Systems and methods for implantable leadless tissue stimulation

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed to stimulate tissue to treat medical conditions involving tissues such as the bone, spine, stomach, nerves, brain and the cochlea. The disclosed invention uses electrical stimulation of the tissue, where vibrational (or acoustic) energy from a source is received by an implanted device and converted to electrical energy and the converted electrical energy is used by implanted electrodes to stimulate the pre-determined tissue sites. The vibrational energy is generated by a controller-transmitter, which could be either implanted or located externally. The vibrational energy is received by a receiver-stimulator, which could be located at or close to the stimulation site.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for stimulating tissue comprising:
 an acoustic controller-transmitter; and   an implantable acoustic receiver-stimulator having an electrode assembly adapted to be in direct contact with the tissue, wherein the controller-transmitter is adapted to transmit acoustic energy and the receiver-stimulator is adapted to receive acoustic energy and convert it to electrical energy, and the controller-transmitter provides energy and signal information to the receiver-stimulator to provide electrical stimulation to the tissue.