Claims
- 1. A diagnostic method for use with an implantable medical device system having one or more components, the method comprising:storing one or more identifiers in a data structure within the implantable medical device system, the identifiers comprising data identifying at least one of the one or more components in the implantable medical device system; storing safety alert information in a memory within an external programmer; transmitting one of the identifier data and the safety alert information between the implantable medical device system and the external programmer; comparing the identifier data with the received safety alert information to determine if one or more identifiers are related to the safety alert information; and notifying a user of relevant safety alert information upon determining that one or more of the identifiers is related to the safety alert information.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein storing one or more identifiers comprises storing a plurality of identifiers in the data structure, the identifiers identifying a plurality of components in the implantable medical device system.
- 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying the identifiers in the database in the implantable medical device system to indicate the detection of safety alert information for the component corresponding to the identifier.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving safety alert information comprises receiving safety alert information from a network.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving safety alert information comprises receiving safety alert information from the Internet.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving safety alert information comprises receiving safety alert information from a transportable media device.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the identifiers with the received safety alert information comprises comparing the identifiers from the implantable medical device system to the safety alert information to identify components of the implantable medical device system that are identified in the safety alert information as posing safety risks to patients.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying a user of relevant safety alert information comprises displaying information about the relevant safety alert on a display at the external programmer to the user.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting one of the identifier data and the safety alert information comprises transmitting the identifier data from the implantable medical device system to the external programmer.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting one of the identifier data and the safety alert information comprises transmitting the safety alert information from the external programmer to the implantable medical device system.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/432,918, filed Nov. 2, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,501.
US Referenced Citations (12)
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/432918 |
Nov 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/970217 |
|
US |