Implantable Cardiac Cooling Device for Painless Defibrillation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) cause pain during defibrillation shocks, leading to inappropriate shocks, poor therapy tolerance, and limited treatment accessibility for at-risk individuals.
Innovation Solution
The development of an implantable device using thermal electric cooling elements, such as Peltier elements, to cool cardiac tissues rapidly and temporarily, thereby terminating or preventing arrhythmias painlessly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) are used to treat arrhythmias, then life-saving defibrillation therapy is provided, but pain is caused during defibrillation shocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary cooling to the cardiac tissue before delivering defibrillation shocks. The cooling elements are activated in advance to reduce tissue temperature, which desensitizes the tissue and reduces pain perception during the subsequent electrical shock, while still maintaining the life-saving defibrillation effect
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cooling medium or cooling elements as an intermediary between the defibrillation shock and the cardiac tissue. This intermediary cooling layer acts as a buffer that reduces the painful sensation of the electrical shock while allowing the therapeutic defibrillation current to pass through and restore normal cardiac rhythm
2Productivity
If high energy shocks are delivered to terminate ventricular fibrillation, then arrhythmia is terminated, but patient tolerance is poor due to pain
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cooling of the cardiac tissue before delivering high-energy defibrillation shocks. This pre-cooling reduces the pain sensation during the shock, improving patient tolerance while maintaining the effectiveness of arrhythmia termination
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter of the cardiac tissue by applying cooling before defibrillation. This temperature change modifies the sensory perception of pain during the shock, allowing high-energy shocks to be delivered with improved patient tolerance while maintaining arrhythmia termination efficacy
3Reliability
If defibrillation therapy is provided to at-risk individuals, then lives are saved, but inappropriate shocks occur causing additional pain and discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of inappropriate shocks into a beneficial outcome by applying cooling therapy. The cooling elements are activated in response to inappropriate shock detection, and the cooling itself becomes a therapeutic intervention that reduces pain and discomfort from these inappropriate shocks, potentially preventing actual arrhythmia onset
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 solution enables painless termination of ventricular fibrillation, reduces inappropriate shocks, improves therapy tolerance, and allows for broader treatment accessibility by using cold temperatures to modify cardiac tissue conduction properties.
Implementation Method 1
The epicardial lead will be constructed using an array of thermal electric cooling elements that use the Peltier effect to create a heat differential between opposing surfaces
Implementation Method 2
Cold temperatures in experimental models have been shown to terminate ventricular fibrillation. This results since the ion channels in cellular membranes responsible for action potential propagation in cardiac syncytium are temperature dependent
Data Source
AI summary
Devices and methods are provided for the treatment of pathological conditions including arrhythmias and trauma using temperature modulation via implantable or worn devices. For example, in one example embodiment this document relates to devices and methods for treating atrial or ventricular fibrillation by cooling the epicardium. The devices and methods can also be used to treat other disorders by applying heating and/or cooling to a patient in a number of different manners.