US 6,239,724 · Granted 2001-05-29

The Patent That Let Doctors Track Implants Inside Your Body

Imagine a tiny device implanted in your body that wirelessly talks to equipment outside your skin, telling doctors exactly where it is. This patent describes that whole wireless locating system—power beamed in, positioning signals sent out, all without needing wires or batteries that need replacing.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers an implantable device system that does three wireless jobs: receives power from outside the body through a transducer, picks up positioning signals beamed in, and transmits a locating signal back out. What's protected here is the specific combination of these three transducers working together wirelessly inside the body to provide real-time spatial position information to external equipment.

Why it matters

This patent addresses a fundamental challenge in medical device design: how to power and locate an implant without surgery to remove or reposition it. By enabling wireless power transfer and two-way communication through the body's tissues, it opens the door to smaller, more reliable implants that doctors can track and power remotely—potentially reducing revision surgeries and improving patient safety.

Real-world use

A doctor implants a tiny sensor near your heart; instead of cutting you open to move it or replace its battery, external equipment wirelessly powers it and pinpoints its location without any surgical intervention.

Original USPTO abstract

A telemetry system and method for providing spatial positioning information from within a patient's body are disclosed. The system includes at least one implantable telemetry unit which includes (a) at least one first transducer being for converting a power signal received from outside the body, into electrical power for powering the at least one implantable telemetry unit; (b) at least one second transducer being for receiving a positioning field signal being received from outside the body; and (c) at least one third transducer being for transmitting a locating signal transmittable outside the body in response to the positioning field signal.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,239,724
Filing date: 1999-05-21
Grant date: 2001-05-29
Assignee: Remon Medical Technologies, Ltd.
Inventor(s): DORON EYAL, PORAT YARIV, PENNER AVI
CPC class: A61B5/0535

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