Implantable communication system starter system and methods

1. A starter circuit for an electronic device, comprising;

a rectifier circuit comprising an input coupled to an antenna;

a Schmidt trigger comprising an input coupled to receive a rectified signal from the rectifier circuit;

a pulse timer circuit coupled to receive pulses from the Schmidt trigger and configured to measure pulse characteristics to determine whether the pulses are part of a valid startup sequence and to generate a reset signal if the pulses are not part of a valid startup sequence; and

a counter having first and second inputs coupled to outputs of the pulse timer circuit, the counter configured to output a signal to initiate power-on of a component of the electronic device when its count value reaches a predetermined value,

wherein the starter circuit sends the signal to initiate power-on of the component of the electronic device only when: (i) a power level of a signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than a predetermined power level that is greater than a power level of communication signals received by the electronic device, and (ii) the signal received by the rectifier circuit include a startup sequence that is a predetermined startup sequence indicating that the component of the electronic device is to switch from a sleep mode to an active mode.

2. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pulse characteristics comprise pulse width and period.

3. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the valid startup sequence is an OOK modulated signal.

4. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein measuring the pulse characteristics to determine whether the pulses are part of the valid startup sequence comprises measuring timing parameters of the pulses to determine whether the pulses meet predetermined timing parameter characteristics.

5. The starter circuit of claim 4 , wherein the timing parameters comprise a pulse width and a period of the pulses.

6. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the rectifier circuit outputs the rectified signal only if the power level of the signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than the predetermined power level.

7. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the starter circuit is configured to send a shutdown signal to the electronic device to cause the electronic component to switch to a sleep mode,

wherein the starter circuit sends the shutdown signal to the electronic device only when: (i) a power level of a signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than a predetermined power level, and (ii) the signal received by the rectifier circuit includes a shutdown sequence that is a predetermined shutdown sequence indicating that the component of the electronic device is to switch from an active mode to the sleep mode.

8. A starter circuit for an electronic device, comprising;

a rectifier circuit comprising an input coupled to an antenna;

a Schmidt trigger comprising an input coupled to receive a rectified signal from the rectifier circuit;

a pulse timer circuit coupled to receive pulses from the Schmidt trigger and configured to measure pulse characteristics to determine whether the pulses are part of a valid startup sequence and to generate a reset signal if the pulses are not part of a valid startup sequence; and

a counter having first and second inputs coupled to outputs of the pulse timer circuit, the counter configured to output a signal to initiate power-on of a component of the electronic device when its count value reaches a predetermined value,

wherein the starter circuit is configured to send a shutdown signal to the electronic device to cause the electronic component to switch to a sleep mode;

wherein the starter circuit sends the shutdown signal to the electronic device only when: (i) a power level of a signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than a predetermined power level, and (ii) the signal received by the rectifier circuit includes a shutdown sequence that is a predetermined shutdown sequence indicating that the transceiver component of the electronic device is to switch from an active mode to the sleep mode.

9. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device comprises a wireless ingestible endoscope, wherein the component of the electronic device comprises a transceiver.

10. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the starter circuit consumes a leakage current in the sleep mode that is less than a leakage current the component of the electronic device consumes in the active mode.

11. The starter circuit of claim 1 , wherein the rectifier circuit comprises a power detector.

12. A wireless ingestible endoscopy system, comprising:

an endoscopy data terminal;

a wireless ingestible endoscope comprising:

an image sensor;

a communication transceiver coupled to receive images from the image sensor and configured to send images to the endoscopy data terminal;

a starter circuit, comprising;

a rectifier circuit comprising an input coupled to an antenna;

a Schmidt trigger comprising an input coupled to receive a rectified signal from the rectifier circuit;

a pulse timer circuit coupled to receive pulses from the Schmidt trigger and configured to measure pulse characteristics to determine whether the pulses are part of a valid startup sequence and to generate a reset signal if the pulses are not part of a valid startup sequence; and

a counter having first and second inputs coupled to outputs of the pulse timer circuit, the counter configured to output a signal to initiate power on of the transceiver when the counter's count value reaches a predetermined value,

wherein the starter circuit sends the signal to initiate power on of the transceiver only when: (i) a power level of a signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than a predetermined power level that is greater than a power level of communication signals received by the transceiver, and (ii) the signal received by the rectifier circuit includes a startup sequence that is a predetermined startup sequence indicating that the transceiver is to switch from a sleep mode to an active mode.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the system further comprises an external antenna, and wherein the images are sent from the communication transceiver to the endoscopy data terminal via the external antenna.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the endoscopy data terminal comprises a data recorder or workstation.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein measuring the pulse characteristics to determine whether the pulses are part of the valid startup sequence comprises measuring timing parameters of the pulses to determine whether the pulses meet predetermined timing parameter characteristics.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the timing parameters comprise a pulse width and a period of the pulses.

17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the rectifier circuit outputs the rectified signal only if the power level of the signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than the predetermined power level.

18. The system of claim 12 , wherein the starter circuit is configured to send a shutdown signal to the transceiver to cause the transceiver to switch to the sleep mode.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the starter circuit sends the shutdown signal to the transceiver only when: (i) the power level of the signal received by the rectifier circuit from the antenna is equal to or greater than the predetermined power level, and (ii) the signal received by the rectifier circuit includes a shutdown sequence that is a predetermined shutdown sequence indicating that the transceiver is to switch from the active mode to the sleep mode.

20. The system of claim 12 , wherein the starter circuit consumes a leakage current in the sleep mode that is less than a leakage current the transceiver consumes in the active mode.

21. A radio communication device comprising:

an antenna;

a transceiver including an input coupled to receive signals from the antenna, the transceiver comprising an active mode and a sleep mode; and

an AC starter circuit including an input coupled to receive signals from the antenna and an output coupled to the transceiver, the AC starter circuit comprising a rectifier circuit coupled to receive the signals from the antenna and configured to generate a rectified radio signal only when a power level of the received signals is equal to or greater than a first predetermined power level;

wherein the AC starter circuit sends:

an activation signal to the transceiver only when: (i) the power level of the received signal is equal to or greater than the first predetermined power level, which is greater than a power level of communication signals received by the transceiver, and (ii) the received signals include a startup sequence that is a predetermined startup sequence indicating that the transceiver is to switch from the sleep mode to the active mode; and wherein the AC starter circuit does not send the activation signal to the transceiver when the power level of the received signals is not equal to or greater than the first predetermined power level or when the startup sequence is not the predetermined startup sequence; or

a shutdown signal to the transceiver only when: (i) the power level of the received signal is equal to or greater than the first predetermined power level, which is greater than a power level of communication signals received by the transceiver, and (ii) the received signals include a shutdown sequence that is a predetermined shutdown sequence indicating that the transceiver is to switch from the active mode to the sleep mode; and wherein the AC starter circuit does not send the shutdown signal to the transceiver when the power level of the received signals is not equal to or greater than the first predetermined power level or when the shutdown sequence is not the predetermined shutdown sequence;

wherein the transceiver switches its operation mode from the sleep mode to the active mode when the transceiver in the sleep mode receives the activation signal from the AC starter circuit; or wherein the transceiver switches its operational mode from the active mode to the sleep mode when the transceiver in the active mode receives the shutdown signal from the AC starter circuit;

wherein the transceiver in the active mode decodes a radio signal received by the antenna, when a power level of the radio signal is equal to or greater than a second predetermined power level; and

wherein the AC starter circuit consumes a leakage current less than a leakage current which the transceiver consumes in the active mode.

22. The radio communication device of claim 21 , wherein the second predetermined power level is within a dynamic range in which the transceiver is operable; and the first predetermined power level is more than double the second predetermined power level.

23. The radio communication device of claim 21 , wherein the AC starter circuit is configured to send the shutdown signal to the transceiver to cause the transceiver to switch to the sleep mode.

24. The radio communication device of claim 21 , wherein the AC starter circuit is configured to send the activation signal to the transceiver to cause the transceiver to switch to the active mode.