Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

Pacesetter Systems Inc.

Alfred E. Mann Foundation

Other

Medtronic Minimed, Inc.

Advanced Bionics Corporation

Bioness Inc.

Second Sight, LLC

Pacesetter Infusion, Ltd.

G.d. Searle & Company

Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research and Advanced Bionics

Pacestter Systems, Inc.

Schulman, Joseph H.

Joseph H Schulman

John Charles Gord

Robert Jay Greenberg

Charles L Byers

Rajiv Shah

Lee Jay Mandell

Primoz Strojnik

David I Whitmoyer

Yitzhak Zilberman

Alfred E Mann

Abraham N Seidman

Joseph Y Lucisano

Ross Davis

Lyle Dean Canfield

Robert Dan Dell

Lawrence J Karr

James H Wolfe

Gerald E Loeb

Michael Steven Colvin

Guangqiang Jiang

Richard P Williamson

Shaun M Pendo

Reza P Rassool

Richard J Nelson

Ronald J Lebel

Gary D Schnittgrund

Howard H Stover

Gerald E Adomian

Martin J Vogel

Orville Rey Rule, Iii

Arkady Glukhovsky

Janusz A Kuzma

Carla M Mann

Adam Vogel, Legal Representative

Robert A Firth

Arthur Prochazka

Mark Chamberlain

Anthony D Falco

Michael Allen Faltys

Brian V Mech

David L Canfield

Kate E Purnell

Eusebiu Matei

Kate E Fey

Gregoire Cosendai

David L Hankin

Ralph M Weisner

Lung-Hsi Chu

Brian M Mann

Jack W Love

Lanny A Gorton

Paul DeRocco

Robert Moore

Brian J Lasater

Donald J Hancock

Andrew T Barber

Morten Hansen

Dan Folkman

James W Beazell

Russell R Beane

Douglas G Ritchie

Robert J Greenburg

Anne Marie Ripley

Ali Rostami

Paul Meadows

Dianne Allum-Mecklenburg

Patrice L Heck

Francis J Richmond

Andy Voelkel

Wayne A Morgan

Jozef I Kie Sioe Tan

Dale A Lewis

Ytizhak Zilberman

Doug Kuschner

Ruth Turk

Jane Burridge

Scott V Notley

Christian Perron

Maria-Isabel Arcos-Burgos

Christian Y Perron

Albert A Maltan

Thomas A Santogrossi

Martin A Vogel

Jiang Guangqiang

An apparatus and method is related to providing sensing functions that are similar to 'human touch' when located in a prosthetic device such as a BION microstimulator that is implanted in a patient. The apparatus includes a power circuit, a communication circuit and a sensor circuit. The power circuit provides power to the communication circuit and the sensor circuit. The sensor cooperates with the communication circuit, which communicates to the brain. The sensor uses various techniques to detect changes in the environment for the surrounding tissue using criteria such as reflectivity, impedance, conductivity, return signal spectrum, return signal rate and return signal phase to name a few. For example, the impedance observed by the sensor changes when: the skin tissue is deformed around the sensor, or when the skin is surrounded by water. The sensory information is interpreted by the brain as an analog of touch or feel.

Neural prosthetic with touch-like sensing

Biocompatible stiffness enhanced pliable electrically conductive filaments configured for contact with living tissue and electrical communication with such tissue. The pliability of the filaments allows the distal end of the filaments to remain at the original site of penetration into the tissue despite the movement of the tissue relative to their surrounding environment. To temporarily stiffen the filaments, a soluble stiffness enhancing coating is disposed over the filaments. The coating may be in the form of a liquid which dries to a solid state after being applied to the filaments and renders the filaments sufficiently rigid such that under appropriate force, the filaments are capable of penetrating into dense tissue. Once in place, the stiffness enhancing coating dissolves due to contact with body fluids, the filaments, in the absence of such a coating, return to their initial pliability.

Stiffness enhanced filaments

Systems and method utilizing microelectronic devices for determining relative positions such as distances and/or angles between at least two points is described. The points may be locations of parts of the body such as the fingers on a person's hand. A first microelectronic device is adapted to emit magnetic signals and at least one second microelectronic device is adapted to receive the magnetic signals, wherein a controller is adapted to communicate with the first and second microelectronic devices. The second microelectronic device and/or the controller are adapted to determine a distance and angle between the first and the second microelectronic devices based on the strength of the magnetic signals received by the second microelectronic device.

System for deteriming relative distance(s) and/or angel(s) between at least two points

A brain implant device includes a housing containing communication and control electronics coupled to a conduit configured for monitoring signals from a brain's motor cortex and providing stimulation signals to the brain's sensory cortex. The brain implant device is capable of wireless communication with an external communication and control signal source by means of an antenna provided in the housing. The conduit is flexible and may contain upwards of 128 electrical conductors providing electrical connections between the device electronics and related sites on the motor and/or sensory cortex by means of a plurality of electrically conductive protuberances extending from the conduit and adapted for contact with such sites.

Brain implant device

Methods for making biocompatible stiffness enhanced pliable electrically conductive filaments configured for contact with living tissue and electrical communication with such tissue. The pliability of a filament allows the distal end of the filament to remain at the original site of penetration into the tissue despite the movement of the tissue relative to its surrounding environment. To temporarily stiffen the filament, a soluble stiffness enhancing coating is disposed over the filament. The coating may be in the form of a liquid which dries to a solid state after being applied to the filament and renders the filament sufficiently rigid such that under appropriate force, the filament is capable of penetrating into dense tissue. Once in place the stiffness enhancing coating dissolves due to contact with body fluids, the filament, in the absence of such coating, returns to its initial pliability.

Method for providing stiffness enhanced filaments

The present invention is a visual prosthesis for the restoration of sight in patients with lost or degraded visual function. The visual prosthesis includes an implantable portion which stimulates visual neural tissue according to stimulation patterns sent by a programmable video processing unit. The video processing unit controls stimulation patterns including programmable wave forms to provide monopolar, bipolar, and multipolar wave forms.

Stimulation patterns for a visual prosthesis

An electronic filter circuit includes an electromechanical resonator that is mounted directly to the surface of a silicon integrated circuit, rather than being a surface mounted or leaded filter can on a circuit board. This filter circuit allows the integrated circuit electronic package to be significantly smaller than a conventional electromechanical resonator package. The electromechanical resonator may be protected during processing and during use with a protective cover that is made of a material such as titanium. The protective cover is attached to the integrated circuit chip.

Piezoelectric device mounted on integrated circuit chip

The present invention is a visual prosthesis for the restoration of sight in patients with lost or degraded visual function. The visual prosthesis includes a user interface which controls function of the visual prosthesis to optimize operation for each individual patient. The user interface controls functions such as brightness, contrast, magnification, frequency, pulse width, or amplitude. The user interface may also individually control points of neural stimulation.

Visual prosthesis with user interface

The electrode array is a device for making electrical contacts with cellular tissue or organs. The electrode array includes an assembly of electrically conductive electrodes arising from a substrate where the electrodes are hermetically bonded to the substrate. A method of manufacture of an electrode array and associated circuitry is disclosed where the braze preform tab disappears during the braze bonding process and is completely drawn into the substrate feedthrough holes such that the braze perform tab is completely involved in the braze joint and is no longer connecting the adjacent electrodes.

Method of manufacture of an electrode array

The present invention provides improvements to an implant, system and method using passive electrical conductors which route electrical current to either external or implanted electrical devices, to multiple target body tissues and to selective target body tissues. The passive electrical conductor extends from subcutaneous tissue located below either a surface cathodic electrode or a surface anodic electrode a) to a target tissue to route electrical signals from the target body tissue to devices external to the body; b) to implanted electrical devices to deliver electrical current to such devices, or c) to multiple target body tissues or to selective target body tissues to stimulate the target body tissues. The conductor has specialized ends for achieving such purposes.

Implant, system and method using implanted passive conductors for routing electrical current

Systems and method utilizing microelectronic devices for determining relative positions such as distances and/or angles between at least two points is described. The points may be locations of parts of the body such as the fingers on a person's hand. A first microelectronic device is adapted to emit magnetic signals and at least a second microelectronic device is adapted to receive the magnetic signals, wherein a controller is adapted to communicate with the first and second microelectronic devices. The second microelectronic device and/or the controller are adapted to determine a distance and angle between the first and the second microelectronic devices based on the strength of the magnetic signals received by the second microelectronic device.

System for determining relative distance(s) and/or angle(s) between at least two points

The present invention is an implantable electronic device formed within a biocompatible hermetic package. Preferably the implantable electronic device is used for a visual prosthesis for the restoration of sight in patients with lost or degraded visual function. The package is formed from a thin film of hermetic biocompatible material to minimize the size of the implanted device.

Package for an implantable device

Permanent magnets or electromagnets or a combination of such magnets are provided to retain a prosthetic device on an extremity or limb, such as an amputated arm. The prosthesis utilizes the opposing forces, which are developed by virtue of like magnetic poles being in proximity to each other, to urge the prosthesis to remain attached to the extremity. The prosthesis is prevented from rotation by virtue of a centering force that is provided by an attachment magnet in the prosthesis being placed between two implanted magnets. A removable mounting ring is placed over the prosthesis to maintain it on the extremity.

Strapless prosthetic arm

A system for monitoring temperature in a body, the system comprising at least one implantable device, wherein the implantable device(s) is operable to sense temperature in the body and to generate status signals based on the sensed temperature in the body. The system further comprising a system control unit for wirelessly communicating with the implantable device(s), and the system control unit comprising a signal receiver for receiving the status signals, and also a programmable controller for producing notification signals based on the received status signals. A notification unit can alternatively communicate with the system control unit or the implantable device(s) for disclosing the sensed body temperature based on the notification signals.

System for monitoring temperature

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clarita, CA, United States of America

Joseph H Schulman