Implantable Medical System Alternate Electrode Therapy Vector
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Implantable medical systems face challenges in sustaining therapy delivery due to lead-related conditions such as insulation breaches, conductor fractures, and intermittent contacts, which can lead to short or open circuits, impairing cardiac activity sensing and reducing the effectiveness of pacing or defibrillation therapy.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an implantable medical system with a lead having a first electrode and an alternate electrode, which switches therapy delivery from the first electrode to the alternate electrode in response to a lead-related condition, and an oversense reduction module that reconfigures therapy and sensing functions to maintain effective therapy delivery through the alternate electrode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If lead-related conditions occur (insulation breaches, conductor fractures), then therapy delivery is impaired, but adding alternate electrodes increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates alternate electrodes and backup conductors into the lead system during manufacturing, before any lead-related conditions occur. This preliminary preparation ensures that when insulation breaches or fractures happen, the system can immediately switch to pre-configured alternate therapy vectors without requiring complex real-time decision-making or additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the lead system with redundant electrodes and conductors that serve as pre-prepared backup pathways. When a lead-related condition compromises the primary therapy delivery path, the system has already-positioned alternate vectors ready to compensate, cushioning against therapy delivery failure without increasing operational complexity.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If therapy switches to alternate electrode, then therapy continuity is maintained, but sensing accuracy may be compromised due to oversensing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes oversensing artifacts from the electrical signals detected by the alternate electrode. The device identifies and eliminates spurious signals that do not represent true cardiac activity, allowing accurate sensing to continue even when using alternate therapy vectors following a lead-related condition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces signal processing algorithms and filtering mechanisms as intermediaries between the alternate electrode and the sensing system. These intermediaries process the raw electrical signals, removing oversensing artifacts while preserving genuine cardiac electrical activity, thereby maintaining sensing accuracy despite the switch to alternate vectors.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure describes implantable medical systems that respond to occurrence of a lead-related condition by utilizing an elongated coil electrode in defining an alternative pacing therapy vector to maintain optimal drain of an IMD power supply. An exemplary system includes a medical electrical lead having an elongated electrode and an improved sensing and therapy delivery circuitry to provide the alternative pacing therapy vector responsive to the lead-related conditions. The system reconfigures the operation of the sensing and therapy delivery circuitry triggered by the switch to the alternative pacing therapy vector.