The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 12, 2010
Filed:
Apr. 23, 2003
Nathalie Virag, Monnaz, CH;
Rolf Vetter, Yverdon, CH;
Richard Sutton, London, GB;
Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
It has been discovered that a change in posture that results in an increase in orthostatic stress, when followed by a withdrawal of sympathetic nervous activity, may indicate a future onset of vasovagal syncope (VVS). The invention is directed to devices and techniques for early detection of an episode of VVS so that therapies may be applied in advance of the episode to prevent the episode from occurring. Detection of a posture transition triggers a device such as an implanted pacemaker to determine an indicator of an autonomic nervous system activity of the patient. As a function of this determination, the device estimates a probability that the patient will experience VVS. When the probability exceeds a threshold, preventative therapy may be applied to address the VVS and to reduce the risk that the patient will faint.