Implantable medical device with one or more magnetic field sensors to assist with external charger alignment
US9339660B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 2014 |
| Grant date | May 17, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 29, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N1/37223
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An implantable medical device (IMD) is disclosed having one or more magnetic field sensors for measuring a strength of a magnetic charging field provided by an external charger and used to provide operational power to the IMD, for example, to charge its battery. The measured field strength data, or derivations of such data, are telemetered to the external charger, which further process the received data if necessary and can inform a user whether alignment between the external charger and IMD is sufficient, a misalignment direction, and/or a misalignment distance, so that the user can attempt to improve the alignment of the external charger. The one or more sensors are preferably placed at or equidistantly around a center axis of the IMD's charging coil. However, the sensors may be placed at any number of locations in the IPG, and at different distances from the center axis.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.