Implantable Medical Device Therapy Suspension Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current neural stimulation therapies for conditions like cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension often have undesirable side effects that can be inconvenient or intolerable, and are typically delivered chronically, leading to long-term health consequences.
Innovation Solution
An implantable medical device system that allows patients or caregivers to control the therapy delivery by enabling features to respond to triggers, such as suspending or modifying neural stimulation therapy based on patient input, with automatic resumption after a defined period, thereby providing patient-centric management of therapy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If neural stimulation therapy is delivered chronically to treat cardiac conditions, then therapy efficacy is maintained, but side effects become more intolerable and inconvenient over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by allowing the therapy to be suspended temporarily upon detection of a trigger event, then automatically restored after a defined period. This creates an on-off cycling pattern that maintains long-term efficacy while providing relief from side effects during suspension periods, directly resolving the contradiction between continuous efficacy and tolerable side effects
2Object-affected harmful factors
If therapy is suspended temporarily to reduce side effects, then patient comfort improves, but therapy continuity is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic action by suspending therapy for defined periods upon trigger detection and then automatically restoring it after those periods expire. This ensures therapy continuity over the long term while providing periodic interruptions for patient comfort, resolving the contradiction between reducing side effects and maintaining therapy continuity
Solution Approach 2:
The therapy suspension and restoration operates automatically based on trigger detection without requiring manual intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously managing therapy interruptions and resumptions, ensuring continuity is maintained through automated restoration while still providing side effect relief
3Ease of operation
If patient control features are added to the IMD, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patient control feature operates autonomously through automatic trigger detection and automated therapy suspension/restoration. The device serves itself by automatically managing the complex logic of when to suspend and restore therapy based on detected triggers, providing ease of operation without requiring complex manual controls or interfaces
Data Source
AI summary
An example of a method performed by an implantable medical device (IMD) to deliver a therapy to a patient may include delivering the therapy to the patient, detecting a trigger that is controlled by the patient or a caregiver to the patient, and determining if at least one feature of the IMD for responding to a trigger is enabled. The IMD may be configured to allow the patient or the caregiver to the patient to enable the at least one feature. The method may further include, when the at least one feature is enabled, automatically implementing the at least one enabled feature in response to the detected trigger, including automatically suspending the therapy in response to the detected trigger and automatically restoring the therapy after a defined period after the detected trigger.