Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
202 words
A telemetric in vivo differential pressure sensitive device adapted for implantation in the living body, the device including: (a) a housing; (b) a generally planar flexible diaphragm fluid pressure sealed with respect to and supported by said housing so that said flexible diaphragm communicates on its opposite sides with pressures in two regions external to said device when the device is adapted to be implanted in the living body whereby a change in the difference of the two external pressures will produce a displacement of at least a portion of the flexible diaphragm; (c) a telemetry electronic circuit including a coil inductor mounted on said housing, said circuit having a telemetered characteristic response parameter that changes upon a change in the inductance of said coil inductor, and; (d) a single shorted generally planar loop of electrically conductive material coupled to the coil inductor of said telemetry electronic circuit and mounted with respect to and movable with said flexible diaphragm so that displacement of said at least a portion of the flexible diaphragm changes the inductance of the coil inductor whereby the telemetered characteristic response parameter changes as a function of the displacement of said at least a portion of the flexible diaphragm.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
202 words
A telemetric in vivo differential pressure sensitive device adapted for implantation in the living body, the device including: (a) a housing; (b) a generally planar flexible diaphragm fluid pressure sealed with respect to and supported by said housing so that said flexible diaphragm communicates on its opposite sides with pressures in two regions external to said device when the device is adapted to be implanted in the living body whereby a change in the difference of the two external pressures will produce a displacement of at least a portion of the flexible diaphragm; (c) a telemetry electronic circuit including a coil inductor mounted on said housing, said circuit having a telemetered characteristic response parameter that changes upon a change in the inductance of said coil inductor, and; (d) a single shorted generally planar loop of electrically conductive material coupled to the coil inductor of said telemetry electronic circuit and mounted with respect to and movable with said flexible diaphragm so that displacement of said at least a portion of the flexible diaphragm changes the inductance of the coil inductor whereby the telemetered characteristic response parameter changes as a function of the displacement of said at least a portion of the flexible diaphragm.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
14 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said flexible diaphragm includes said shorted conductive loop.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said telemetry electronic circuit comprises a resonant circuit including said coil inductor and a capacitor, said telemetered characteristic response parameter being the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit, and wherein said single, shorted loop of electrically conductive material has a substantially planar geometry.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said coil inductor defines an enclosed area and said single shorted loop defines another enclosed area with said two areas being of substantially the same and shape.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
42 words
The device of claim 4, wherein said coil inductor and said single shorted-loop are substantially coaxial, and the relative displacements of said coil inductor and said single shorted-loop are substantially coaxial upon changes in the differences in pressures via said two regions.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said generally planar flexible diaphragm comprises a single diaphragm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
117 words
The device of claim 6 and further comprising: (a) said housing and said single flexible diaphragm together defining a chamber such that said single flexible diaphragm communicates on one side with pressure inside said chamber and on the opposite side with pressure in a first region external to said device; (b) an inlet means to said chamber for allowing the entrance of a bodily fluid from a second region external to the device when the device is adapted to be implanted in the living body so that a change in the difference in pressures in said two regions will cause a displacement of at least a portion of said single flexible diaphragm with respect to said housing.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
36 words
The device of claim 7, wherein said pressure in said first region external to said device is the pressure in a first bodily region when the device is adapted to be implanted in the living body.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The device of claim 7, wherein said pressure in said first region external to said device is the pressure from a pressure source external to said living body.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The device of claim 7 further comprising an outlet means for allowing said bodily fluid to flow out of said chamber.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
The device of claim 10 and further comprising a fluid shunt valve means in series connection with at least one of said inlet or said outlet means so as to regulate the flow of said bodily fluid.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
38 words
The device of claim 11 and further comprising at least one on-off valve for the flow of said bodily fluid, the on-off valve being in series connection with said pressure sensitive device and said fluid shunt valve means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
The device of claim 6 and further comprising means for defining a mechanical contact reference postion of said single flexible diaphragm with respect to said housing for a predetermined pressure relationship between said two pressures in communication with said single flexible diaphragm.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
The device of claim 13, wherein said characteristic response parameter of said circuit changes as a known function of changes from said predetermined pressure relationship of the difference of said two pressures on said single flexible diaphragm.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
82 words
The device of claim 6 and further comprising means for defining a mechanical contact reference position of said single flexible diaphragm with respect to said housing, said mechanical contact reference position corresponding to a predetermined relationship between said two pressures in communication with said single flexible diaphragm, and wherein the charateristic response parameter of said electronic circuit changes as a known function of volume changes within said chamber produced by displacement of said single flexible diaphragm from said mechanical contact reference position.