System for implanting, activating, and operating an implantable battery

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and methods for the treatment of bone, cartilage and other types of hard tissue. The treatments, which are suitable for extended treatment, include the treatment and prevention of pathologies through the controllable use of silver, iron, zinc, or magnesium ions. These pathologies may include a pathology which is at least partially induced or aggravated by an infectious disease, for example a bacterial disease. In this case the electrically released ions are silver ions, which are known to have antibacterial properties.

1 . A method comprising:
 providing an apparatus that comprises:
 (a) at least two electrodes including at least one active electrode composed of a metallic material, and at least one passive electrode composed of a material whose electrical potential is negative relative to the electrical potential of said at least one active electrode, 
 (b) a power source, and 
 (c) a control unit; 
   implanting said at least two electrodes inside a human or animal body, said implanting comprising implanting said at least one active electrode in hard tissue;   operating said control unit to control the output of said power source, to:
 (i) apply an initiation current to said at least one active electrode on the order of less than 0.5 mA, to boost a release of metallic ions from said at least one active electrode, and 
 (ii) discontinue the initiation current after 5 to 600 seconds; 
   disconnecting said power source from said at least two electrodes after the initiation current has discontinued; and   slowly releasing metallic ions from said active electrode absent any application of current from said power source.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one active electrode comprises one of the following: silver, iron, zinc, or magnesium. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one active electrode is made of silver or a silver alloy and said at least one passive electrode is made of gold or platinum. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one active electrode is made of iron, zinc, or magnesium and said at least one passive electrode is made of gold. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said control unit is programmed with different levels of current to be applied to said at least one active electrode, wherein the different levels of current are determined by: a type of tissue into which said at least one active electrode is implanted, a type of pathology of said tissue, and electrical properties of said at least one active electrode. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one active electrode is a pin made of metallic silver, such that when said at least one active electrode is stably implanted in a bone and said at least one passive electrode functions as an accessory, there is facilitated a very slow release of silver ions from said silver pin to maintain a long term bactericidal effect around said silver pin thereby allowing said silver pin to serve a mechanical function of acting as an antibacterial protected fiducial marker. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit comprises a resistance meter configured to measure at least one of:
 resistance between said at least one active electrode and said at least one passive electrode and;   resistance between said at least one active electrode and a body site,   in order to determine a location of said at least one passive electrode.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a bottom center of a housing of the control unit comprises a projection having threads on its outer surface, thereby allowing the control unit to be attached to hard tissue. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said at least one passive electrode is created on a surface of the housing by coating a part of said surface with a layer of metallic material of said at least one passive electrode and remainder of said surface is coated with an electrically insulating material. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit includes the power source. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to be removably implantable in said one or more locations inside the body. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit has a rounded form and non sharp edges. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit has a diameter of less than 2.5 centimeters and a thickness of less than 3 millimeters. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit includes a threaded portion configured for being fixed to the bone. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said active electrode is a piece of silver or a silver alloy that has a weight in the range of 1-50 milligrams. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein after implantation of said at least one active electrode said power source is removable from said at least one active electrode. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said control unit comprises a resistance meter configured to measure at least one of:
 resistance between said at least one active electrode and said at least one passive electrode; and   resistance between said at least one active electrode and a body site,   in order to determine a suitable location of implantation of said at least one passive electrode   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said control unit comprises a voltmeter configured to measure voltage differences between said at least one active electrode and said at least one passive electrode. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said control unit further comprises:
 a resistance meter configured to measure a resistance between the at least one active electrode and the at least one passive electrode; and   a voltmeter configured to measure a voltage between the at least one active electrode and the at least one passive electrode, thereby measuring a metallic ion current between the at least one active electrode and the at least one passive electrode,   wherein the control unit is further configured to compare the measured metallic ion current to a preset threshold, and activate said power source to increase the release of ions when said measured metallic ion current is lower than said preset threshold.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said control unit further comprises a transmitter/receiver component for communication with a remote processing and display subsystem.