Patent ID: 7699060

Claim:
An implantable medical device telemetry method, the method comprising the steps of: providing an implantable medical device, the implantable medical device including at least one of a device transmitter and a device receiver; providing an external communication device, the external communication device including at least one of an external transmitter and an external receiver connected to an antenna for communication with the at least one of the device transmitter and the device receiver; determining validity of a communication link between the at least one of the device transmitter and the device receiver of the implantable medical device and the at least one of the external transmitter and the external receiver of the external communication device; and providing a tactile indication as a function of the validity determination, wherein providing the tactile indication as a function of the validity determination includes initiating the tactile indication upon determination of a valid communication link and discontinuing the tactile indication after a predetermined period of time following initiation thereof.