System and method for intra-body communication of sensed physiologic data
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.
1 . A system for collecting real-time on-demand measurements, the system comprising:
an implantable medical device (IMD) configured to be implanted in a patient, the IMD configured to sense and analyze a first type of patient data; and
an implantable sensor comprising:
a housing configured to be implanted in a blood vessel of a patient;
a power source;
a sensing circuit configured to sense a physiologic parameter of interest (PPOI) and to generate signals indicative of the PPOI;
a communications circuit configured to communicate with the IMD and an external device (ED);
a memory configured to store program instructions; and
one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the housing holds the power source, the sensing circuit, the communications circuit, the memory, and the one or more processors, wherein the program instructions are executable by the one or more processors to:
receive a data collection instruction from the IMD;
responsive to receiving the data collection instruction, collect real-time on-demand measurements for a second type of patient data by (i) activating the sensing circuit to generate the signals indicative of the PPOI; (ii) converting the signals to physiologic data indicative of the PPOI; and (iii) storing the physiologic data in the memory over a collection period, wherein the second type of patient data differs from the first type of patient data; and
direct the communications circuit to transmit at least some of the physiologic data stored in the memory to at least one of the IMD or the ED at first times or intervals according to a predetermined data transmission schedule.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory is configured to store a data collection schedule, and the one or more processors are further configured to collect the measurements based on the data collection schedule in real-time.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the power source is configured to store an amount of energy to supply the sensing circuit, the communications circuit, and the one or more processors for at least a predetermined number of data collection operations and radiofrequency (RF) communication sessions, the data collection operations and RF communication sessions performed without any external energy delivery.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the communications circuit further comprises a radiofrequency (RF) antenna configured to communicate with the IMD utilizing RF communications signals.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a first housing portion at a first end of the sensor, a second housing portion at a second end of the sensor opposite the first end, and a flexible cable disposed between and connected to the first and second housing portions, the sensor including a first electrode of the communications circuit held by the first housing portion and a second electrode of the communications circuit held by the second housing portion, the first electrode electrically coupled to the second electrode via the flexible cable, wherein the one or more processors are configured to direct the communications circuit to transmit the physiologic data by applying voltage bursts to the first and second electrodes to create a polarized electric field around the sensor.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to remain in a sleep mode until transitioning to a wake mode in response to receiving a wake-up instruction from a clock of the implantable sensor, the one or more processors configured to perform at least one of the activating, converting, storing, and directing operations when in the wake mode.
7 . The system of claim 1 wherein the sensing circuit is configured to sense, as the PPOI, at least one of pressure, temperature, respiration, or a body generated analyte (BGA), wherein the signals generated by the sensing circuit represent electrical signals, for which at least one of voltage, current, capacitance, inductance or resistance varies based on a level of the PPOI.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the power source includes a secondary battery, the secondary battery electrically connected to one of (i) the IMD via a direct wired connection to receive electrical power from the IMD or (ii) an energy harvesting unit of the sensor, the energy harvesting unit comprising a coil configured to inductively connect to an external recharge device to transfer electrical power from the external recharge device to the secondary battery via the energy harvesting unit.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to collect the measurements at second times or intervals according to a predetermined data collection schedule, stored in the memory of the sensor, to store the physiologic data in the memory over the collection period, and wherein the second times or intervals of the data collection schedule are more frequent than the first times or intervals of the data transmission schedule.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the housing of the implantable sensor includes one or more loop wires that extend from the housing for anchoring the implantable sensor to the blood vessel of the patient.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the implantable sensor is a pressure sensor and the PPOI is blood pressure; and wherein the IMD includes sensing circuitry coupled to electrodes and configured to sense electrical cardiac activity data, a processor that, when executing program instructions, is configured to analyze the cardiac activity data.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor of the IMD is configured to analyze the physiologic data and based thereon change a therapy delivered by the IMD.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the communications circuit is configured to wirelessly communicate with the IMD and the ED utilizing at least one of radio frequency wireless communication or conductive communication.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor of the IMD is configured to determine whether the physiologic data indicates a change that prompts a modification of treatment provided by the IMD.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to modify at least one parameter of the therapy provided by the IMD based on the determination.
16 . A method comprising:
sensing and analyzing a first type of patient data utilizing an implantable medical device (IMD) implanted in a patient; and
receiving, via a communications circuit of an implantable sensor implanted within the patient, a data collection instruction communicated by the IMD, wherein the implantable sensor includes a housing configured to be implanted in a blood vessel of the patient;
collecting real-time on-demand measurements for a second type of patient data via the implantable sensor in response to receiving the data collection instruction, wherein the collecting operation comprises (i) activating a sensing circuit of the implantable sensor to sense a physiologic parameter of interest (PPOI) and generate signals indicative of the PPOI, the sensing circuit powered by a power source onboard the implantable sensor; (ii) converting the signals to physiologic data indicative of the PPOI via one or more processors of the implantable sensor; and (iii) storing the physiologic data in a memory of the implantable sensor, wherein the second type of patient data differs from the first type of patient data, wherein the housing holds the power source, the sensing circuit, the communications circuit, the memory, and the one or more processors; and
directing the communications circuit of the implantable sensor to transmit at least some of the physiologic data stored in the memory to at least one of the IMD or an external device (ED) outside of the patient in response to receiving the data collection instruction.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising collecting the real-time on-demand measurements via the implantable sensor at first times or intervals according to a predetermined data collection schedule stored in the memory in addition to collecting the real-time on-demand measurements in response to receiving the data collection instruction.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising directing the communications circuit to transmit radiofrequency (RF) communications signals comprising the physiologic data stored in the memory to the at least one of the IMD or the ED at second times or intervals according to a predetermined data transmission schedule, in addition to directing the communications circuit to transmit the at least some of the physiologic data to the at least one of the IMD or the ED on-demand in response to receiving the data collection instruction.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first times or intervals of the data collection schedule are more frequent than the second times or intervals of the data transmission schedule.
20 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising assembling the implantable sensor to include, as the housing, a first housing portion, a second housing portion, and a flexible cable disposed between and connected to the first and second housing portions, the assembling operation comprising:
installing a first electrode of the communications circuit to the first housing portion;
installing a second electrode of the communications circuit to the second housing portion; and
electrically coupling the first electrode to the second electrode via the flexible cable,
wherein the directing operation to direct the communications circuit of the sensor to transmit the physiologic data comprises applying voltage bursts to the first and second electrodes to create a polarized electric field around the sensor.
21 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising directing the communications circuit to transmit radiofrequency (RF) communications signals comprising at least some of the physiologic data stored in the memory to the IMD in response to receiving the data collection instruction.
22 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising analyzing the physiologic data and changing a therapy delivered by the IMD based on the analysis.
23 . A system for collecting real-time on-demand measurements, the system comprising:
an implantable medical device (IMD) configured to be implanted in a patient, the IMD configured to sense and analyze a first type of patient data; and
an implantable sensor comprising:
a housing configured to be implanted in a blood vessel of a patient;
a power source;
a sensing circuit configured to sense a physiologic parameter of interest (PPOI) and to generate signals indicative of the PPOI;
a communications circuit configured to communicate with an implantable medical device (IMD) implanted within the patient and an external device (ED);
a memory configured to store program instructions and to store a data collection schedule; and
one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the housing holds the power source, the sensing circuit, the communications circuit, the memory, and the one or more processors, wherein the program instructions are executable by the one or more processors to:
collect real-time on-demand measurements for a second type of patient data, based on the data collection schedule, by (i) activating the sensing circuit to generate the signals indicative of the PPOI; (ii) converting the signals to physiologic data indicative of the PPOI; and (iii) storing the physiologic data in the memory over a collection period, wherein the second type of patient data differs from the first type of patient data; and
direct the communications circuit to transmit the physiologic data stored in the memory to the IMD at intervals.
24 . The system of claim 23 , wherein the implantable sensor is a pressure sensor and the PPOI is blood pressure; and wherein the IMD includes sensing circuitry coupled to electrodes and configured to sense electrical cardiac activity data, a processor that, when executing program instructions, is configured to analyze the cardiac activity data.
25 . The system of claim 23 , wherein the processor of the IMD is configured to analyze the physiologic data and based thereon change a therapy delivered by the IMD.