The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 20, 1999
Filed:
Mar. 12, 1997
Francisco J Barreras, Sr, Miami, FL (US);
Oscar Jimenez, Coral Gables, FL (US);
Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
The electric field steering assembly is used to control the size and/or location of, and/or steer the position of, an electric field in a living creature. The assembly comprises a pulse generator or stimulator, at least one implanted lead coupled to the stimulator and having, at a distal end thereof, at least three spaced apart electrodes, and electrical circuitry for adjusting the current and/or voltage at each electrode. The electrical circuitry is programmed to: 1) electronically change the size and/or location of an electric field established between the electrodes by independently programming the current flowing through of one or more anode (+) electrode(s) from one or more cathode (-) electrode(s), thereby steering the size and location of the electric field to recruit only target certain tissue and exclude unwanted tissue; and, 2) automatically change the voltage amplitude at each anode in response to changes in electrode impedance in order to maintain a constant anodic current, thereby preserving, for the duration of the therapy, the original electric field found to be effective at implant time.