Daisy chainable sensors and stimulators for implantation in living tissue
US5999848A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 12, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 7, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 12, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/19041
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An implantable sensor/stimulator is connectable to a controller using just two conductors, which two conductors carry both operating power and data (data commands and/or measured data) between the sensor/stimulator and control circuit. Each sensor/stimulator may be serially connected to another sensor/stimulator, again using only two conductors, thereby allowing a "daisy chain" of such sensors/stimulators to be formed. Each sensor/stimulator in the daisy chain is individually addressable by the control circuit. Input data is sent to the sensors over the two conductors using a phase-modulated biphasic modulation scheme, which scheme also provides operating power for each sensor/stimulator connected to the two conductors. Output data is sent from the sensors to the controller over the same two conductors using a pulse-position presence/absence modulation scheme. The data transmission schemes provide a very high signal-to-noise ratio. Each sensor/stimulator includes a power rectifier circuit, a line interface circuit, a state machine controller, at least one sensor that generates an analog output current as a function of a sensed parameter, a low power current-to-frequency converter c…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.