US 10,864,379 B2 · Autonomous implantable medical device tuning

Abstract

Presented herein are implantable medical devices that comprise an implantable portion having a resonant tank circuit that is used to receive signals from one or more external devices. The resonant tank circuit is configured to operate at first and second resonant frequencies, where the first resonant frequency is optimized to exchange data with, and potentially receive operating power from, an external device, while the second resonant frequency is optimized to receive charging power. In certain embodiments, upon initiating operation of the implantable portion with at least one external device, the implantable portion is configured to force tune the resonant tank circuit to the first resonant frequency. That is, when the resonant tank circuit first begins receiving signals from an external device, the signals received at the resonant tank circuit are used to initially tune the resonant tank circuit to the first resonant frequency.

Claims21

Dependent claims

An implantable portion of a hearing prosthesis, comprising:

a rechargeable battery;
an implantable resonant tank circuit including an implantable coil and at least one tuning switch, wherein, at least upon initial operation of the implantable portion, the at least one tuning switch is driven using a rectified voltage of the resonant tank circuit so as to initially force tune the resonant tank circuit to resonate at a first frequency enabling an exchange of data with a first external device via the implantable coil;
and
an implant controller connected to the at least one tuning switch and configured to subsequently selectively activate the at least one tuning switch to override the initial force tuning of the resonant tank circuit to the first frequency such that the resonant tank circuit is selectively tuned to resonant at a second frequency to receive charging power, via the implantable coil, when recharging the battery, and wherein the first frequency is different from the second frequency.

1 more element

A method, comprising:

initiating operation of an implantable portion of a hearing prosthesis with at least one external device via an inductive link;
receiving, via the inductive link, radio frequency signals at a resonant tank circuit of the implantable portion of the hearing prosthesis, wherein resonant tank circuit comprises an implantable coil and at least one tuning switch, and wherein receipt of the radio frequency signals generates a voltage at an input of the resonant tank circuit;
rectifying a voltage of the resonant tank circuit to generate a rectified resonant tank voltage;
driving the least one tuning switch with the rectified voltage of the resonant tank circuit to initially force tune the resonant tank circuit to a first state with a first resonant frequency;
and
with an implant controller in the implantable portion, selectively overriding the first state to tune the resonant tank to a second resonant frequency that is different from the first resonant frequency.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Autonomous implantable medical device tuning

Life of this patent

Autonomous implantable medical device tuning

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21