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US 12,678,067 B1Granted
Telemetry implants
OwnerBarry A. Goldberg, Steven M. Hoffberginventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An implantable device having a sensor configured to detect a physiological condition, e.g., temperature, dynamics, sounds, amount of an analyte, pH, temperature, strain, pressure, bioelectric activity, an optical sensor, etc., a microcontroller, configured to process data from the sensor and store processed data in a memory, a rechargeable electrical power source, and a telemetry system. The telemetry system optionally harvests power to recharge the rechargeable electrical power source, or to directly power the system. The implantable device is encapsulated in a biocompatible shell.
Claims20
An implantable device, comprising:
- an implantable, biocompatible shell having dimensions of 1.5-3 mm×1.5-3 mm×5-25 mm;
- a plurality of sensors configured to produce sensor data corresponding to a biological state of a host, the plurality of sensors comprising a thermal sensor and a physiological sensor selected from the group consisting of:
- an optical sensor;
- a chemical sensor;
- a mechanical sensor, an inertial sensor, an acoustic sensor, and an electric signal detector;
- a multiprotocol wireless radio frequency telemetry system configured to (a) transmit the sensor data, and to (b) transmit an alarm signal, using electrical power,
- wherein the multiprotocol telemetry system has:
- a first protocol of operation compatible with at least one of wireless communication technologies which communicates error correction and detection encoded data through a first antenna, and
- a second protocol of operation which communicates error correction and detection encoded data using radio frequency backscatter within a frequency range of 30 kHz to 30 MHz through a second antenna comprising a coil;
- the multiprotocol telemetry system being configured to select between multiple concurrently available communication partners to establish a communication link;
- an energy harvesting system configured to harvest energy from an environment within the host using the second antenna, and to provide at least sufficient electrical power for the transmission of the sensor data by the multiprotocol telemetry system using the second protocol of operation and insufficient electrical power for the transmission of the sensor data by the multiprotocol telemetry system using the first protocol of operation;
- a memory;
- a microcontroller, configured to operate absent availability of the at least sufficient electrical power to:
- receive the sensor data,
- process the sensor data for storage as information in the memory,
- determine an alarm state dependent on the sensor data and an alarm threshold, and
- control communications through the multiprotocol telemetry system to:
- select at least one of the first protocol of operation and the second protocol of operation of the multiprotocol telemetry system and control the multiprotocol telemetry system to select a reliable one of the multiple concurrently available communication partners to establish the communication link, wherein the first protocol is selected in preference to the second protocol,
- transmit the sensor data through the communication link, and
- transmit the alarm signal through the communication link dependent on the determined alarm state using the selected at least one of the first protocol of operation and the second protocol of operation of the multiprotocol telemetry system;
- and
- an electrochemical energy source configured to provide at least a portion of the electrical power for operating the microcontroller, the memory, and the transmission of the alarm signal by the multiprotocol telemetry system,
- wherein each of the plurality of sensors, the multiprotocol wireless radio frequency telemetry system comprising the first antenna and the second antenna, the energy harvesting system, the memory, the microcontroller, and the electrochemical energy source together are disposed within the implantable, biocompatible shell having dimensions of 1.5-3 mm×1.5-3 mm×5-25 mm.
20 more elements
An implantable device, comprising:
- an implantable, biocompatible shell having dimensions of 2-3 mm×2-3 mm×15-25 mm;
- an analyte sensor configured to produce analyte sensor data corresponding to an analyte level associated with a physiological condition of a host;
- a wireless radio frequency multiprotocol telemetry system configured to transmit the analyte sensor data, and to transmit a status signal, using electrical power,
- wherein the multiprotocol telemetry system has:
- a first error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation which communicates in a 2.4 GHz band using a first antenna, and
- a second error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation which communicates within a frequency range of 30 kHz to 30 MHz using radio frequency backscatter through a second antenna comprising a coil;
- wherein the multiprotocol telemetry system is configured to select between multiple concurrently available communication partners to establish a communication link;
- an energy harvesting system configured to harvest radio frequency energy from an environment within the host to power transmission of the analyte sensor data using the second error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation, the energy harvesting system being configured to supply insufficient electrical power to operate the multiprotocol telemetry system in the first error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation and sufficient electrical power to operate the multiprotocol telemetry system in the second error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation;
- a memory which uses electrical power;
- a microcontroller which uses electrical power, configured to operate absent availability of the harvested radio frequency energy to:
- receive and process the analyte sensor data for storage as information in the memory;
- communicate the stored information in the memory;
- and
- determine a state of the host dependent on the analyte sensor data and a criterion at least once every ten minutes;
- and control communications through the multiprotocol telemetry system to select one of the first error detection and correction encoded protocol and the second error detection and correction encoded protocol of the multiprotocol telemetry system for transmission of the determined state, and to select one of the concurrently available communication partners to establish the communication link, wherein the first error detection and correction encoded protocol is selected in preference to the second error detection and correction encoded protocol to conserve electrical power;
- and
- an electrochemical energy source configured to provide at least a portion of the electrical power for operating the microcontroller, the memory, and the transmission of the determined state by the multiprotocol telemetry system using the first protocol,
- wherein each of the analyte sensor, the wireless radio frequency multiprotocol telemetry system comprising the first antenna and the second antenna, the energy harvesting system, the memory, the microcontroller, and the electrochemical energy source together are disposed within the implantable, biocompatible shell having dimensions of 2-3 mm×2-3 mm×15-25 mm×5-25 mm.
15 more elements
An implantable device, comprising:
- an implantable, biocompatible shell having dimensions of 1.5-3 mm×1.5-3 mm×5-25 mm;
- an optical, chemical, or bioelectric signal sensor within the implantable, biocompatible shell configured to produce sensor data corresponding to a physiological state of a host;
- a multiprotocol telemetry system adapted to operate in an environment having a plurality of compatible transceivers with which the multiprotocol telemetry system is configured to communicate, within the implantable, biocompatible shell configured to transmit the sensor data, and to transmit a signal, by wireless radio frequency communications using electrical power, having:
- a first encrypted error detection and correction encoded spread spectrum protocol of operation which communicates through a first antenna, and
- a second encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation using radio frequency backscatter within a frequency range of 30 kHz to 30 MHz through a second antenna comprising a coil;
- an energy harvesting system within the implantable, biocompatible shell linked to the second antenna, configured to harvest radio frequency energy from an environment within the host using the second antenna, and to provide at least sufficient electrical power for the transmission of the sensor data by the multiprotocol telemetry system using the second encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation;
- a memory within the implantable, biocompatible shell which uses electrical power;
- a microcontroller within the implantable, biocompatible shell which uses electrical power, configured to:
- encrypt and perform error detection and correction encode communications for transmission;
- decrypt and perform error detection and correction decode received communications;
- receive the sensor data,
- process the sensor data for storage as information in the memory,
- determine a threshold state dependent on the sensor data and a threshold value,
- select at least one of the first encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation and the second encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation of the multiprotocol telemetry system, wherein the first encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation is selected in preference to the second encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation to conserve electrical power,
- transmit the sensor data through the multiprotocol telemetry system as encrypted error detection and correction encoded data, and
- control communications through the multiprotocol telemetry system to transmit the signal as encrypted error detection and correction encoded data dependent on the determined threshold state the using the selected at least one of the first encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation and the second encrypted error detection and correction encoded protocol of operation of the multiprotocol telemetry system;
- and
- a rechargeable battery within the implantable, biocompatible shell configured to receive energy for recharging from the energy harvesting system, and to provide at least a portion of the electrical power for operating the microcontroller, the memory, and the multiprotocol telemetry system,
- wherein each of the optical, chemical, or bioelectric signal sensor, the multiprotocol telemetry system comprising the first antenna and the second antenna, the energy harvesting system, the memory, the microcontroller, and the rechargeable battery together are disposed within the implantable, biocompatible shell having dimensions of 1.5-3 mm×1.5-3 mm×5-25 mm.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.