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:
Sep. 07, 2010
Filed:
Apr. 25, 2006
Geeske Van Oort, Velp, NL;
Geeske Van Oort, Velp, NL;
Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
A system and method for characterizing the atrial wall of the heart is provided. The characterization of the atrial wall can be used for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. For example, it can be used to detect precursors to various types of hear disease, such as atrial fibrillation. In one embodiment, the system and method is used to determine a likelihood of fibrosis in the atrial wall. Furthermore, the system and method can detect changes in atrial wall fibrosis that can indicate a continuing degradation in the atrial wall health and an increasing likelihood of atrial fibrillation. In another embodiment, the system and method is used to determine if electrical instability exists in the atrial wall.