Implantable Sensor Intra-Body Communication for Real-Time Physiologic Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passive implantable medical sensors require patient interaction and external energy sources for data collection and communication, leading to delays in data availability and limited battery life due to size constraints, preventing real-time treatment adjustments.
Innovation Solution
Implantable sensors with onboard power sources and intra-body communication capabilities transmit data directly to other implantable devices for real-time analysis and therapy optimization, using RF or conductive communication without external assistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If passive implantable medical sensors utilize external devices for powering and data communication, then the sensor can be small in size, but the system requires active patient participation and external energy sources, leading to delays in data availability
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is equipped with an onboard power source (battery) that enables it to autonomously power its own operations including sensing, data processing, and communication functions. This self-service capability eliminates the need for external energy sources and patient participation to activate the sensor, allowing continuous autonomous data collection and transmission without delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into independent functional modules: the implantable sensor unit with onboard power source, the leadless device, and external monitoring systems. This segmentation allows the sensor to operate independently with its own power source while maintaining communication capabilities, resolving the contradiction between small size and autonomous operation.
2Device complexity
If passive implantable medical sensors require external devices for data collection, then the external device can have specialized circuitry, but the sensor operation depends on patient cooperation and attentiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor performs self-service by autonomously collecting physiologic data using its onboard power source and transmitting it automatically to the leadless device or external systems. This eliminates the need for patient cooperation to activate or operate the sensor, as the device independently manages its own sensing and communication functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the external device to activate and control the passive sensor, the invention inverts the relationship by making the sensor active with its own power source. The sensor now initiates data collection and transmission autonomously, reversing the traditional passive-active dependency.
3Extent of automation
If implantable sensors have an onboard battery to power operations, then the sensor can operate autonomously, but the battery size is limited by target implant locations within blood vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The power and communication functions are segmented into the implantable sensor, while the leadless device serves as an intermediate relay station with greater power and communication capabilities. This segmentation allows the implantable sensor to have a smaller battery suitable for vessel implantation while maintaining autonomous operation through the distributed system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extends the communication dimension by introducing the leadless device as an intermediate node. Data can be transmitted from the implantable sensor to the leadless device (intra-body communication) and then to external systems, effectively bypassing the power and communication limitations imposed by the small sensor battery size.
4Speed
If the sensor transmits data directly to external devices, then real-time analysis is possible, but the communication range and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The leadless device serves as an intermediary relay station between the implantable sensor and external monitoring systems. The sensor transmits data to the leadless device using low-power intra-body communication, and the leadless device handles the higher-power communication with external systems. This intermediary approach enables real-time data transmission while managing power consumption within the constraints of the small sensor battery.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for collecting real-time on-demand measurements. The system includes an implantable sensor that has a power source, a sensing circuit, a communications circuit, a memory, and one or more processors. The sensing circuit senses a physiologic parameter of interest (PPOI) and generates signals indicative of the PPOI. The communications circuit communicates with at least one of an implantable medical device (IMD) or an external device (ED). The one or more processors execute program instructions stored in the memory to collect real-time on-demand measurements by activating the sensing circuit to generate the signals indicative of the PPOI, converting the signals to physiologic data indicative of the PPOI, storing the physiologic data in the memory, and directing the communications circuit to transmit the physiologic data to the at least one of the IMD or the ED.