Patent ID: 6451055
Filing Date: 2002-09-17
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
An artificial heart assembly, comprising:a blood inlet conduit; a blood outlet conduit; a pump that pumps blood from said blood inlet conduit to said blood outlet conduit, said pump including a motor; an internal coil adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject; an AC-to-DC converter coupled between said internal coil and said pump, said AC-to-DC converter generating an output voltage having a magnitude which is provided to said pump, said output voltage being generated from electric current passing through said internal coil; a voltage modulating circuit operatively coupled to said AC-to-DC converter, said voltage modulating circuit causing said magnitude of said output voltage generated by said AC-to-DC converter to be modulated in accordance with a transmit data signal; an external coil operatively coupled so that said output voltage induces an electric signal in said external coil; a DC-to-AC converter coupled to said external coil, said DC-to-AC converter generating an alternating electric current from a DC voltage, said alternating electric current being provided through said external coil; and a decoding circuit coupled to sense a parameter of said electric signal induced in said external coil, said decoding circuit generating a receive data signal from said sensed electric signal, said receive data signal corresponding to said transmit data signal.