Method and apparatus for communicating data between medical devices to improve detectability of errors

Patent 5411536 Issued on May 2, 1995. Estimated Expiration Date:

June 3, 2013. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Data communication system with fixed weight error correction and detection code
Patent #: 4569050
Issued on: 02/04/1986
Inventor: Ohme

Method and apparatus for preserving the integrity of the error detection/correction word in a code word
Patent #: 4723244
Issued on: 02/02/1988
Inventor: Iacoponi

Position coded pulse communication system
Patent #: 4764769
Issued on: 08/16/1988
Inventor: Hayworth , et al.

Totally self-checking checker Patent #: 5179561
Issued on: 01/12/1993
Inventor: Izawa, et al.

Inventor

Armstrong, Randolph K.

Assignee

Intermedics, Inc.

Application

No. 071519 filed on 06/03/1993

US Classes:

607/32, Communicating with pacer (e.g., telemetry)340/870.01, CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE INDICATING (E.G., TELEMETERING)375/239, PULSE POSITION, FREQUENCY, OR SPACING MODULATION607/60Telemetry or communications circuits

Examiners

Primary: Kamm, William E.
Assistant: Parker, Marianne

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Robinson; Richard L.

Foreign Patent References

0072611 EP. 02/13/1983
0107483 EP. 05/13/1984
0177360 EP. 04/13/1986
0412427 EP. 02/13/1991
0466413 EP 01/13/1992
1069619 GB. 05/13/1967
9110471 WO. 07/13/1991

International Class

A61N 001/372

Abstract

A method and apparatus for processing data to be communicated between an implantable medical device and an external medical device to improve detectability of communication errors. An encoded block of data including message data and redundant data is processed by converting alternating data values of either the message data or the redundant data to respective complement data values. The altered block of data is communicated using relative pulse position modulation. The combination of alternating original and complement data with relative pulse position modulation (RPPM) takes advantage of the opposing adjacent errors characteristic of RPPM to decrease the probability of communication errors occurring in combinations that are undetectable by the decoding of the block of data.