Method for waking up an implantable medical device from a dormant state

1 . A method for waking up an implantable medical device from a dormant state, the method comprising:

sending a wake-up signal via a wireless link by means of an external device;

receiving the wake-up signal by the implantable medical device in the dormant state;

activating an awake state of the implantable medical device in response to the wake-up signal;

attempting with at least one or a predefined number of attempts, in the awake state of the implantable medical device, to establish a communication between the external device and the implantable medical device;

identifying, by the implantable medical device, the activation of the awake state as a valid activation based on the attempting to establish a communication;

in case the activation of the awake state is not identified as a valid activation, blocking a subsequent activation of the awake state of the implantable medical device based on the wake-up signal, wherein said blocking includes: marking a predefined matching signal corresponding to the wake-up signal as invalid in a list of matching signals so that a signal is received by the implantable medical device which resembles a matching signal as identified in the list of matching signals, the implantable medical device is not transferred to the awake state; and

if, during the identifying, it is detected that the list of matching signals includes a number of predefined matching signals equal to or exceeding a predefined maximum number, modifying the list of matching signals by marking at least one matching signal of the list of matching signals as valid.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said receiving includes: processing, by the implantable medical device, the wake-up signal to identify the wake-up signal as a valid wake-up signal by comparing the wake-up signal to a predefined matching signal.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the processing includes: deriving information from the wake-up signal and comparing said information to a predefined set of information representative of the predefined matching signal to identify the wake-up signal as a valid wake-up signal.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the wake-up signal is identified as a valid wake-up signal if the derived information matches a predefined set of information out of a multiplicity of sets of information representative of a group of predefined matching signals.

5 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein said predefined set of information includes at least one of a pulse duration and an interval, the wake-up signal being formed by the external device according to a sequence of groups of transmission pulses, each transmission pulse having a specified pulse duration and the groups of transmission pulses being repeated at a specified interval.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said blocking includes: preventing an activation of said awake state of the implantable medical device based on the wake-up signal for a predefined time duration.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , including: if, during the identifying, it is detected that the list of matching signals includes a number of wake-up signals equal to or exceeding a predefined maximum number, decreasing a value of a predefined time duration, during which an activation of the awake state of the implantable medical device is blocked for a particular matching signal, for at least one matching signal of the list of matching signals.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said sending by the external device includes: sending the wake-up signal as a modulated signal.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sending includes: transmitting the wake-up signal via a Bluetooth interface of the external device.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said receiving by the implantable medical device includes: demodulating the wake-up signal by means of a demodulator circuitry of the implantable medical device.

11 . An implantable medical device configured to selectively assume an awake state and a dormant state, the implantable medical device comprising:

reception circuitry configured to receive a wake-up signal via a wireless link from an external device;

activation circuitry configured to activate an awake state of the implantable medical device in response to a received wake-up signal;

communication circuitry configured to establish, in the awake state, a communication between the external device and the implantable medical device; and

processing circuitry configured to identify the activation of the awake state as a valid activation based on at least one or a predefined number of attempts to establish a communication, and in case the activation of the awake state is not identified as a valid activation, to block a subsequent activation of said awake state of the implantable medical device based on the wake-up signal, wherein said blocking includes: marking a predefined matching signal corresponding to the wake-up signal as invalid in a list of matching signals so that a signal is received by the implantable medical device which resembles a matching signal as identified in the list of matching signals, the implantable medical device is not transferred to the awake state, wherein if, during the identifying, it is detected that the list of matching signals includes a number of predefined matching signals equal to or exceeding a predefined maximum number, modifying the list of matching signals by marking at least one matching signal of the list of matching signals as valid.

12 . The implantable medical device according to claim 11 , wherein said communication circuitry is configured to establish a communication according to a Bluetooth protocol.

13 . A system, comprising an external device configured to send a wake-up signal via a wireless link; and an implantable medical device according to claim 11 .