A secure communications and status reporting protocol for implanted devices

摘要

We have developed a protocol permitting an implant to report its status to external monitoring equipment on a periodic basis, while permitting bidirectional communications when necessary. We use conventional means of error detection for outgoing status messages. The bidirectional protocol is designed to operate over a noisy link, having multiple means of error detection and recovery. The protocol was designed to provide wireless communications for artificial hearts and assist devices, and has been tested in animals in that application.