NEURAL STIMULATOR SYSTEM

摘要

An implantable neural stimulator method for modulating excitable tissue in a patient including: implanting a neural stimulator within the body of the patient such that one or more electrodes of the neural stimulator are positioned at a target site adjacent to or near excitable tissue; generating an input signal with a controller module located outside of, and spaced away from, the patient's body; transmitting the input signal to the neural stimulator through electrical radiative coupling; converting the input signal to electrical pulses within the neural stimulator; and applying the electrical pulses to the excitable tissue sufficient to modulate said excitable tissue.

主权项

1. A system comprising:
an external controller module comprising:
a first dipole antenna configured to:
transmit an input signal containing electrical energy to a second dipole antenna through electrical radiative coupling to wirelessly power a passive implantable neural stimulator that houses the second dipole antenna; andone or more circuits configured to:
generate the input signal and send the input signal to the first antenna for transmission to the second antenna on the passive implantable neural stimulator such that the passive implantable neural stimulator, solely using the electrical energy contained in the input signal, (i) creates and applies one or more electrical pulses suitable for stimulation of neural tissue, and (ii) monitors the stimulation to generate a current limit feedback signal when a clipping event has occurred in which a characteristic of the one or more electrical pulses had been limited so as to prevent the one or more electrical pulses from exceeding a safety threshold; andin response to the current feedback signal being received, attenuate the input signal so that clipping of the one or more electrical pulses is no longer required to keep the current within the safety threshold.