Patent ID: 8208989

Claim:
An implant system including an implant for insertion into a body of a medical patient, the system providing a determination of implant position within the body, comprising: a transmit or receive unit, attached to the implant, including (i) a transponder to receive a first radiation signal when the implant is positioned within the body and to generate, in response to the first signal, a second radiation signal suitable for determining a position of the implant within the body, (ii) an antenna configured to transmit the second signal from the transponder to outside of the body and to receive the first signal from outside the body for transmission to the transponder, said antenna configured by a structural element of the implant to transmit the second signal in a plurality of directions, (iii) a memory unit for storing the position of the implant, and (iv) a sensor element for recording in the memory unit physical or physiological data of the body; a transmitter for generating and transmitting the first signal from outside the body to the transmit or receive unit when the implant is positioned within the body; at least one receiver for receiving the second signal at a position outside the body; and a position determination device operatively configured to receive (i) data associated with an image containing the implant and (ii) data based on the second signal, and to determine the position of the transponder based on correlation of the data descriptive of the image containing the implant positioned in the body with the data based on the second signal and provided from the receiver.