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The BCI Briefing

Patent familyBCI, high confidence

Shape control for electrical stimulation therapy

Filed by Medtronic and メドトロニック，インコーポレイテッド, first in 2020.

Granted · CN, EP, USView in Espacenet
Earliest priority
3 Feb 2020 · United States
Status
A grant was published in China, European Patent Office, United States, first on 27 Sep 2022
Published in
United States · International (PCT) · China · European Patent Office · Japan
Registered as
Medtronic, Inc. · MEDTRONIC INC · 美敦力公司
Inventors
Peskar, Cheryl · Thompson, Alicia Weller · Heilman Kilbane, Susan E. · Beall, Lance · Young-Dixon, Brendan J. · Miron, Rebecca A · and 6 more
Family
DOCDB 74798026 · 8 publications

What it concerns

Devices, systems, and techniques are described for adjusting therapy parameters defining electrical stimulation therapy delivered by multiple electrodes while maintaining a ratio of a value of a therapy parameter between the multiple electrodes. In one example, a device defines a relationship for multiple electrodes that defines a ratio of a value of a therapy parameter between the multiple electrodes. The device performs a master adjustment that adjusts each value of the therapy parameter for each respective electrode of the multiple electrodes by an amount specified by the relationship to maintain the ratio of the value of the therapy parameter between the multiple electrodes. The device controls delivery of electrical stimulation therapy according to the master adjustment.

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US2021236823A1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

Protection themes

  • Interface and electrodes

    Electrodes and arrays

  • Telemetry

    Wireless telemetry

  • Stimulation

    Stimulation

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61N1/025, A61N1/05, A61N1/0531, A61N1/0534, A61N1/08). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Why it matters

Interface and electrodes
Everything downstream works with what the contacts pick up. Their number, size and distance from the neurons set the ceiling on the signal. The problem behind it: more contacts, closer to neurons, that still record after years in tissue that reacts to them.
Telemetry
Thousands of channels produce more data than a low-power radio can carry raw, so what is sent, and how, decides what the system can use. The problem behind it: high data rates at low power through tissue, reliably and securely.
Stimulation
Restoring sensation, sight or movement needs information going in, and a therapy that adapts needs to sense and stimulate at once. The problem behind it: evoking a precise, stable effect without damaging tissue or electrodes, and without blinding the recording.

Why the layer matters to the field, not a judgement of this filing. A patent family shows that protection was sought. It does not show that the technology was built, is used in a product, or works in people. The whole stack

The family

One invention, published 8 times in 5 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

Timeline

  1. 3 Feb 2020First filingEarliest priority, at United States. The family is counted in this year.
  2. 3 Feb 2020Owner recordedUnited States, on US2021236823A1: assignment; owner named: MEDTRONIC, INC., MINNESOTA.
  3. 29 Jan 2021ApplicationsFiled at International (PCT), China, European Patent Office, Japan.
  4. 5 Aug 2021First publicationUS2021236823A1, United States.
  5. 27 Sep 2022Grant publishedUS11452874B2, United States.
  6. 24 Jul 2024Grant publishedEP4100108B1, European Patent Office.
  7. 21 Mar 2025Office recordJapan, on JP2023513093A: decision of refusal.
  8. 15 May 2026Grant publishedCN115038493B, China.
  9. 9 Sep 2026Office recordEuropean Patent Office, on EP4100108A1: lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] (AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MC, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM, TR).

Dates as the offices published them. Office records are in the offices' own words and are a selection: refusals, lapses and withdrawals, and records that name an owner. Each concerns one member of the family, not the family as a whole, and another member in the same office may stand. Whether a patent is in force today is not assessed.

Sources

  • Bibliographic data, family members and office records: European Patent Office, Open Patent Services (the DOCDB and INPADOC databases), read 7 Oct 2026.
  • The record itself, with its claims and description: US2021236823A1 in Espacenet
  • Counted as a BCI patent family: classified A61N1/0531 (brain cortex electrodes); filed by Medtronic, Inc., an organisation already in the graph; cites a family already accepted. How families are found and judged