Patent ID: 8428528

Claim:
A low power receiver, comprising: an antenna; a resonant circuit; a nonlinear device, wherein said antenna forms said resonant circuit or a part of said resonant circuit, or is directly or indirectly coupled to said resonant circuit; said antenna and said resonant circuit tuned to receive a first high frequency carrier of a predetermined first frequency F 1 and a second high frequency carrier of a predetermined second frequency F 2 simultaneously, which differ from each other by a predetermined intermediate or baseband frequency Fout =|F 2 −F 1 |, wherein said nonlinear device is directly or indirectly connected to said resonant circuit and configured to generate an intermediate frequency signal or a baseband signal, respectively, of frequency Fout, wherein said low power receiver is configured to operate according to a heterodyne principle to down convert a high frequency signal to said intermediate frequency signal or said baseband signal, respectively, via a mix of said first high frequency carrier and said second high frequency carrier to thus regain said intermediate frequency signal without a local oscillator; a second nonlinear device coupled to the antenna, said second nonlinear device comprising a signal input configured to receive signals having at least two different frequencies that include said predetermined first frequency F 1 and said predetermined second frequency F 2 and a signal output, said second nonlinear device configured to generate at least signals having two further frequencies F 21 and F 12 from received signals of said predetermined first frequency F 1 and said predetermined second frequency F 2 and to couple the signals having said two further frequencies F 21 and F 12 back to said antenna to transmit data out of said antenna; and, wherein said low power receiver is configured to reside within an implantable device configured to be implanted in a body of a mammal and wherein said implantable medical device is a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibrillator, or a combination thereof.