On July 7, 2026, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued US12673210B2, titled “Energy harvesting system integrity monitoring” and assigned to Medtronic, Inc. This is a granted patent, not a pending application. It names inventors Michael P. Campbell and Richard J. O’Brien and is classified under CPC A61N 1/3702, the cardiac-stimulation subclass covering circuit arrangements for monitoring electrical stimulators, alongside A61B 5/0006, A61B 5/0031, and A61B 5/363. This Claims Brief reads the independent claim in plain terms and reports the coverage as issued.

The problem the record addresses is one specific to implants that make their own power. An energy harvester converts a patient’s bodily motion into electrical charge, and per the disclosure the harvester mass translates heart-wall motion and/or blood-flow force into a displacement (recited in claim 17). A harvester is a mechanical part inside a sealed device that a clinician cannot inspect. If it degrades, the implant quietly loses its ability to keep its own battery charged. The claimed invention is directed to detecting that degradation from the inside.

What the independent claim covers

Claim 1 recites a system with three cooperating parts. First, a harvester mechanism comprising harvester circuitry and a harvester mass, where the circuitry is configured to charge a battery for a medical device using a displacement of the harvester mass. Second, one or more accelerometers configured to detect a motion associated with that harvester mass. Third, processing circuitry configured to perform a defined sequence: it determines, using the accelerometers, motion information for the implanted device during a time range that occurs while the harvester circuitry is charging the battery; it determines the harvester output generated during that same time range; and it modifies the device’s power usage based on an indication of a potential failure of the harvester mechanism, where that indication is itself based on the motion information and the harvester output.

The mechanism at the heart of the claim is a comparison. Motion and electrical output are measured over the same window, so the two can be set against each other. The disclosure describes the comparison concretely: a ratio of harvester output to acceleration counts is checked against a threshold, and a trend metric is derived via linear-regression polynomials over sets of that metric. If the mass is still moving as expected but the harvester is producing less charge than that motion should yield, the discrepancy is the signal of a potential failure. Notably, the independent claim closes the loop by requiring the system to modify a power usage in response — the disclosure notes the device can reduce power by turning off features when a potential failure is indicated.

A system includes harvester circuitry configured to charge a battery for a medical device using a displacement of a harvester mass, one or more accelerometers configured to detect a motion associated with the harvester mass, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to determine, with the one or more accelerometers, motion information for the implanted medical device during a time range that occurs when the harvester circuitry charges the battery using the displacement of the harvester mass. The processing circuitry are further configured to determine a harvester output generated by the harvester circuitry during the time range and output an indication of a potential failure of the harvester mechanism based on the motion information and the harvester output.— Energy harvesting system integrity monitoring, US12673210B2

The dependent claims narrow the scope in ways that inform how the diagnostic is meant to operate. Claim 14 recites a band-pass filter passing roughly 10 Hz to 30 Hz, isolating the frequency band where the relevant harvester and physiological motion sit. Claim 17 ties the harvester mass to translating heart-wall motion and/or blood-flow force into the displacement that drives charging. The trend metric built from linear-regression polynomials of metric sets is what turns single readings into a slope, so a gradual decline can be distinguished from momentary noise. Together the dependent claims describe filtering the motion signal, sourcing the displacement from cardiac mechanics, and tracking the output-to-motion relationship over time.

Where it sits in the same-week Medtronic cohort

The hero grant issued within a cluster of Medtronic patents granted the same day, and read together the cohort is directed to device instrumentation and power management. US12676317B2 claims over-discharge protection for electrochemical cells, describing a lithophilic metal layer on an anode current collector for an implantable-device battery — a power-integrity theme adjacent to the harvester monitoring of the hero. US12672821B2 is directed to determining an efficacy of a treatment program through sensor-based response tracking, another instance of the portfolio using onboard sensing to draw inferences about device or therapy state.

The remainder of the cohort spans leads and diabetes automation. US12673195B2 claims a separately positionable hemostasis valve for an implantable medical lead introducer hub. On the Medtronic MiniMed side, US12673159B2 is directed to mealtime delivery of correction boluses in automated insulin dosing, and US12673155B2 claims an insertion device with a linkage assembly for dual insertion of a cannula and a glucose sensor. Each is a granted patent issued the same week, and each reflects the same broad direction: instrumenting implantable devices and managing how they are powered, inserted, and monitored.

For the hero record specifically, the takeaway is narrow and factual. As granted, US12673210B2 claims a closed loop — measure the harvester mass’s motion, measure the charge it produces over the same interval, compare them to flag a potential failure, and adjust the device’s power usage accordingly. The independent claim requires that responsive power-usage modification, distinguishing the claimed system from one that merely reports a fault. It is an issued US patent under CPC A61N 1/3702, effective as of its July 7, 2026 grant date.