MINIATURE HERMETICALLY SEALED RFID MICROELECTRONIC CHIP CONNECTED TO A BIOCOMPATIBLE RFID ANTENNA FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN AIMD

• US 20100060431A1
• Filed: 09/24/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Greatbatch Limited (Greatbatch Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Greatbatch Limited (Greatbatch Incorporated)
• Inventors: Frysz, Christine A., Kelley, Scott W., Stevenson, Robert A., Tyers, Geddes Frank Owen
• Granted Patent: US 8,253,555 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/90 Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/98 using electromagnetic means, e.g. transponders
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37223 Circuits for electromagnetic coupling
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37229 Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3752 Details of casing-lead connections
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card

Abstract

A non-hermetically sealed and biocompatible multi-turn RFID loop antenna is electrically connected to a RFID chip which is enclosed within its own hermetically sealed miniature container. The hermetic seal can be very small and the loop antenna can be relatively large, wherein the entire package is both highly reliable, resistant to body fluids and completely biocompatible. The RFID structure can be implanted in a patient and later communicate with an RFID interrogator to provide information relating to the patient and/or implantable medical devices.

Claims

1. An implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:

a hermetically sealed biocompatible container;

an RFID microelectronics chip disposed within the container; and

a biocompatible antenna extending from the RFID microelectronics chip and exteriorly of the container.

2. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the container has a leak rate of no more than 10⁻

7 cubic centimeters per second.

3. The RFID tag of claim 2, wherein the container comprises a housing taken from the group including biocompatible metals and alloys, ceramic, glass, porcelain, sapphire and composites thereof, and specialty polymer composites.

4. The RFID tag of claim 3, including a desiccant within the housing.

5. The RFID tag of claim 3, including an encapsulant within the housing surrounding at least a portion of the RFID chip.

6. The RFID tag of claim 5, wherein the encapsulant is comprised of a thermal-setting polymer or a silicone material.

7. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the container includes a cap hermetically sealed to a housing.

8. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID chip is read-only or readable/writable.

9. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein a radio frequency of between 125 kHz and 915 MHz is used to communicate with the RFID chip.

10. The RFID tag of claim 9, wherein the radio frequency used to communicate with the RFID chip is approximately 13.56 MHz.

11. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag comprises a portion of a system which includes an interrogator for electromagnetically communicating with the RFID chip.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the interrogator is a read only or a reader/writer device.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the interrogator is in communication with a computer or a computer network.

14. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is associated with a medical device.

15. The RFID tag of claim 14, wherein the medical device comprises a cardiac pacemaker, an implantable defibrillator, a congestive heart failure device, a hearing implant, a cochlear implant, a neurostimulator, a drug pump, a ventricular assist device, an insulin pump, a spinal cord stimulator, an implantable sensing system, a deep brain stimulator, an artificial heart, an incontinence device, a vagus nerve stimulator, a bone growth stimulator, a gastric pacemaker, a Bion or a prosthetic device, and component parts thereof, including lead wires and abandoned lead wire.

16. The RFID tag of claim 14, wherein the RFID tag is disposed within a non-hermetically sealed portion of the medical device.

17. The RFID tag of claim 16, wherein the RFID tag is disposed within a header block of the medical device.

18. The RFID tag of claim 14, wherein the RFID chip includes information pertaining to the medical device.

19. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag includes information relating to a patient in which the RFID tag is implanted.

20. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the container, RFID chip, and antenna are embedded within a non-conductive biocompatible material.

21. The RFID tag of claim of claim 20, wherein the biocompatible material comprises a disc comprising silicone, epoxy, or a medical grade plastic.

22. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the antenna is wound around a ferrite-based core.

23. The RFID tag of claim 22, wherein the ferrite-based core comprises a high temperature sintered ferrite-based material.

24. The RFID tag of claim 23, including a biocompatible dielectric material at least partially coating the ferrite-based material.

25. The RFID tag of claim 24, wherein the biocompatible dielectric material comprises parylene, ETFE, PTFE, polyimide, polyurethane or silicone.

26. The RFID tag of claim 22, wherein the ferrite-based core is comprised of a ferrite material that will not exhibit permanent remanence after exposure to MRI fields.

27. The RFID tag of claim 1, including biocompatible connections between the antenna and the container.

28. The RFID tag of claim 27, wherein the biocompatible connections include terminal pins hermetically extending through the container and conductively coupled to the antenna and the RFID microelectronics chip.

29. The RFID tag of claim 1, including a sensor conductively coupled to the RFID microelectronics chip.

30. The RFID tag of claim 29, wherein the sensor is disposed exterior of the container.

31. The RFID tag of claim 29, wherein the sensor is disposed within the container.

32. The RFID tag of claim 29, wherein the sensor measures and the RFID tag is capable of transmitting measured properties in real time.

33. The RFID tag of claim 32, wherein the measured properties comprise activities within the human body.

34. The RFID tag of claim 14, wherein the biocompatible antenna and the RFID chip are disposed within the medical device parallel to its length and height plane, and midway through the width thereof.

35. The RFID tag of claim 14, wherein the medical device comprises an AIMD or a lead system for an AIMD.