Pacesetter, Inc.

Chris Sorensen

Gene A Bornzin

Mark W Kroll

Alan B Vogel

Euljoon Park

Gabriel A Mouchawar

Ryan Albu

James B Hamilton

Claudio Propato

Zeev Lavie

Yongning Zou

Min-Sun Son

Jorgen Edvinsson

Techniques are provided for equipping sensing/pacing leads with physiological sensors without requiring additional conductors within the leads. In a bipolar lead example for use with a pacemaker, a sensor is connected between tip and ring conductors of the lead. The sensor is configured to be activated only in response to enhanced pacing pulse (EPPs) having magnitudes or durations greater than typical pacing pulses or in response to impedance detection pulses (IMPs). In a unipolar example, the sensor is connected to the tip conductor and includes an output terminal on the external housing of the lead for providing a return current path to the pacemaker. The sensor of the unipolar lead is likewise configured to respond only to EPPs or IMPs. In other examples, the sensors are configured to be fitted to the external housing of the lead and to derive power from the lead via electromagnetic induction. Still other examples include actuators rather than sensors.

Sensor/lead systems for use with implantable medical devices

An implantable cardiac stimulation device determines sudden cardiac death susceptibility of a heart. The device comprises a first measuring circuit that measures intrinsic rest rate of the heart, a second measuring circuit that measures heart rate response of the heart and a third measuring circuit that measures heart rate recovery of the heart. The device further comprises a comparator that compares the measured intrinsic rest rate, the measured heart rate response, and the measured heart rate recovery to respective first, second, and third standards and a response circuit that provides a predetermined response when the comparisons of the measured intrinsic rest rate, the measured heart rate response, and the measured heart rate recovery to the respective standards indicate a susceptibility of sudden cardiac death.

Implantable cardiac device providing sudden cardiac death susceptibility indicator and method

A feedthrough assembly for use with implantable medical devices having a shield structure, the feedthrough assembly engaging with the remainder of the associated implantable medical device to form a seal with the medical device to inhibit unwanted gas, liquid, or solid exchange into or from the device. One or more feedthrough wires extend through the feedthrough assembly to facilitate transceiving of the electrical signals with one or more implantable patient leads. The feedthrough assembly is connected to a mechanical support which houses one or more filtering capacitors that are configured to filter and remove undesired frequencies from the electrical signals received via the feedthrough wires before the signals reach the electrical circuitry inside the implantable medical device.

Capacitor-integrated feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device

An electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter is provided to attenuate potentially damaging high frequency electromagnetic interference from interfering with the operation of a hermetically sealed implantable medical device. In one embodiment, the EMI filter is joined to a bypass unit that is configured to provide an energy path for the delivery of an energy pulse. The bypass unit, in one embodiment, may include a non-linear device in parallel with an impedance component. The non-linear device can be a DIAC, a MOSFET, or any other non-linear semiconductor array. The EMI filter may be located within the header assembly, the feedthrough assembly, or located proximate to a pulse generator along the energy delivery path.

Implantable medical device with improved EMI filter

A programmer and implantable stimulation device system with the implantable device and programmer in telemetric communication with each other wherein the implantable device internally monitors a plurality of physiological parameters and telemeters a plurality of those parameters to the programmer in at least a quasi-real-time manner such that the programmer can display waveforms corresponding to the internally monitored parameters in at least a quasi-real-time manner. The physiological parameters can include measurements of cardiac function, metabolic need, and patient orientation. In some aspects, the internally monitored parameters are provided continuously in a real-time manner and, in other aspects, the parameters are processed to a limited extent and provided as a derived parameter, such as an average, and/or as frames of data.

Physician programmer system with telemetered sensor waveform

An implantable cardiac stimulation device is programmed to administer pacing therapy in response to a change in a patient's position and a drop in blood pressure. The stimulation device is equipped with a position sensor to sense a position parameter indicative of when a patient changes from a supine position to an upright position and a pressure sensor to sense a pressure parameter indicative of a patient's blood pressure. The device administers cardiac pacing therapy to the patient based on both the position parameter and the pressure parameter.

Pacing mode to reduce effects of orthostatic hypotension and syncope

An implantable cardiac stimulation device is equipped with an accelerometer-based sensor to sense a patient's movement and produce a vertical acceleration component indicative of a patient's acceleration in a vertical direction. A vertical velocity component is computed from the vertical acceleration component. The device further includes a minute ventilation sensor to sense minute ventilation of the patient. Coupled to the various sensors is a processor that is programmed to determine a patient's position and activity status, such as whether the patient is ascending/descending stairs or is sitting up from a lying position, based on the vertical velocity and minute ventilation data. The patient's status dictates whether to administer cardiac pacing therapy to the patient and the kind of therapy to be applied.

Detection of patient's position and activity status using 3D accelerometer-based position sensor

An implantable cardiac stimulation device is equipped with an accelerometer-based sensor to sense a patient's movement and produce a vertical acceleration component indicative of a patient's acceleration in a vertical direction. A vertical velocity component is computed from the vertical acceleration component. The device may be further equipped with a magnetic field sensor to sense the earth's magnetic field as a way to obtain a true vertical orientation, against which the accelerometer-based sensor can be calibrated.

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Valencia, CA, United States of America

Chris Sorensen