Stimulator fault protection circuit
AssigneeStimulation Technology, Inc.
InventorBill Howard Niemi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A current monitoring and control circuit for use with a medical stimulation device for monitoring the exciting current to stimulation electrodes connected to the device is provided having a disabling component to inactivate a signal generating circuit resident within the stimulator. Operation of this disabling component may be controlled by the functioning of sampling and detection components preferably connected to the output of the signal generator and triggered by an undesirable output signal surge. Included may be visual signaling and metering functions.
Claims15
A fault protection circuit for a medical unit having triggered output signal generator circuitry therein to provide a series of output signals, comprising:
- means for monitoring said output signals from said medical unit output signal generator, said monitoring means being connected to said output signal generator;
- means associated with said monitoring means for differentiating between successive signal values of said output signals monitored for detecting when said successive signal value differentials exceed a threshold;
- and
- means connected to said differentiating and detecting means for affecting the operation of said medical unit signal generator upon the detection of said threshold being exceeded.
A fault protection circuit in a medical stimulation unit said unit having an output signal generator therein with a trigger input and a disable input, comprising:
- means for sensing signals emanating from said output signal generator and providing electrical signals representative of the signal current value of said sensed signals, said sensing means being connected to said output signal generator;
- means for establishing an enabling time period, said enabling time period establishing means having its input connected to said output signal generator trigger input;
- means for controllably passing on only the peak value of each of said electrical signals provided by said sensing means, said passing on means being controlled by the output of said time period establishing means;
- means for storing each said peak passed on, said storing means being connected to said passing on means;
- means associated with said storing means for differentiating between successive said values stored by said storing means and for detecting when a threshold differential between successive said values occurs;
- and
- means connected to said differentiating and detecting means for disabling said signal generator upon the detection of said threshold differential.
A fault protection circuit for an electronic pain control device, said device providing outlet signals and having a disable input thereto, comprising:
- means for monitoring said output signals from said device;
- means associated with said monitoring means for detecting an undesirable surge in said output signals provided said detecting means including a rate of change differentiator;
- and
- means connected to said detecting means for controlling the operation of said device as a function of said undesirable surge detected.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.