Patent ID: 6106551
Filing Date: 2000-08-22
Classification: A61F,A61M

Abstract:
An artificial heart assembly adapted to be implanted within a living subject, said artificial heart assembly comprising:a blood inlet conduit;a blood outlet conduit;a pumping mechanism for periodically pumping blood from said blood inlet conduit to said blood outlet conduit;a DC brushless motor operatively connected to said pumping mechanism;a controller operatively coupled to control said pumping mechanism; andan implantable data communications interface operatively coupled to said controller and adapted to receive an encoded data signal from a data communications interface located outside the subject at a position remote from said artificial heart assembly, said encoded data signal received by said implantable data communications interface being transmitted in a plurality of periodic signal bursts, said periodic bursts being transmitted at a first frequency to represent a first data value and a second frequency to represent a second data value, said second frequency being different than said first frequency, each of said bursts comprising a plurality of signal transitions having a third frequency, said third frequency being greater than said first frequency and greater than said second frequency, said implantable data communications interface comprising:a receiver adapted to receive said encoded data signal from said remote data communications interface;a generator adapted to generate an envelope signal from said encoded data signal; anda decoder coupled to receive said envelope signal from said generator, said decoder including a detector adapted to detect which portions of said envelope signal have a frequency substantially equal to said first frequency and which portions of said envelope signal have a frequency substantially equal to said second frequency.