Patent ID: 8761895

Claim:
An active implantable medical device (AIMD), comprising: a) a telemetry transceiver that is powerable by the AIMD, the transceiver having an active telemetry mode when it is powered by the AIMD and a sleep mode when it is not being powered by the AIMD; and b) a passive RF tag comprising at least four terminals, wherein a first terminal and a second terminal are connected to opposite ends of an RF antenna, a third terminal is electrically connected to a first connection of a wake-up circuit, and a fourth terminal is electrically connected to a second connection of the wake-up circuit; and c) an electrical connection from the wake-up circuit to the transceiver, d) wherein the RF tag is configured to receive an interrogation signal from a remote location via the RF antenna and then transmit a wake-up signal to the wake-up circuit via the third and fourth terminals, and e) wherein the wake-up circuit is configured to then connect the transceiver to the AIMD power source to thereby activate the transceiver from the sleep mode to the active telemetry mode for receiving information from the remote location and transmitting information from the AIMD to the remote location for subsequent use of the information.