Granted Patent B2

US 12,531,438 · App. 18/391,277 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Inventors: Aydin Babakhani (Los Angeles, CA); Hamed Rahmani (Belle Mead, NJ); Hidemasa Mitsui (Santa Clara, CA)

Assignee: The Regents of the University of California

H02J50/27H02J50/001

Abstract

Claims (30)

1 . An implantable medical device comprising:

a sensor configured to generate a signal;

a transmit antenna;

a receive antenna;

a transmitter circuitry block coupled to the sensor and the transmit antenna and comprising:

a data modulator circuit operable in each of a first modulation scheme and a second modulation scheme, the data modulator circuit configured to receive a mode selection signal that sets the modulation scheme and to generate a transmit signal based on the signal generated by the sensor using the set modulation scheme, wherein the transmit signal is generated by the data modulator circuit using a DC (direct current) voltage derived from radio frequency energy received through the receive antenna; and

a power oscillator coupled between the data modulator and the transmit antenna.

2 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , further comprising a rectifier circuit coupled to the receive antenna and configured to convert radio frequency energy received through the receive antenna into the DC voltage.

3 . The implantable medical device of claim 2 , further comprising a power management unit (PMU) coupled to the rectifier circuit and configured to receive DC voltage from the rectifier circuit.

4 . The implantable medical device of claim 3 , further comprising a receiver circuitry block coupled to the receive antenna and configured to provide energy to the PMU.

5 . The implantable medical device of claim 4 , wherein the PMU is configured to set an operating mode and biasing condition of the receiver circuitry block and the transmitter circuitry block.

6 . The implantable medical device of claim 5 , wherein the operating mode comprises one of an active mode and a sleep mode for a transmit operation of the transmitter circuitry block, and the PMU is configured to set the operating mode based on a monitored voltage level of the PMU.

7 . The implantable medical device of claim 4 , wherein the PMU is configured to provide a DC voltage from the receiver circuitry block to the transmitter circuitry block to maintain a minimum voltage.

8 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a bioelectrical signal sensor and the signal generated by the sensor is a bioelectrical signal.

9 . The implantable medical device of claim 8 , wherein the bioelectrical signal sensor is a neural LFP (local field potential) sensor.

10 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises an electrochemical sensor and the signal generated by the sensor is an electrochemical signal.

11 . The implantable medical device of claim 10 , wherein the electrochemical sensor is a pH sensor configured to provide an electrochemical signal indicative of pH of a solution.

12 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein the transmit antenna is a dipole antenna.

13 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein dimensions of the transmit antenna and operating frequency of the transmit antenna are optimized to minimize interference from operation of the receive antenna.

14 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the receive antenna and the transmit antenna is on a chip.

15 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein both of the receive antenna and the transmit antenna are on a chip.

16 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein neither of the receive antenna and the transmit antenna is on a chip.

17 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein the receive antenna comprises a loop antenna, and the transmit antenna at least partially surrounds the receive antenna.

18 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , where the second frequency is higher than first frequency.

19 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , where the second frequency is at least 10 times the first frequency to avoid interference with a harmonic of the first frequency.

20 . The implantable medical device of claim 1 , wherein the power oscillator is configured to receive a trigger signal that enables the power oscillator.

21 . The implantable medical device of claim 20 , wherein the configuration of the trigger signal varies based on the set modulation scheme.

22 . The implantable medical device of claim 20 , wherein when the set modulation scheme corresponds to the first modulation scheme the trigger signal replicates a data pattern corresponding to the signal generated by the sensor.

23 . The implantable medical device of claim 20 , wherein when the set modulation scheme corresponds to the second modulation scheme the trigger signal is shaped as a return-to-zero waveform for data symbol 1 .

24 . The implantable medical device of claim 20 , wherein the power oscillator is directly coupled to the transmit antenna.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (400)