Patent ID: 7668600

Claim:
An implantable medical device (IMD) having a telemetry module capable of operation in a synchronous communication mode alternating between a predefined transmit window and a predefined receive window, the IMD comprising: means for powering a receiver portion of the telemetry module on during each of the predefined receive window and off during the predefined transmit window; means for processing signals received during the predefined receive window, wherein a first portion of each received signal is a preamble; means for decoding the processed signals; means for identifying from the preamble of the decoded signals a first data set indicating that additional data will follow in a same predefined receive window, and a second data set indicating that additional data will not follow in the same predefined receive window; and means for powering the receiver off during a remainder of the same predefined receive window if the second data set is identified.