Communication system with partial power source

• US 7,978,064 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Proteus Biomedical, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Hafezi, Hooman, Robertson, Timothy, Zdeblick, Mark, Pikelny, Aleksandr
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILSON, BRIAN P
• Application Number:
  US12/564,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20100081894A1
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0462 Apparatus with built-in sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/162 Capsule shaped sensor housings, e.g. for swallowing or implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0028 Body tissue as transmission medium, i.e. transmission systems where the medium is the human body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/07 Endoradiosondes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/076 Permanent implantations telemetry using implanted circuitry A61B5/0031; implanted stimulators for therapy A61N1/3605, A61N1/362, A61N1/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1473 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter A61B5/1482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4839 combined with drug delivery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6861 Capsules, e.g. for swallowing or implanting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/007 Marking tablets or the like apparatus for printing on tablets or the like B41F17/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10168 the powering being adversely affected by environmental influences, e.g. unwanted energy loss in the interrogation signal due to metallic or capacitive objects in the proximity of the interrogation device or in the proximity of the interrogated record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 : Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

The system of the present invention includes a conductive element, an electronic component, and a partial power source in the form of dissimilar materials. Upon contact with a conducting fluid, a voltage potential is created and the power source is completed, which activates the system. The electronic component controls the conductance between the dissimilar materials to produce a unique current signature. The system can be used in a variety of different applications, including as components of ingestible identifiers, such as may be found in ingestible event markers, e.g., pharma-informatics enabled pharmaceutical compositions.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a control device for altering conductance; and

a partial power source comprising;

a first material electrically coupled to the control device; and

a second material electrically coupled to the control device and electrically isolated from the first material,

wherein the first and second materials are selected to provide a voltage potential difference as a result of the materials being in contact with a conducting liquid, and

wherein the control device alters the conductance between the first and second materials such that the magnitude of the current flow is varied to encode information in a signal radiated by the conducting liquid and the encoded information is remotely detectable by a receiver.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the control device comprises a switching module electrically coupled to the first and second materials and wherein the switching module alters the conductance between the first and second materials.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a support structure, wherein the first and second materials are physically associated with the support structure.

4. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one current path extender associated with the support structure.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the current path extender comprises a membrane.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the first and second materials are positioned on opposite sides of the support structure and further comprising a non-conducting material positioned between the first and second materials.

7. An event marking apparatus for producing an identifiable current signature associated with ingestion of a pharmaceutical product, the apparatus comprising:

a pharmaceutical product in an ingestible form; and

a system secured to the product and activated upon contact with conductive fluid, the system comprising;

a support structure;

a control device secured to the support structure for controlling the conductance of the system;

a first material physically associated with the support structure and electrically coupled to the control device;

a second material electrically coupled to the control device and physically associated with the support structure at a location different from the location of the first material, such that the first and second materials are electrically isolated from each other; and

a non-conductive membrane secured to the support structure and positioned relative to the first and second materials to facilitate extension of the electrical path between the first material and second material around said non-conductive membrane through the conductive fluid;

wherein the first and second materials are selected to provide a voltage potential difference as a result of the materials being in contact with the conductive fluid thus providing a source of power; and

wherein the control device comprises switching logic that is electrically coupled to the first material and the second material and wherein the switching logic controls the conductance between the first and second materials for producing an identifiable current signature radiated by the conductive fluid and the identifiable current signature is remotely detectable by a receiver.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the first material is an anode and the second material is a cathode.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the first material and the second material are deposited on different sides of the support structure.

10. A method of producing an identifiable device that is operational upon contact with a conducting fluid, the method comprising the steps of:

securing a control module on a support structure;

depositing a first material onto the structure to produce an anode on the structure and electrically coupling the anode to the control module;

depositing a second material onto the structure to produce a cathode on the structure at a location that is electrically isolated from the location of the anode and electrically coupling the cathode to the control module; and

wherein the first and second materials are selected to provide a voltage potential difference as a result of the materials being in contact with the conducting fluid thus providing a source of power; and

using the control module to vary the conductance between the anode and the cathode when the identifiable device comes into contact with the conducting fluid and produce a unique current signature radiated by the conducting fluid and the unique current signature is remotely detectable by a receiver.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of boosting the unique current signature by positioning a non-conductive material between the anode and the cathode in order to increase the length of a current path between the anode and cathode.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of increasing the surface area of the anode and the cathode by providing a non-planar surface for the anode material and the cathode material.

13. A system for communicating through a conducting fluid, wherein the system uses variance in an ionic emission rate to encode information, the system comprising:

a support structure;

a first solid material physically associated with the support structure;

a second solid material physically associated with the support structure, wherein the first material and the second material develop a voltage potential difference as a result of the materials being in contact with the conducting fluid to produce a source of power through ionic emission; and

a control module electrically coupled to the first and second materials and physically associated with the support structure, wherein the control module varies conductance between the first material and the second material thereby controlling the rate of transfer of mass between the first material and the conducting fluid and wherein the control module communicates information through ionic emission rate so that the encoded information is radiated by the conducting fluid and is remotely receivable by a receiver.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the control module varies the conductance between the first and second material to alter the rate of transfer of mass between the second material and the conducting fluid.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the transfer of mass between the first material and the conducting fluid is an oxidation process and the transfer of mass between the second material and the conducting fluid is a reduction process.

16. The system of claim 13 further comprising a coating material surrounding the system to cause a delay in the enablement of the communication.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the conducting fluid is physiological fluid.