Claims
- 1. A system for monitoring and/or affecting at least one parameter of a patient's body, said system comprising:
at least one implantable device operable to sense and/or stimulate a patient's body parameter in accordance with one or more controllable operating parameters; and a system control unit for controlling said controllable operating parameters, said system control unit comprising:
a sealed housing configured for implantation in a patient's body; a signal transmitter in said housing for transmitting command signals; a signal receiver in said housing for receiving status signals; a programmable controller in said housing responsive to received status signals for producing command signals for transmission by said signal transmitter to said implantable devices; a power supply contained within said housing for providing operating power to said signal transmitter, said signal receiver and said programmable controller; and wherein said power supply has a capacity of at least 1 watt-hour.
- 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said sealed housing has at least one dimension greater than 1 inch suitable for implantation within a patient's body.
- 3. The system of claim 1 comprising at least one said implantable device operable as a sensor and at least one said implantable operable as a stimulator and wherein said controller is responsive to status data signals received from said sensor for generating said addressable command data signals to said stimulator to perform closed loop control of the operation of said stimulator.
- 4. The system of claim 1 wherein said signal receiver includes a coil responsive to status signals defined by a modulated magnetic field.
- 5. The system of claim 1 wherein said signal receiver includes a transducer responsive to status signals defined by a modulated ultrasonic signal.
- 6. The system of claim 1 wherein said signal transmitter includes means for transmitting command signals in the form of a modulated magnetic field.
- 7. The system of claim 1 wherein said signal transmitter includes means for transmitting command signals in the form of a modulated ultrasonic signal.
- 8. The system of claim 1 further including:
program storage means in said housing for specifying the operation of said programmable controller; and means to modify said program storage means in response to signals received by said signal receiver.
- 9. The system of claim 1 wherein said system control unit additionally includes:
at least one electrode; sensor/stimulator circuitry; and wherein said sensor stimulator circuitry is configurable to generate a data signal representative of an electrical signal conducted by said electrode and/or supply a sequence of drive pulses to said electrode.
- 10. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said implantable devices includes a power source having a capacity of at least 1 microwatt-hour.
- 11. The system of claim 10 wherein each said implantable device includes means for monitoring status of its power source and said system control unit is configured to transmit command signals to each said implantable device and to responsively receive status signals corresponding to said power source status.
Parent Case Info
1. This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/042,447 filed Mar. 27, 1997 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/030,106 filed Feb. 25, 1998 entitled “Battery-Powered Patient Implantable Device” which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/039,164 filed Feb. 26, 1997.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60042447 |
Mar 1997 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09048826 |
Mar 1998 |
US |
Child |
09754225 |
Jan 2001 |
US |