Dual Cardiac Pacemaker Rate Synchronization via Feedback

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing rate responsive cardiac pacemakers implanted in a patient often operate at different pacing rates, leading to potential discomfort and negative medical outcomes due to asynchronous adjustments based on the patient's activity level.

Innovation Solution

A computing device synchronizes the pacing rates of multiple cardiac pacemakers by receiving and matching rate responsive pacing data, adjusting activity counts, and modifying rate response slopes to ensure synchronized pacing across different activity levels.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple rate responsive pacemakers are implanted to perform rate responsive cardiac pacing for respective chambers, then the pacemakers can independently adjust pacing rates based on detected activity levels, but the pacemakers operate at different pacing rates causing patient discomfort and potential negative medical outcomes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindependent rate adjustment capabilityVSAvoidpacing rate synchronization

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by having the computing device receive rate responsive pacing data from multiple pacemakers, compare their activity counts and rate response slopes, and send commands to adjust the pacemaker parameters. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that pacemakers operate at synchronized rates while maintaining independent rate adjustment capabilities based on patient activity level.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Speed

If pacemakers independently detect activity level and adjust pacing rates, then each pacemaker can respond to patient activity changes, but asynchronous adjustments lead to different pacing rates between pacemakers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse to activity levelVSAvoidpacing rate consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges the independent decision-making processes of multiple pacemakers by having them all reference a common rate response slope determined by the computing device. Each pacemaker receives commands to adjust its rate response slope to match the common slope, ensuring that all pacemakers respond to activity level changes in a synchronized manner while maintaining the ability to respond quickly to patient needs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Stability of the object's composition

If a computing device synchronizes pacemaker rates by receiving and matching rate responsive pacing data, then pacing rates are synchronized across pacemakers, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepacing rate synchronizationVSAvoidsystem architecture

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The computing device serves as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple pacemakers. It receives rate responsive pacing data from each pacemaker, determines a common rate response slope based on this data, and sends commands to each pacemaker to adjust their parameters. This intermediary approach centralizes the synchronization logic, simplifying the overall system architecture while achieving stable pacing rate synchronization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Adaptability or versatility

If pacemakers use different rate response slopes to adjust pacing rates, then each pacemaker can be optimized for its specific chamber, but the pacing rates become desynchronized causing patient discomfort

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvechamber-specific optimizationVSAvoidpatient discomfort from asynchronous pacing

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by allowing each pacemaker to have its own rate response slope that is optimized for its specific chamber, while simultaneously ensuring that these local optimizations do not conflict with each other. The computing device receives data from each pacemaker, determines a common rate response slope that respects chamber-specific characteristics, and commands each pacemaker to adopt this common slope, thereby eliminating desynchronization while preserving chamber-specific optimization capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4384263B1Synchronizing rate responses between two cardiac pacemakers

Publication Date: 2025.09.24 MEDTRONIC INC

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AI summary

A computing device may be communicably coupled to a first pacemaker implanted in a heart of a patient and a second pacemaker implanted in the heart of the patient. The computing device may receive, from the first pacemaker, first race responsive pacing data, and may receive, from the second pacemaker, second rate responsive pacing data. The computing device may synchronize, based at least in part on the first rate responsive pacing data and the second rate responsive pacing data, rate responsive pacing of the first pacemaker and the second pacemaker.