St. Jude Medical Ab

Karin Ljungström

Kenth A Nilsson

Nils Holmström

Kjell Noren

Anders Björling

Kjell Norén

Sven-Erik Hedberg

Andreas Blomqvist

Malin Öhlander

Sven Kalling

Maria Torpo

Karin Järverud

Johan Lidman

Gunnar Westin

Tom Eriksson

Annika Pohl

Charlotte Kjellman

Anna-Karin Johansson

Leif Lindkvist

Koroush Lashgari

Cecilia Emanuelsson

Leif Lindqvist

Urban Lönn

Lars Mandal

Anders BJÖRLING

An implantable medical system for detecting incipient edema has an implantable medical lead including an optical sensor having a light source and a light detector. The medical system further has an edema detection circuit that activates the light source to emit light, the light being directed into lung tissue of a patient and that obtains a light intensity value corresponding to an intensity of light received by the light detector, and that evaluates the light intensity value to detect a consistency with incipient edema.

Implantable medical system for detecting incipient edema

An implantable cardiac device has a heart stimulator for electrically stimulating the heart of a patient, detector that measures a physiologic parameter that is affected by the status of a cardiovascular disease associated with sympathetic activation, a signal processor that determines at least one of a low frequency, LF, and a very low frequency, VLF, Mayer wave component in the measured parameter, and analyzer that automatically analyzes the determined Mayer wave component in relation to a predetermined reference value to determine the status of the cardiovascular disease. The detector is a cardio-mechanical parameter detector that measures, as said physiologic parameter, a mechanical change in at least one of the four chambers of the heart. In a corresponding method for monitoring the status of a cardiovascular disease associated with sympathetic activation of a patient having an implantable electric heart stimulator a physiologic parameter affected by the cardiac disease is measured. At least one of a low frequency, LF, and a very low frequency, VLF, Mayer wave component in the parameter is determined, and the wave component is analyzed in relation to a predetermined reference value to determine the status of the cardiovascular disease. A mechanical change in at least one of the four chambers of the heart is measured as the physiologic parameter.

Implantable cardiac device and method for monitoring the status of a cardiovascular disease

A method for producing a biocompatible material of the formula NaKNbO, 0&#x2266;x&#x2266;0.8, 0.2&#x2266;y&#x2266;1, x+y=1 includes the steps of a) providing a Na-precursor and a K-precursor for NaKNbO, b) mixing the precursors in solution wherein said precursors first react to form a sol and thereafter a gel, c) heat treating the gel to obtain an oxide of the material NaKNbO, 0&#x2266;x&#x2266;0.8, 0.2&#x2266;y&#x2266;1, x+y=1. The material can be produced as a film, and the material or film can be provided on the exterior surface of a medical implant that will come into contact with body tissue and/or body fluids upon implantation thereof.

Synthesis of sodium potassium niobate by sol-gel

An implantable medical apparatus for detecting diastolic heart failure, DHF, has a DHF determining device for determining at least one DHF parameter for detecting a DHF state of the heart of a patient. The DHF includes circuitry for determining, as the DHF parameter, the time duration of a predetermined phase of diastole. A pacemaker has such an apparatus and a control unit that optimizes pacing therapy and pacemaker settings depending on the determined time duration. A corresponding method of detecting diastolic heart failure, DHF, includes determining at least one DHF parameter for detecting a DHF state of the heart of a patient. As the DHF parameter, the time duration of a predetermined phase of diastole is determined.

Apparatus for detecting diastolic heart failure

An implantable medical apparatus for detecting diastolic heart failure, DHF, has a DHF determining device for determining at least one blood pressure parameter for detecting a DHF state of the heart of a patient. The DHF determining device includes a pressure measuring unit for measuring pulse pressure in a cardiac cycle for a predetermined workload situation of the patient as the blood pressure parameter, and a comparator compares the measured pulse pressure with a predetermined reference value. A pacemaker includes such an apparatus and a control unit that optimizes pacing therapy depending on the result of the comparison of the measured pulse pressures with the predetermined reference values. A corresponding method of detecting diastolic heart failure, DHF, includes the step of determining at least one blood pressure parameter for detecting a DHF state of the heart of a patient by determining, as said blood pressure parameter, the pulse pressure in a cardiac cycle for a predetermined workload situation of the patient, and the determined pulse pressure is compared with a predetermined reference value.

Detection of diastolic heart failure

In an implantable heart stimulating device, system and method, electrical stimulation pulses are delivered to first and second ventricles of a heart with a variable time interval therebetween, and signals are sensed at two different positions in the heart, from which an impedance value is derived. A minimum value and a maximum value of the impedance value are determined during a heart cycle, and a relationship between the minimum and maximum values also is determined. The time interval is varied and the relationship is monitored over a number of heart cycles. The time interval is set so that the relationship satisfies a predetermined requirement.

Bi-ventricular heart stimulating device, system and method

A heart stimulator for electric stimulation of a patient's heart has an impedance measuring unit that measures the impedance between at least two measurement electrodes implanted in a patient such that volume changes of at least one of the chambers of the left heart result in changes in the measured impedance. An analyzer analyzes the measured impedance for the control of the stimulation of the heart. A calculation unit calculates an average impedance morphology curve during a time interval of several cardiac cycles. The analyzer analyzes the average impedance morphology curve for use for the control of the stimulation to optimize the patient hemodynamics.

Heart stimulator with stimulation controlled by analysis of an average impedance morphology curve

A fluid pressure sensor for a lead or catheter intended for placement in a living organism, such as a human heart, includes a rigid annular or tubular supporting structure and a piezoelectric element disposed on at least a portion of the outer surface thereof. The piezoelectric element delivers an electrical signal when subjected to a pressure variation, and exhibits circumferential sensitivity. The rigidity of the sensor is defined to satisfy predetermined criteria to ensure that the sensor, when sensing pressure transferred to the sensor through an on-growth of tissue on the sensor, which is at least 90% of the signal which the sensor would emit without the on-growth.

Piezoelectric sensor in a living organism for fluid pressure measurement

Growing community of inventors

Hässelby, Sweden

Karin Ljungström