Devices and methods for visually indicating the alignment of a transcutaneous energy transfer device over an implanted medical device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9375567-B2
Application number	US-201514703961-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2015
Priority date	Jul 19, 2011
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

The present disclosure involves a charging system for charging an implanted medical system. The charging device includes a replenishable power supply. The charging device includes a coil assembly electrically coupled to the power supply. The coil assembly includes a primary coil and a plurality of sense coils positioned proximate to the primary coil. The charging device includes electrical circuitry operable to: measure an electrical parameter of the coil assembly; and determine a position of the coil assembly relative to a position of the implanted medical device based on the measured electrical parameter. The charging device includes a visual communications interface operable to: receive an input from the electrical circuitry; and visually display on a screen the position of the coil assembly relative to the position of the implanted medical device based on the input received from the electrical circuitry.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A charger for an implanted medical device, the charger comprising:
a power supply;
a coil assembly electrically coupled to the power supply, the coil assembly including a primary coil and a plurality of sense coils, wherein at least two of the sense coils are perpendicularly oriented with respect to one another;
electrical circuitry configured to:
measure electrical parameters of the coil assembly; and
determine, based on the measured electrical parameters, locational information with respect to the coil assembly and the implanted medical device; and

a visual interface configured to visually communicate the locational information.

2. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the sense coils are located in different layers of a substrate.

3. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the primary coil is located over the sense coils.

4. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the electrical parameters comprise voltages of one or more of the sense coils.

5. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to calculate, based on the measured electrical parameters, a locational offset between the coil assembly and the implanted medical device.

6. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the electrical circuitry comprises:
amplification circuitry configured to amplify electrical signals from the sense coils;
rectification circuitry configured to convert AC components of an output of the amplification circuitry into DC components; and
filtering circuitry configured to filter an output of the rectification circuitry.

7. The charger of claim 6 , wherein the electrical circuitry further comprises comparator circuitry coupled to the filtering circuitry, the comparator circuitry being configured to detect a zero-crossing event.

8. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the visual interface is configured to display, on a screen, a first visual object representing a location of the coil assembly and a second visual object representing a location of the implanted medical device.

9. The charger of claim 8 , wherein the visual interface is configured to update the locations of the coil assembly and the implanted medical device in real time in response to actual movements of the coil assembly or the implanted medical device.

10. The charger of claim 1 , wherein the visual interface is configured to communicate instructions to a user to align the coil assembly with the implanted medical device.

11. A method for charging an implanted medical device, comprising:
providing a coil assembly, the coil assembly including a primary coil and a plurality of sense coils, wherein at least two of the sense coils are perpendicularly oriented with respect to one another;
measuring electrical parameters of the coil assembly;
determining, based on the measured electrical parameters, locational information with respect to the coil assembly and the implanted medical device; and
communicating the locational information via a visual interface.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the sense coils are located in different layers of a substrate, and wherein the primary coil is located over the sense coils.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the measuring of the electrical parameters comprises measuring voltages of one or more of the sense coils.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining comprises calculating, based on the measured electrical parameters, a locational offset between the coil assembly and the implanted medical device.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining comprises:
amplifying electrical signals from the sense coils;
converting AC components of the amplified electrical signals into DC components;
filtering the DC components of the amplified electrical signals; and
detecting a zero-crossing event based on the filtered DC components.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the communicating comprises displaying, on a screen, a first visual object representing a location of the coil assembly and a second visual object representing a location of the implanted medical device.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the communicating comprises communicating instructions to a user to align the coil assembly with the implanted medical device.

18. A medical system, comprising:
an implantable medical device; and
a charger for charging the implantable medical device, wherein the charger includes: a coil assembly, circuitry that is electrically coupled to the coil assembly, and a communications interface, wherein:
the coil assembly includes:
a primary coil;
a first position-sensing coil; and
a second position-sensing coil that is perpendicularly oriented with respect to the first position-sensing coil;

the circuitry is configured to:
measure voltages of the first and second position-sensing coils; and
determine, based on the measured voltages, locational information with respect to the coil assembly and the implantable medical device; and

the communications interface is configured to visually communicate the locational information.

19. The medical charging system of claim 18 , wherein the circuitry comprises:
amplification circuitry configured to amplify electrical signals from the sense coils;
rectification circuitry configured to covert AC components of an output of the amplification circuitry into DC components;
filtering circuitry configured to filter an output of the rectification circuitry; and
comparator circuitry coupled to the filtering circuitry, the comparator circuitry being configured to detect a zero-crossing event based on the filtered output of the rectification circuitry.

20. The medical charging system of claim 18 , wherein the communications interface is configured to display, in real time, a first visual object representing a location of the coil assembly and a second visual object representing a location of the implantable medical device.

Assignees

• Greatbatch Ltd
• Nuvectra Corp

Inventors

• Fell Roger B

Classifications

• A61N1/3787

  from an external energy source · CPC title

• H02J50/10

  using inductive coupling · CPC title

• H02J50/90

  involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment · CPC title

• A61N1/37247 Primary

  User interfaces, e.g. input or presentation means · CPC title

• H02J7/42

  with electronic devices having internal batteries, e.g. mobile phones · CPC title