Safe control of implants and other devices using ultrasound communication

An apparatus comprising:

• an implantable device configured for implantation into a body, the implantable device having at least one control input, wherein the implantable device is controllable by applying at least one electrical control signal to the at least one control input;
• an ultrasound transducer that generates an electrical output signal in response to an incoming ultrasound signal;
• an ultrasound frequency receiver that generates, based on the electrical output signal, first data corresponding to commands that have been encoded onto the incoming ultrasound signal;
• and
• a controller configured to (a) generate, based on the first data, the at least one electrical control signal, and (b) to apply the generated at least one electrical control signal to the at least one control input of the implantable device,
• wherein the implantable apparatus is configured to ignore all attempts to control the implantable device via RF signals.

A system for implementing secure communication, the system comprising:

• an implantable apparatus including
• an implantable device configured for implantation into a body, the implantable device having an RF transceiver and at least one control input, wherein the implantable device is controllable by applying at least one electrical control signal to the at least one control input,
• a first ultrasound transducer that generates a first electrical output signal in response to a first incoming ultrasound signal,
• a first ultrasound frequency receiver that generates, based on the first electrical output signal, first data corresponding to commands that have been encoded onto the first incoming ultrasound signal, and
• a first controller configured to (a) generate, based on the first data, the at least one electrical control signal, and (b) to apply the generated at least one electrical control signal to the at least one control input of the implantable device,
• wherein the implantable device is configured to keep the RF transceiver disabled until the at least one electrical control signal generated by the first controller includes an enable command, and to temporarily enable the RF transceiver after the at least one electrical control signal generated by the first controller includes an enable command;
• and
• an auxiliary apparatus including
• a second controller configured to generate commands for controlling the implantable device,
• a first ultrasound frequency transmitter that encodes the commands generated by the second controller onto a first driving signal, and
• a second ultrasound transducer that generates a second ultrasound output signal in response to the first driving signal.