Systems, devices, and methods for selectively locating implantable devices

1. A method of locating wireless implantable devices, comprising:

generating an electrical stimulation output by an implantable device;

modifying the electrical stimulation output with a glitch generated by a glitch generator located within the implantable device, wherein the glitch generator generates the glitch by modifying the electrical stimulation output and wherein the modifying occurs at a pre-configured interval;

using a sensor of another device to sense the glitch that is incorporated within the modified electrical stimulation output; and

wherein the modifying comprises shorting the electrical stimulation output.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the state of the implantable device based on characteristics of the sensed glitch.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending a locator signal to the implantable device, whereupon receiving the locator signal, the implantable device generates the output modified by the glitch.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the implantable device is an acoustic receiver-stimulator configured to receive acoustic energy and convert the acoustic energy to an electrical stimulation output.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the receiver-stimulator comprises at least two electrodes configured to transmit the electrical stimulation output to a body region.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the sensor is in or on an implantable controller-transmitter configured to transmit acoustic energy to the receiver-stimulator.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the pre-configured interval occurs after the receiver-stimulator receives the acoustic energy generated by the controller-transmitter.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a second electrical stimulation output by a second implantable device, modifying the second electrical stimulation output with a second glitch generated by a second glitch generator within the second implantable device, wherein the second glitch generator generates the second glitch by modifying the second electrical stimulation output and wherein the modifying occurs at a second pre-configured interval; and using the sensor to detect the second glitch incorporated within the second modified electrical stimulation output.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising using the sensor to distinguish between the first glitch and the second glitch.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising using the sensor to select one of the two implantable devices based on the distinguished glitches; and sending a stimulation signal to the selected implantable device; wherein the stimulation signal causes the selected implantable device to deliver a third electrical stimulation output.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the distinguishing comprises analyzing presence, absence, or timing information of the first glitch and the second glitch.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the location of the implantable device based on the detected glitch.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the identity of the implantable device based on the detected glitch.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glitch generator comprises a switch in series with one or more output electrodes configured to transmit the electrical stimulation output.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the modifying comprises opening the switch to allow the voltage to rise without a load to power a timing circuitry within the implantable device.

16. An implantable device, comprising:

at least two electrodes to deliver an electrical stimulation output to the body; and

a glitch generator configured to modify the electrical stimulation output with a glitch, wherein the modifying occurs at a pre-configured interval, and wherein the glitch generator is configured to short the electrical stimulation output;

wherein the modified electrical stimulation output is configured to be sensed by a separate controller-transmitter.

17. The device of claim 16 , further comprising an acoustic transducer configured to receive acoustic energy and convert the acoustic energy to electrical energy.

18. The device of claim 17 , wherein the controller-transmitter is implantable and is configured to transmit acoustic energy to the implantable device.

19. The device of claim 16 , wherein the glitch communicates state information of implantable device using presence, absence, or timing information.

20. The device of claim 16 , wherein the implantable device is configured to receive a locator signal generated by the controller-transmitter, and upon receiving the locator signal, the implantable device generates the output modified by the glitch.

21. The device of claim 20 , wherein the implantable device is configured to receive a signal generated by the controller-transmitter, and upon receiving the signal, the implantable device generates an unmodified electrical output that is not modified by the glitch generator.

22. The device of claim 16 , wherein the glitch generator comprises a switch in series with the at least two electrodes.

23. The device of claim 22 , wherein the modifying comprises opening the switch to allow the voltage to rise without a load to power a timing circuitry within the implantable device.

24. A system for locating implantable devices, comprising:

an implantable device, wherein the implantable device comprises at least two electrodes configured to transmit an electrical stimulation output to the body and a glitch generator configured to modify the electrical stimulation output with a glitch, wherein the modifying occurs at a pre-configured interval, and wherein the glitch generator is configured to short the electrical stimulation output;

a controller-transmitter, wherein the controller-transmitter comprises at least one sensor configured to detect the glitch generated by the implantable device and a processor configured to analyze the glitch.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the implantable device further comprises an acoustic transducer configured to receive acoustic energy and convert it into electrical energy.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the controller-transmitter is configured to transmit acoustic energy to the implantable device.