EXTERNAL CONTROLLER/CHARGER SYSTEM FOR AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE CAPABLE OF AUTOMATICALLY PROVIDING DATA TELEMETRY THROUGH A CHARGING COIL DURING A CHARGING SESSION
An improved external controller / charger system for an implantable medical device is described herein, in which the external controller/charger system provides automatic switching between telemetry and charging without any manual intervention by the patient. The external controller/charger system includes an external controller which houses a telemetry coil and an external charging coil coupled to the external controller. Normally, a charging session is carried out using the external charging coil, and a telemetry session is carried out using the telemetry coil. However, when a patient requests to carry out telemetry during a charging session, the external charging coil is used instead of the internal telemetry coil. Specifically, in one embodiment, the external controller/charger system automatically decouples the external charging coil from the charging circuitry and couples it to the telemetry circuitry. The device and the implantable medical device then carry out the desired telemetry via the external charging coil. After a predetermined time, or after the telemetry session is complete, the external controller/charger system automatically decouples the external coil from the telemetry circuitry and recouples it to the charging circuitry.
