Methods and apparatus for controlling a polyphase motor in implantable 
medical device applications are provided. In one embodiment, the polyphase motor is a brushless 
DC motor. The back emf of a selected phase of the motor is sampled while a drive 
voltage of the selected phase is substantially zero. Various embodiments utilize sinusoidal or trapezoidal drive voltages. The sampled back emf provides an 
error signal indicative of the positional error of the rotor. In one embodiment, the sampled back emf is normalized with respect to a commanded 
angular velocity of the rotor to provide an 
error signal proportional only to the positional error of the motor rotor. The 
error signal is provided as feedback to control a frequency of the drive 
voltage. A speed control generates a speed 
control signal corresponding to a difference between a commanded 
angular velocity and an 
angular velocity inferred from the frequency of the drive 
voltage. The speed 
control signal is provided as feedback to control an amplitude of the drive voltage. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a brushless 
DC motor and a commutation control. The commutation control provides a commutation 
control signal for a selected phase of the motor in accordance with a sampled back 
electromotive force (emf) of that phase. The back emf of the phase is sampled only while the corresponding drive voltage for the selected phase is substantially zero, wherein a frequency of a drive voltage of the motor is varied in accordance with the commutation control 
signal.