Patent ID: 8010196

Claim:
A method, comprising: generating pulses in an implantable device, wherein a multi-phasic waveform of each pulse possesses alternating positive and negative phases, wherein each phase comprises a duration and an amplitude, wherein duration is defined as the width of the phase and amplitude is defined as the length of the phase, wherein the alternating positive and negative phases have an additive net-zero charge, wherein at least one negative phase has an absolute amplitude less than an absolute amplitude of one of the positive phases, and wherein the pulses are configured to generate a voltage on one or more capacitors of the bodily tissue and/or the implantable device in series with the impedance load of the bodily tissue path that has a zero-volt mean value; applying the pulses to a bodily tissue; measuring a frequency response of the bodily tissue to the applied pulses; and determining a tissue characteristic based on the frequency response.