William, Carpenter, Greg, Hedstrom, Jonathan, Musto, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/60
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3727 characterised by the modulation technique

Abstract

A system including an external medical data telemetry device to communicate with an implantable medical device (IMD). The external medical data telemetry device includes a processor, a reconfigurable radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuit, at least one far-field antenna, and a user interface. The reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit modulates an outgoing IMD data signal and demodulates an incoming IMD data signal using a modulation type that is selectable from a plurality of modulation types by the processor. The processor selects the modulation type using information entered by a user through the user interface.

Claims

1. A system including an external medical data telemetry device to communicate with an implantable medical device (IMD), the external medical data telemetry device comprising:

a processor;

a reconfigurable radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuit, operable to modulate an outgoing IMD data signal and to demodulate an incoming IMD data signal using at least one modulation type that is selected from a plurality of modulation types by the processor;

at least one far-field antenna, in electrical communication with the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit, the far field antenna for RF wireless communication with an IMD using the RF modulation technique; and

a user interface, in electrical communication with the processor, wherein the processor selects the modulation type using information entered by a user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is adapted to communicate to the processor an IMD type entered by a user, and wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit implements receive demodulation and transmit modulation using the IMD type.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit includes a local oscillator frequency generation circuit, wherein the local oscillator frequency generation circuit is adapted to generate at least one local oscillator frequency within a communication frequency allocation band, and wherein the communication frequency allocation band is selectable by the processor from a plurality of communication frequency allocation bands using the IMD type.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to select the communication frequency allocation band using a geographic location.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit is adapted to modulate data at a data rate selectable from a plurality of data rates using the IMD type.

6. The system of claim 2, comprising a physical layer that includes a programmable filter in communication with the processor, to filter one or more outgoing modulated signals and one or more incoming modulated signals, and wherein the processor is configured to select a filter from a plurality of filters using the IMD type.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit includes an adjustable transmit power circuit to automatically adjust the transmit power of the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit using the IMD type.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit includes an adjustable receive sensitivity circuit to automatically adjust the receive sensitivity level of the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit includes:

a receive signal measurement circuit; and

an adjustable transmit power circuit, wherein the processor circuit is adapted to automatically adjust the transmit power of the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit using a measured receive signal strength.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit includes a programmable wave-shaping circuit to wave-shape an outgoing modulated signal using one of a plurality of wave-shaping functions, and wherein the processor is adapted to select a wave-shaping function for the outgoing modulated carrier signal using the TMD type.

11. The system of claim 1, comprising:

at least a first and a second antennae; and

an antenna control circuit, coupled to the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit and the antennae, the antenna control circuit adapted to detect a signal communication failure from the first antenna and to electrically connect the second antenna to the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit, in response to one or more signal communication failures.

12. The system of claim 1, comprising:

a physical layer processor to assemble received data into frames and to disassemble frames for transmitting data;

a protocol layer processor;

a first memory in electrical communication with the protocol layer processor and the physical layer processor, to store assembled frames of received data and to store frames of data for transmission by the reconfigurable RF transceiver circuit; and

a plurality of protocol drivers, for execution on the protocol layer processor, the protocol drivers stored in the first memory or a second memory in electrical communication with the protocol layer processor, wherein the protocol layer processor enables loading of one of the plurality of protocol drivers into a protocol layer processor memory using the IMD type, and wherein the protocol layer processor communicates information with the IMD by storing frames of data in the first memory for transmission to the IMD and reading frames of received IMD data from the first memory using a selected one of the protocol drivers.

13. The system of claim 12, comprising:

a near-field antenna;

a reconfigurable near-field transceiver circuit in electrical communication with the near-field antenna and the protocol layer processor; and

wherein the protocol layer processor is adapted, upon receiving a signal from the user interface, to load the protocol drivers and to successively transmit a near field IMD interrogation message associated with various loaded protocol drivers until a response message from an IMD is received that identifies an IMD type, and to enable a far-field RF modulation type from the plurality of modulation types using the identified IMD type.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of protocol drivers includes at least one non-proprietary protocol driver for communication with at least one second external device.

15. A method comprising:

receiving an input through a user interface of an external telemetry device;

identifying an implantable medical device (IMD) type using the input;

selecting at least one far-field radio frequency (RF) modulation type in the external telemetry device from a plurality of modulation types selectable in the external telemetry device using the IMD type; and

modulating or demodulating one or more data signals outgoing or incoming to an IMD, using the external telemetry device and the selected modulation type.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising prompting a user to enter an identifier for the IMD type into the external telemetry device through the user interface.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein identifying an IMD includes transmitting to an IMD using a plurality of different communication protocols until a response message from the IMD is received that identifies the IMD type.

18. The method of claim 15, including selecting an IMD communication protocol in the external telemetry device from a plurality of IMD communication protocols selectable in the external telemetry device using the IMD type.

19. The method of claim 15, including selecting, using the IMD type, a communication frequency allocation band from a plurality of communication frequency allocation bands.

20. The method of claim 15, including selecting, using the IMD type, a rate to transmit modulated data and a rate to receive data from the IMD.

21. The method of claim 15, including selecting, using the IMD type, a band for the outgoing modulated data and the incoming modulated data from a plurality of filters selectable in the external telemetry device.

22. The method of claim 15, including selecting, using the IMD type, a power level to transmit data from a plurality of transmit power levels selectable in the external telemetry device.

23. The method of claim 15, including automatically selecting a receive signal gain level from a plurality of receive signal gain levels selectable in the external telemetry device.

24. The method of claim 15, including selecting, using the IMD type, a wave-shaping function to wave-shape an outgoing modulated signal from a plurality of wave-shaping functions selectable in the external telemetry device.

25. The method of claim 15, including:

detecting a failure in a modulated signal communication from a first antenna of the external telemetry device; and

transmitting outgoing modulated signals and receiving incoming signals using a different antenna in response to one or more detected signal communication failures.

26. The method of claim 15, further including:

selecting an external device modulation type and communication protocol in the external telemetry device for wireless communication with a second external device; and

modulating, using the external telemetry device, a data signal outgoing to the second external device and demodulating a data signal incoming from the second external device using the external device modulation type and communication protocol.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein selecting a communication protocol in the external telemetry device includes selecting a non-proprietary communication protocol for wireless communication with the second external device.

28. The method of claim 15, further including communicating with the IMD using near-field telemetry before modulating or demodulating one or more data signals outgoing or incoming to an IMD using far-field RF modulation type.