Patent ID: 7107103

Claim:
A full-body charger suitable for providing an alternating magnetic field to one or more electrically-powered devices adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a patient's body wherein each electrically-powered device is powered by a rechargeable battery mounted within each electrically-powered device and each electrically-powered device includes circuitry for storing a unique identification address for each electrically-powered device, wherein each rechargeable battery is chargeable in response to said alternating magnetic field and each electrically-powered device includes circuitry for minimizing its response to said alternating magnetic field when the status of its rechargeable battery is fully charged and generating a fully-charged battery status signal in response thereto and wirelessly transmitting said status signal according to its unique identification address in response to a wirelessly received control signal, said charger comprising: a support structure adapted to support a patient's body; one or more coils configured for mounting within said support structure, proximate to one or more of the electrically-powered devices, for emitting a magnetic field substantially encompassing one or more of the electrically-powered implanted devices when one or more of the implanted devices are proximate to said support structure; a controller for periodically providing an AC signal to energize at least one of said coils; and wherein said controller additionally includes communication circuitry for automatically periodically wirelessly providing a control signal to each electrically-powered device to selectively interrogate the status of the rechargeable battery mounted within and for wirelessly receiving a signal corresponding to the fully-charged battery status of the rechargeable battery in response thereto according to the unique identification address of each electrically-powered device.