Patent ID: 7110823

Claim:
A medical system comprising: an external device having means for generating and transmitting an RF signal; and an implantable device, the implantable device comprising an implantable antenna, an implantable receiver coupled to the implantable antenna, said implantable receiver being adapted to receive the RF signal, means for controlling the implantable receiver so that the implantable receiver operates in one of a detect mode, a receive mode, or a full data transfer mode, and means for controlling the implantable device in response to data and commands contained within the received RF signal, wherein during the detect mode the implantable receiver is OFF for a time period T 1 and ON for a time period T 2 , where T 2 is much shorter than T 1 , and wherein during the receive mode the implantable receiver is OFF for a time period T 3 and ON for a time period T 2 , where T 2 is less than T 3 , and T 3 is less than T 1 , and wherein during the full data transfer mode the receiver is ON all the time; whereby an RF telemetry link is established between the external device and the implantable device through which RF signals may be sent to the implantable device from the external device.