Implantable Heart Failure Prediction System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting thoracic fluid accumulation in heart failure patients are often too late to prevent significant clinical interventions, leading to costly hospitalizations and potential fatal outcomes due to pulmonary edema or pleural effusion.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an implantable medical device with leads coupled to the heart, a parameter collection module, and a prediction module that senses physiologic, therapeutic, and environmental parameters to predict impending thoracic fluid accumulation, allowing for early intervention through adjusted therapies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If current detection methods are used, then thoracic fluid accumulation can be detected, but the detection is too late to prevent significant clinical interventions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of thoracic fluid accumulation using multiple physiologic parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, body weight, blood pressure) before clinical symptoms manifest. By continuously monitoring these parameters and comparing them against threshold values, the system predicts fluid accumulation early, enabling preventive therapy adjustment before significant clinical intervention becomes necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where detected physiologic parameters are continuously compared against predetermined threshold values, and therapy delivery is automatically adjusted based on the comparison results. When parameters indicate impending fluid accumulation, the system provides feedback to modify therapy, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents fluid accumulation rather than merely detecting it after the fact.
2Productivity
If early prediction is implemented, then hospitalization can be reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a single implantable medical device that performs multiple functions: it delivers cardiac therapy, collects physiologic parameters, predicts fluid accumulation, and adjusts therapy accordingly. By combining these functions in one universal device rather than separate systems, the patent reduces overall system complexity while enabling early prediction and preventive management of thoracic fluid accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically monitors physiologic parameters, compares them against thresholds, predicts fluid accumulation, and adjusts therapy without requiring external intervention. This self-service capability reduces the need for frequent clinical visits and manual assessments, improving patient management efficiency while the automated nature of the system keeps operational complexity manageable.
3Measurement precision
If multiple parameters are monitored, then prediction accuracy improves, but the measurement complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple physiologic parameter measurements (heart rate, respiratory rate, body weight, blood pressure) into a unified prediction algorithm. By merging these measurements and processing them together through threshold comparison, the system achieves high detection accuracy for impending fluid accumulation. The integration of multiple parameters compensates for the complexity of individual measurements, as the combined data provides more reliable prediction than any single parameter alone.
Data Source
AI summary
This patent document discusses, among other things, systems, devices, and methods for predicting an occurrence of impending thoracic fluid accumulation and in one example, invoking a responsive therapy, such as to prevent or minimize the consequences of the impending thoracic fluid accumulation. One example of the present systems, devices, and methods senses or receives at least one parameter that is statistically associated with impending thoracic fluid accumulation from a subject. Using such parameter(s), a probability of impending thoracic fluid accumulation is estimated. A list of parameters determines which values are recurrently sensed or received at various desired time intervals. Another example of the present systems, devices, and methods weights the sensed or received parameter value(s) to compute the probability estimate of impending thoracic fluid accumulation. A responsive preventive thoracic fluid accumulation therapy or other therapy is selected and activated using the probability estimate of impending thoracic fluid accumulation.