Implant with electrical transponder marker
AssigneeLipoMatrix Incorporated
InventorsTerry R. Knapp, Thomas L. Monsees, Winston A. Andrews
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A passive transponder may be encoded with a number or code of up to 64 binary bits and then mounted to virtually any prosthesis implanted in a human, such as a breast implant. After implantation, the transponder's code may be conveniently read with a hand held electromagnetic reader which may merely be brought within proximity of the transponder. The encoded transponder may thus be read in a non-invasive procedure and without the use of any sophisticated or potentially harmful medical equipment or technology such as X-ray. The information encoded in the transponder may correspond to patient demographics and implant data to aid in tracking the implant's manufacturer and use for medical as well as legal reasons.
Claims27
In an implantable prosthesis adapted for implantation in a human, the improvement comprising a transponder mounted thereto so that said transponder is implanted as said prosthesis is implanted, said transponder having means for being encoded with a unique tag so that said transponder may be readily identified after implantation by reading said unique tag.
A prosthesis intended for human implantation, said prosthesis including a transponder mounted thereto so that said transponder is implanted as said prosthesis is implanted, said transponder having means for being encoded with a unique identifier so that said transponder's identifier may be read after implantation and associated with a data base for reporting selected data corresponding to said implant.
A breast implant comprised of an elastomeric shell, a multi-layered elastomeric seal patch adhered to said shell, and an electromagnetically readable transponder laminated between the layers of said seal patch, said transponder having means for being encoded with a unique code so that after implantation said code may be read by a remote, non-invasive reader to thereby learn selected data concerning said implant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.