Biotronik Mess-Und Therapiegerate Gmbh & Co.

Stimtech, Inc.

Alan Coombes

Dennis Digby

John W Keller, Jr

Kenneth R Allen

William E Bursack

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is applied to the patient, as though electrocardiograph monitoring is not being practiced. The EKG signals are preprocessed through a selective sample and hold module, which performs amplification, comparison with selective frequency and amplitude standards (as by differentiation) and temporary holding of EKG signals at such time as the transcutaneous nerve stimulating pulses are occurring, as sensed against the frequency and amplitude criteria. In the absence of transcutaneous stimulation signals, EKG signals are coupled directly through for conventional EKG processing.

Mutually noninterfering transcutaneous nerve stimulation and patient

A plurality of programming bits are placed into a parallel in-serially out register. When the programmer is activated, a monostable resets a counter, and energizes an oscillator which clocks the counter. Three subintervals from the counter are utilized for pulse width modulation of the programming signals. Once for each bit, the output is energized and begins transmitting pulses at the lowest subinterval rate. Depending upon the logic state of each bit, the transmission pulse is terminated either at the second or the third subinterval time.

Programmer for implanted pacer

A counter functions in response to an oscillator to control generation of stimulating pulses in the demand mode, via an adjustable rate decoder. The rate decoder may be predetermined under the control of a dual input, a first of which is a magnetic enabling switch, and the second of which is a pulse width modulated magnetic transmission. Once the enabling switch is actuated, plural successive reprogramming bits are coupled to the pacer. Integral logic allows these bits actually to accomplish the programming alteration if and only if the predetermined number of bits occur during a predetermined interval. The reprogramming is further synchronized with the generation of stimulating pulses.

Security maintenance for programmable pacer reprogramming

In a demand pacer, an input amplifier senses stimulating pulses and natural heart beat signals, and responsively thereto establishes control of a subsequent stimulating pulse. Charge accumulation on an output capacitor governs recovery time after each generated stimulating pulse. Respective first and second flip-flops, responsive to the input amplifier and the demand pacing logic, establishes a reduced recovery time, after each generated pulse, wherein charge accumulated on the output capacitor is dissipated.

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New Hope, MN, United States of America

Alan Coombes