Patent ID: 8540631

Claim:
A system for communicating within a patient's body, comprising: at least one implantable sensor adapted to be placed within a blood vessel of a patient, the at least one implantable sensor including an electrical energy source and an acoustic transducer configured for acoustic communication with a receiver, wherein the at least one implantable sensor further includes an acoustic switch circuit that is configured to activate the at least one implantable sensor in response to receiving an acoustic signal from an acoustic energy source, wherein the acoustic signal causes the acoustic transducer to form a voltage pulse that is conveyed to the acoustic switch circuit, and wherein the acoustic switch circuit closes, when the voltage pulse exceeds a threshold, to allow current to flow from the electrical energy source, thereby activating the at least one implantable sensor; a control implant adapted to be implanted in the patient, the control implant including an acoustic transducer configured for acoustic communication with the at least one implantable sensor; and wherein the at least one implantable sensor is coupled to a fixation element adapted to secure the sensor within the blood vessel.