US6076016A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Galvanic transdermal conduction communication system and method
Assignee: Telecom Medical Inc
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Filing: 1997-06-10
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Granted: 2000-06-13
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Expires: 2017-06-10
Abstract
Abstract A bi-directional galvanic conduction transdermal communication system is disclosed. The system includes an internal communication device implanted inside the body of a patient and an external communication device. The external communication device includes an external transmitter which transmits a carrier signal into the body of the patient during communication from the internal communication device to the external communication device. The carrier signal causes galvanic conduction to occur through the skin of the patient. The internal communication device includes an internal modulator that modulates the carrier signal with information stored in the internal communication device by selectively controlling the level of galvanic conduction that occurs through the skin of the patient. During external to internal communication, an external modulator modulates the carrier signal with information contained in the external communication device. Accordingly, the majority of the energy required for communication between the external and internal communication devices, regardless of the direction, is provided by the external communication device.
Inventors
- 👤 Gary F. Feierbach
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 23:17
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61N; A61N1/00; A61N1/18; A61N1/32; A61N1/36; A61N1/372; A61N1/37211; A61N1/37217; A61B; A61B5/00; A61B5/0002; A61B5/0026; A61B5/0028; A61B5/0031; A61B5/02; A61B5/021; A61B5/0215; A61N1/37252; A61N1/3727; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S128/00; Y10S128/903
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
128 words
A communication system, comprising: an internal communication device configured to be implanted into a body of a patient; an external communication device adapted to be located outside the body of the patient; an external transmitter, coupled to the external communication device, and configured to transmit a carrier signal into the body of the patient during communication from the internal communication device to the external communication device, the external transmitter configured to cause galvanic conduction through the skin of the patient when transmitting the carrier signal into the body of the patient; an internal modulator, coupled to the internal communication device, and configured to modulate the carrier signal with information stored in the internal communication device by selectively controlling the galvanic conduction level through the skin of the patient.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
128 words
A communication system, comprising: an internal communication device configured to be implanted into a body of a patient; an external communication device adapted to be located outside the body of the patient; an external transmitter, coupled to the external communication device, and configured to transmit a carrier signal into the body of the patient during communication from the internal communication device to the external communication device, the external transmitter configured to cause galvanic conduction through the skin of the patient when transmitting the carrier signal into the body of the patient; an internal modulator, coupled to the internal communication device, and configured to modulate the carrier signal with information stored in the internal communication device by selectively controlling the galvanic conduction level through the skin of the patient.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the internal communication device and the external communication device are configured to form a transdermal voltage divider network having a first voltage divider element external to the body of the patient and a second voltage divider element internal to the body of the patient.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the internal modulator is configured to selectively modulate the carrier signal with a first data signal by activating a shunt element between the second voltage divider element and a reference potential, resulting in a first potential across the first voltage divider element of the transdermal voltage divider network.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system of claim 3, wherein the internal modulator is configured to selectively modulate the carrier signal with a second data signal by de-activating the shunt element between the second voltage divider element and the reference potential, resulting in a second potential across the first voltage divider element of the transdermal voltage divider network.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 3, wherein the shunt element is a transistor having terminals coupled with the second voltage divider element and the reference potential.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
56 words
The system of claim 5, wherein the internal communication device further includes a microprocessor coupled with a drain of the transistor such that the microprocessor can selectively activate the transistor to shunt or not shunt the second voltage divider element to the reference potential when transmitting the information from the internal device to the external device.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the first voltage divider element is formed by a first external electrode and a second external electrode, both contained within the external communication device, when the external communication device is placed adjacent of the skin of the patient.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 7, wherein the second voltage divider element has a resistance which is a function of the electrolytical galvanic coupling of the bodily tissue between the first internal electrode and the second internal electrode when the carrier signal is transmitted into the body of the patient.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the second voltage divider element is formed by a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of the patient.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
61 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the internal communication device further includes a microprocessor which stores digital information of either a first state or a second state, and configured to control the internal modulator to modulate the carrier signal by selectively controlling the galvanic conduction through the skin of the patient to either a first level or a second level respectively.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 10, further comprising: an external demodulator coupled to the external communication device and configured to provide signals indicative of the information stored in the internal communication device from the selectively controlled level of galvanic conduction measured through the skin of the patient.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 11, wherein the signals generated by the external demodulator include a first data signal when the first level of galvanic conduction is measured and a second data signal when the second level of galvanic conduction is measured.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 12, further comprising: an external processor, coupled to the external demodulator, and configured to receive the signals indicative of the information stored in the internal communication device.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 13, wherein the external processor is configured to receive the first data signal and the second data signal from the external demodulator.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 11, wherein the external demodulator is selected from the group consisting of a diode, and a switching transistor.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the external transmitter is an oscillator configured to generate a frequency signal.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1, where in the carrier signal has a frequency ranging from 100 KHz to 5 MHz.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the carrier signal has positive and negative peaks.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 1, further comprising: an external modulator coupled to the external communication device and configured to modulate the carrier signal during communication from the external communication device to the internal communication device.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 19, further comprising an external processor coupled to the external modulator and configured to control the external modulator to modulate the carrier signal with information stored in the external communication device.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 19, wherein the internal communication device further includes an internal demodulator to demodulate the modulated carrier signal.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 21, wherein the internal demodulator is selected from the group consisting of a diode and a switching transistor.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 21, wherein the internal communication device further includes an internal processor, coupled to the internal demodulator, and is configured to receive the demodulated carrier signal.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the internal communication device is configured to receive the information from a medical device implanted into the body of the patient.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the external communication device is configured to provide bidirectional communication between a data processing device external to the patient and a medical device implanted inside the body of the patient.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the internal communication device includes a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of the patient.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 26, wherein the first internal electrode is substantially ring shaped and the second internal electrode is substantially disk shaped.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
63 words
The system of claim 26, wherein the external communication device is a hand held device having a first external electrode and a second external electrode configured to be in a substantial alignment with the first internal electrode the second internal electrode adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of the patient during communication between the external communication device and the internal communication device.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the external communication device includes a first external electrode and a second external electrode.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 29, wherein the first external electrode is substantially ring shaped and the second external electrode is substantially disk shaped.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the carrier signal is modulated using amplitude modulation.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 31, wherein the first voltage divider element has a resistance which is a function of the electrolytical galvanic coupling of the bodily tissue between the first external electrode and the second external electrode when the carrier signal is transmitted into the body of the patient.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the carrier signal is modulated using pulse width modulation.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 1, further comprising: an external demodulator coupled to the external communication device and configured to provide signals indicative of the information stored in the internal communication device from the selectively controlled level of galvanic conduction measured through the skin of the patient.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 34, further comprising: an external processor, coupled to the external demodulator, and configured to receive the signals indicative of the information stored in the internal communication device.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
136 words
A method of providing a communication system, comprising the steps of: providing an internal communication device configured to be implanted into a body of a patient; providing an external communication device located outside the body of the patent; providing an external transmitter, coupled to the external communication device, and configured to transmit a carrier signal into the body of the patient during communication from the internal communication device to the external communication device ,the external transmitter configured to cause galvanic conduction through the skin of the patient when transmitting the carrier signal into the body of the patient; providing an internal modulator, coupled to the internal communication device, and configured to modulate the carrier signal with information stored in the internal communication device by selectively controlling the galvanic conduction level through the skin of the patient.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
136 words
A method of providing a communication system, comprising the steps of: providing an internal communication device configured to be implanted into a body of a patient; providing an external communication device located outside the body of the patent; providing an external transmitter, coupled to the external communication device, and configured to transmit a carrier signal into the body of the patient during communication from the internal communication device to the external communication device ,the external transmitter configured to cause galvanic conduction through the skin of the patient when transmitting the carrier signal into the body of the patient; providing an internal modulator, coupled to the internal communication device, and configured to modulate the carrier signal with information stored in the internal communication device by selectively controlling the galvanic conduction level through the skin of the patient.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 35, further comprising: providing an external demodulator, coupled to the external communication device, and configured to generate signals indicative of the information stored in the internal communication device from the selectively controlled level of galvanic conduction measured through the skin of the patient.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 36, further comprising: providing an external processor, coupled to the external demodulator, and configured to receive the signals indicative of the information stored in the internal communication device.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-06-13 | 2003-12-13 | 2004-06-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-06-13 | 2007-12-13 | 2008-06-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-06-13 | 2011-12-13 | 2012-06-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |