Abstract:
An identifier apparatus  10  for acquiring a signature signal frequency  12  from an implantable medical device  11  that is internally implanted in a patient. The apparatus  10  identifies the type of implantable medical device  11  and the device manufacturer by the unique signature signal frequency  12  of the manufacturer and device. The apparatus  10  aids healthcare providers with quick and exact knowledge of a patients implanted device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application, application Ser. No. 61/878,804, filed Sep. 17, 2013 by the present inventor Vassilis Dimas. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a hand-held scanner to identify specific frequencies of radio waves emitted by devices surgically implanted in a body of a person, and match that emitted frequency to an associated manufacturer of the implanted device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The miracles of modern medicine continue to amaze. Cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIED&#39;s), which include implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, and implantable loop recorders, have been around for decades, and utilize the latest in electronics and computer technology. Such technology allows for small size, precise operation, increasingly improving battery longevity, recording of diagnostic data, and tailoring of operating parameters to individual patient needs. The end result is that millions of patients in the US, and abroad, benefit from CIED&#39;s with hundreds of thousands of new patients receiving implants every year. This results in an unusual challenge to healthcare providers who are caring for patients with CIED&#39;s. Healthcare providers commonly require accessing of CIED diagnostic data and performed using RF telemetry enabled programmers supplied by the various manufacturers of the CIED&#39;s, which are not compatible with other manufactures CIED&#39;s. This has created an interesting dynamic within the healthcare world where trained programmer operators (often manufacturer representatives) are frequently called into clinical settings to use their programmer to interact with a patient&#39;s CIED and then provide valuable device information to the overseeing healthcare provider. This reliance on trained programmer operators occurs in virtually every clinical setting imaginable including physician offices, hospital settings, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, outpatient surgery centers, and emergency rooms. Typically, these trained programmer operators are not on site in these settings, so quick identification of a patient&#39;s CIED manufacturer is a necessary first step to facilitate notification of the appropriate programmer operator in a timely fashion. Despite significant advances in device related technology, methods for CIED manufacturer identification remain antiquated and have not kept pace with our evolving healthcare system that relies on efficiency to reduce cost and improve patient outcomes. Current methods for CIED manufacturer identification include identification cards carried by the patient, directly calling all CIED manufacturers and having them look up the patient in their databases, or chest x-ray. Identification cards are often lost by the patients or left in a wallet or purse that is not with the patient in the clinical setting. Frequently, the provider must make a guess regarding the CIED manufacturer during a patient visit, but this method may require a phone call to as many as all CIED manufacturers prior to appropriate identification of the correct manufacturer. This is a time consuming process that can utilize anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes (15-45 mins.) of a healthcare provider&#39;s time. A chest x-ray is not only a source of unnecessary radiation exposure as well as cost, but it also is not a definitive method for manufacturer identification. In the end, current methods for CIED manufacturer identification result in poor utilization of healthcare resources, decreased efficiency, and healthcare dollars unnecessarily wasted on what could be a relatively simple task. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which CIED&#39;s can be quickly, easily, and reliably identified in order to avoid these problems. The development of the present invention fulfills this need. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS FIGURES 
       The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a scanner  20  and charging station  30  to identify implantable medical devices  11 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an environmental view of an implantable medical device  11  emitting a signature frequency  12 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an electrical schematic of the charging station  30 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an electrical schematic of the scanner  20 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 DRAWINGS Reference Numerals 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 10 apparatus 
                 110 second antenna 
               
               
                 11 implantable medical device 
                 120 switching assembly 
               
               
                 12 signature frequency 
                 130 rechargeable battery 
               
               
                 20 scanner 
                 140 first set of electrical leads 
               
               
                 30 charging station 
                 150 second set of electrical leads 
               
               
                 40 central processor 
                 160 trays 
               
               
                 50 interface 
                 170 base 
               
               
                 60 display screen 
                 180 charging port 
               
               
                 70 handle 
                 190 electrical power cord 
               
               
                 80 wand 
                 200 powers converted 
               
               
                 90 first antenna 
                 210 transformers 
               
               
                 100 electrical circuitry 
                 220 wirelesses MODEM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within  FIGS. 1 through 4 . However, the invention is not limited to the described embodiment, and a person skilled in the art will appreciate that many other embodiments of the invention are possible without deviating from the basic concept of the invention and that any such work around will also fall under the scope of this invention. It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope. The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGURES 
     The present invention describes a hand-held apparatus (herein referred to as the “apparatus”) particularly suited to record frequencies of radio waves emitted by devices  11  surgically implanted in a body of a person, identify specific signature frequencies  12 , and match those frequencies  12  to an associated manufacturer of the implanted device  11 . Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , perspective view of a scanner  20  and charging station  30  to identify implantable medical devices  11  and an environmental view of an implantable medical device  11  emitting a signature frequency  12 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, are disclosed. The apparatus  10  comprises a scanner  20  and a charging station  30 . The scanner  20  is used to detect and identify certain frequencies of radio waves emitted from medical devices  11  that are surgically implanted into a person. Implantable medical devices  11 , such as defibrillators and pacemakers, are “interrogatable”. Interrogation comprises collecting status and performance data that have been encoded into carrier electromagnetic waves emitted by the device  11 , analyzing the data, and converting the date into an assessment of the patient who has the device  11  implanted in their being. These medical devices  11  typically emit electromagnetic waves, in the radio wave spectrum, encoded with the data that are acquisitioned and processed to provide the assessment of the patient. The radio wave spectrum is a band of electromagnetic waves exhibiting a frequency within the range of three hundred gigahertz to three kilohertz (300 GHz to 3 kHz) (herein referred to as “RF”). In addition to the status and performance data, each device  11  emits a signature electromagnetic wave, exhibiting a specific frequency, (herein referred to as “signature frequency”)  12 . This signature frequency  12  is unique to the manufacturer of the device  11 ; therefore, it can be used to identify the manufacturer of the device  11 . It is this signature frequency  12  that the scanner  20  detects and associates with a particular manufacture. There are multiple manufacturers of such devices  11 , but each device  11  manufactured from a particular manufacturer emits a signature frequency  12  that is unique to that manufacture. Each signature frequency  12 , along with its associated manufacturer, is assigned a proxy value, which is stored in a database of a central processor  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) housed within the scanner  20 . The scanner  20 , through a Fourier Transform signal processing scheme, identifies frequencies of RF waves emitted from the devices  11 , converts them to binary information, and processed the binary information through an algorithm of the central processor  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) to match the bit sequence of the binary information to one (1) of the stored proxy values of the database. Once a match has been made, the central processor  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) communicates a signal to a display screen  60  of the scanner  20  to present a digital readout that indicates the manufacturer associated with the signature frequency  12 . The scanner  20  comprises a handle  70  and a wand  80 , and is preferably fabricated from a rigid plastic material. The handle  70  has a hollow construction that houses the central processor and the necessary electrical circuitry  100  (see  FIG. 4 ) for the scanner  20 . The wand  80  extends from a top portion of the handle  70 , and is an elongated member that houses a first antenna  90  (see  FIG. 4 ). It is understood that other configurations and ornamental designs of the scanner  20  may be utilized without deviating from the teaching of the apparatus  10 . The first antenna  90  (see  FIG. 4 ) is an induction style antenna and preferably comprises electrically conductive elements configured to form an induction coil. The length and configuration of the first antenna  90  is such that it generates alternating current when placed in a RF wave field. The electrical circuitry  100  (see  FIG. 4 ) is placed into electrical communication with the first antenna  90  (see  FIG. 4 ) so that electrical current generated by the first antenna  90  (see  FIG. 4 ) is transmitted to the electrical circuitry  100  (see  FIG. 4 ). When the first antenna  90  is within a RF wave field, induction generates an alternating electrical current exhibiting a frequency mirroring the frequency of the RF waves being imparted upon the first antenna  90  ( 5  see  FIG. 4 ), which is then transmitted to the electrical circuitry  100  (see  FIG. 4 ). Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an electrical schematic of the scanner  20 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed. The electrical circuitry  100  preferably comprises a plurality of resonant circuits, response circuits, excitation circuits, and feedback circuits so as to enable the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) to serve as a transmitter, a receiver, and an analog frequency detector. The electrical circuitry  100  is further configured to create a plurality of circuit arrays, arranged in parallel, where each array operates at a resonant frequency. The resonant frequency is a frequency of alternating current passing through the array at which resonance will occur. The circuitry is configured such that resonance is a condition precedent for the circuit to operate. Configuration of the feedback and response circuits further enables a user to tune each resonant circuit to operate at a desired resonant frequency, thereby setting a resonant frequency for each array at the discretion of the user. To make the electrical circuitry  100  act as an identifier of signature frequencies  12  (see  FIG. 2 ), each resonant frequency set for each array will be the signature frequency  12  (see  FIG. 2 ) associated with the various implantable medical devices  11  (see  FIG. 2 ) that a user desires to identify. Therefore, each array is tuned to resonate at a frequency associated with the signature frequency  12  (see  FIG. 2 ) of an implantable medical device  11  (see  FIG. 2 ) made by a particular manufacturer. The alternating electrical current transmitted from the first antenna  90 , if it matches that of one (1) of the resonant frequencies of an array, will cause that array to operate. Once in operation, an excitation circuit of the activated array emits a communication signal that is transferred to the central processor  40 . This communication signal is concurrently emitted from the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) by a second antenna  110 . The second antenna  110  has a similar construction and configuration as that of the first antenna  100 , and is placed into electrical connection with each excitation circuit. The excitation circuit sends alternating current to the second antenna  110 , which radiates RF waves exhibiting a frequency mirroring the frequency of the alternating current of the excitation circuit. Again, configuration of the feedback and response circuits further enables a user to adjust the frequency of the alternating current being transmitted by each excitation circuit. This affords a user the ability to set a frequency for each communication signal from each excitation circuit so that a particular communication signal is characteristic of the wireless signal necessary to establish communication with the implantable medical device  11  (see  FIG. 2 ). It is understood that amplifier, attenuation, and filter circuitry necessary to facilitate adequate signal telemetry between the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) and any implantable medical device  11  (see  FIG. 2 ) within operational range of each other are incorporated into the electrical circuitry  100 . It is envisioned for the operational range to be between three inches (3 in.) and 24 inches (24 in.). The central processor  40  is in electrical communication with the electrical circuitry  100 . The central processor  40  creates binary outputs by performing algorithmic functions of a computer program based upon conditional binary inputs. A signal analysis algorithmic function of the central processor  40  preferably exploits a Fourier Transform function to enable signal processing of the analog radio wave signal transmitted from the first antenna  90 . The Fourier Transform function samples the signal and provides a binary output representative of the signal. This binary output is encoded and then iterated through another algorithm of the central processor  40  to determine a match within the proxy value database of the central processor  40 . The central processor  40  is further provided with algorithmic functions to manipulate the feedback and response circuits in order to set resonant frequencies and communication signal frequencies of circuit arrays based upon manual inputs through an interface  50  (see  FIG. 1 ) of the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ), or through wireless download inputs when the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) is connected to the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ). A front surface of the handle  70  (see  FIG. 1 ) of the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) is provided an interface  50  (see  FIG. 1 ) and display screen  60  (see  FIG. 1 ). The interface  50  (see  FIG. 1 ) enables a user to command the apparatus by manual inputs. The interface  50  (see  FIG. 1 ) preferably is a touch-screen, having depression plates and pressure sensors in electrical connections with a switching assembly  120 . When depressed, an electrical contact is made between a depression plate and pressure sensor to send an electrical signal to the central processor  40  to carry out a command. The display screen  60  (see  FIG. 1 ) is a digital display, and preferably comprises an array of liquid crystals. When prompted by an algorithmic function, due to a conditional input, the central processor  40  sends an electrical signal to the display screen  60  (see  FIG. 1 ) to excite a an array, or multiple arrays, of liquid crystals to generate a pixel image on the display screen  60  (see  FIG. 1 ). A rechargeable battery  130  is located with the handle  70  (see  FIG. 1 ). The battery  130  preferably comprises an electrochemical cell having an anode and cathode to convert and store electrical energy; however, it is understood that other battery  130  styles and types may be utilized without deviating from the teachings of the apparatus  10 , and as such should not be interpreted as a limiting factor of the apparatus  10 . Extending from the battery  130  is a first set of electrical leads  140  that terminate at a bottom surface of the handle  70  (see  FIG. 1 ). The first set of electrical leads  140  are also placed into electrical communication with the electrical circuitry  100 . The first set of electrical leads  140  terminates at a surface of the handle  70  (see  FIG. 1 ) such as to be exposed, thus facilitating electrical contact with a second set of electrical leads  150  (see  FIG. 1 ) of the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) when the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) and placed into  20  the charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ). Referring now to  FIG. 3 , an electrical schematic of the charging station  30 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed. The charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) comprises a casing, having a tray  160  (see  FIG. 1 ) positioned on top of a base  170  (see  FIG. 1 ). The casing preferably comprises a rigid polymer material. A charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ) is disposed on a surface of the tray  160  (see  FIG. 1 ), where a surface of the charging port  180  is provided with the second set of electrical leads  150 . It is understood that other configurations and ornamental designs of the charging station  30  may be utilized without deviating from the teaching of the apparatus  10 . The second set of electrical leads  150  are configured to match a profile of the first set of electrical leads  140  (see  FIG. 3 ) of the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) so as to facilitate a physical contact between the two sets of leads  140 ,  150  when the handle  70  (see  FIG. 1 ) of the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) is inserted into the charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ). The construction of the charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ) and tray  160  (see  FIG. 1 ) is such as to allow the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) to rest in an up-right position on the tray  160  (see  FIG. 1 ) while being docked in the charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ). The charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ) is further provided with a an electrical power cord  190 , having a standard prong set to plug into a standard 120V wall outlet and draw electrical power from the outlet. The electrical power drawn from the wall outlet supplies the necessary electrical power to the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) to recharge the battery  130  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) and operate the electrical components of the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ). A power converter  200  and transformer  210  are placed into electrical connection with the electrical power cord  190  where the electrical power cord  190  connects with the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ). The power converter  200  and transformer  210  configure the electrical power from the 120V power source to facilitate proper electrical power transfer to the battery  130  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) and electrical components of the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ). Electrical connections are made with the power converter  200  and transformer  210 , which transfer the configured electrical power to the various electrical components of the charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) and to the second set of electrical leads  150  of the charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ). The charging station  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) is further equipped with a wireless MODEM  220  to facilitate modulation and demodulation of wireless communications, and the reception of wireless telemetric information from service providers. The MODEM  220  is placed into electrical connection with the second set of electrical leads  150  so that when the scanner  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) is docked at the charging port  180  (see  FIG. 1 ), the wireless telemetric information from service providers will automatically adjust algorithms of the central processor  40  (see  FIG. 4 ), modify or add resonant frequencies, and modify or add communication signals. It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope. 
     Operation of the Preferred Embodiment 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the enabled user in a simple and straightforward manner with little or no training. The apparatus  10  would be configured as indicated in  FIG. 1  upon the initial purchase or acquisition. 
     The method of utilizing the apparatus  10  may be achieved by performing the following steps: acquiring the apparatus  10 ; plugging the electrical power cord  190  in a wall outlet; docking the scanner  20  into the charging port  180  of the charging station  30 ; allowing the battery  130  to store electrical power; allowing the MODEM  220  to facilitate the transfer of updated information to modify computer algorithms of the central processor  40 ; removing the scanner  20  from the charging port  180 ; inputting commands manually through the interface  50  if necessary; grasping the handle  70  and placing the wand  80  within operational range of an implantable medical device  11  so that the first antenna  90  is within a RF wave field emitted by an implantable medical device  11 ; allowing the electrical circuitry  100 , the central processor  40 , and second antenna  110  communicate with the implantable medical device  11 , identify a signature frequency  12 , and display the associated manufacturer of the implantable medical device  11  on the display screen  60 ; and, employ the apparatus  10  to assist with the quick and accurate identification of a manufacturer of a surgically implanted medical device  11 .
 
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.