Implantable Breathing Therapy Device for Heart Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with heart failure and hypertension experience distressing symptoms due to elevated sympathetic tone, abnormal breathing patterns, and inadequate cardiac output, leading to costly hospitalizations and treatment challenges.
Innovation Solution
An implantable medical device that monitors physiological parameters to detect elevated sympathetic tone and delivers diaphragm contraction prolongation therapy through phrenic nerve stimulation during inspiration, extending the respiratory cycle and slowing breathing rate, even when the patient is not cognitively aware of respiratory control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pharmacological therapies and hospital treatments are used to treat congestive heart failure, then cardiac output and symptoms are improved, but treatment costs and patient burden increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs breathing therapy that leverages the patient's own respiratory system to generate beneficial hemodynamic effects. By controlling breathing patterns, the patient's cardiovascular system self-regulates to improve cardiac output and reduce congestion without requiring continuous pharmacological intervention or hospitalization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces pharmacological and mechanical support systems with a breathing-based mechanical approach. Instead of using drugs or invasive mechanical devices, the invention uses controlled respiratory mechanics to achieve therapeutic cardiovascular effects, reducing dependency on expensive medical interventions
2Ease of operation
If breathing therapy is applied during sleep when patient is not cognitively aware, then patient comfort and compliance are improved, but control and monitoring of therapy delivery become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor respiratory parameters during sleep and automatically adjust breathing therapy delivery. Sensors detect breathing rate, depth, and pattern, and the system responds by modulating the therapy to maintain therapeutic effectiveness while adapting to the patient's natural sleep-state respiratory variations
Solution Approach 2:
The system is programmed with pre-established breathing protocols and algorithms that automatically execute during sleep. Therapy parameters, timing, and progression are predetermined based on clinical guidelines, allowing the device to autonomously implement complex therapeutic strategies without real-time cognitive input from the patient
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the progression of heart failure, improves respiratory sinus arrhythmia, heart rate variability, and blood pressure, decreasing muscle sympathetic nerve activity and respiratory rate, thereby alleviating symptoms and potentially reducing hospitalization costs.
Implementation Method 1
delivering electrical stimulation to a patient
Data Source
AI summary
Medical devices and methods for providing breathing therapy (e.g., for treating heart failure, hypertension, etc.) may determine at least the inspiration phase of one or more breathing cycles based on the monitored physiological parameters and control delivery of a plurality of breathing therapy sessions (e.g., each of the breathing therapy sessions may be provided during a defined time period). Further, each of the plurality of breathing therapy sessions may include delivering stimulation after the start of the inspiration phase of each of a plurality of breathing cycles to prolong diaphragm contraction during the breathing cycle.