Patent ID: 8849412

Claim:
A system for modulating excitable tissue in a patient comprising: an implantable passive neural stimulation device comprising one or more electrodes and an embedded dipole receiving antenna; and a controller module comprising: a storage device configured to store parameters defining a stimulation waveform and polarity assignments for the electrodes; a controller configured to generate, based on the parameters, an output signal that includes the stimulation waveform and RF energy for operation of the implantable passive neural stimulation device, wherein the output signal additionally includes the polarity assignments for the electrodes in the implantable passive neural stimulation device; a modulator configured to modulate a carrier signal with the output signal to generate a transmission signal, wherein the carrier signal has a frequency between about 800 MHz to 6 GHz; and one or more antennas configured to transmit the transmission signal to the implantable passive neural stimulation device such that the implantable passive neural stimulation device uses energy solely from the transmission signal for operation without the need for long term energy storage in the implantable passive neural stimulation device, sets the polarities for the electrodes in the implantable passive neural stimulation device based on the polarity assignments, generates electrical pulses using the RF energy from the transmission signal, and applies the electrical pulses to the excitable tissue, when the implantable passive neural stimulation device is placed at a target site 1 cm to 6 cm below an outer skin surface of the patient and when the controller module is placed at a location exterior to the patient and spaced away from the outer skin of the patient.