| 摘要 |
A system and methods of maintaining communication with a medical device for exchange of information, instructions, and programs, in a highly reliable manner. Apparatus and methods for accomplishing this task include:
1) The inclusion of a locating device in the system, in close proximity to an implanted device, but which does not drain the implanted device battery. The locating device may be implanted or external to the body.2) The use of motion detection and global positioning system devices to locate elements within a communicating system for the medical device;3) The assessment of received signal quality by elements of the system;4) The use of a notification system for a device user who is moving out of range of communications; and5) Documenting the absolute and functional integrity of instructions received by the medical device. |
| 主权项 |
1. A medical treatment system having an implantable medical device, which system provides location information pertaining to a person in whom the device is implanted, to facilitate communication between the device and a remote location, said system comprising:
(1) electronic medical apparatus adapted to be implanted in a human, a so-called implantable medical device (“IMD”), comprising, in combination:
(a) a first transmitting/receiving (“T/R”) device for at least one of
(i) transmitting information to, and(ii) receiving at least one control signal from, at least one remote location;(b) a medical treatment device, coupled to said first T/R device, for treating said patient; (2) a first locator device, adapted to be located in the close vicinity of said human in whom said device is implanted, comprising a wireless first locator transmitting device, operative to transmit first locator signals; (3) a plurality of second locator devices, each comprising:
(a) a second locator receiving device, operative to receive said first locator signals;(b) a communication quality assessment device, coupled to said second locator receiving device, for assessing the quality of the received first locator signals, and for producing a communication quality signal in dependence upon the assessed quality of said first locator signals; and(c) a second locator transmitting device, coupled to said communication quality assessment device, for transmitting said communication quality signal; (4) a communication device, comprising
(a) a second T/R device, for:
(i) receiving said communication quality signals from each of the second locator transmitting devices, and(ii) transmitting a low communication quality signal;(b) a second T/R controlling device, coupled to said second T/R device, for (i) indicating a state in which the quality represented by each of said communication quality signals is less than an acceptable value, wherein said acceptable value corresponds to a minimum acceptable communication quality, and (ii) in response to said indication, causing said second T/R device to transmit a low communication quality signal; wherein: (a) each of said communication quality assessment devices determines information concerning the location of said first locator device based on at least one of:
(i) the detection of said first locator signals by said second locator device,(ii) the absence of a detected first locator signal by said second locator device, and(iii) the quality of said detected first locator signals; (b) each of said second locator devices is operative to transmit said information concerning the location of said first locator device to said communication device; and (c) said second T/R controlling device is operative to provide said low communication quality signal indicating that none of the second locator devices is receiving a first locator signal with quality greater than or equal to said acceptable value; whereby (1) said first locator device provides information about the location of said IMD, without electrical interaction with the IMD; and (2) said system indicates when said human in whom said IMD is implanted is out of communications range of said second T/R device. |
