CURRENT GENERATOR ARCHITECTURE FOR AN IMPLANTABLE STIMULATOR DEVICE TO PROMOTE CURRENT STEERING BETWEEN ELECTRODES

摘要

An implantable pulse generator (IPG) is disclosed having an improved ability to steer anodic and cathodic currents between the IPG's electrodes. Each electrode node has at least one PDAC/NDAC pair to source/sink or sink/source a stimulation current to an associated electrode node. Each PDAC and NDAC receives a current with a magnitude indicative of a total anodic and cathodic current, and data indicative of a percentage of that total that each PDAC and NDAC will produce in the patient's tissue at any given time, which activates a number of branches in each PDAC or NDAC. Each PDAC and NDAC may also receive one or more resolution control signals specifying an increment by which the stimulation current may be adjusted at each electrode. The current received by each PDAC and NDAC is generated by a master DAC, and is preferably distributed to the PDACs and NDACs by distribution circuitry.