Implantable Temperature Monitoring for Adaptive Cardiac Therapy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with heart diseases often fail to increase their heart rate sufficiently in response to elevated body temperature, leading to potential degradation of quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality, as existing implantable medical devices (IMDs) do not effectively manage temperature-related changes.
Innovation Solution
An IMD system with a temperature sensor that collects treatment and diagnostic temperature data at different rates, analyzing this data to deliver treatments and communicate alerts, optionally with a remote control, and includes physiological sensors to identify health status changes based on temperature trends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the IMD continuously monitors temperature to detect health changes, then the detection accuracy and timeliness are improved, but the device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts temperature monitoring frequency based on detected conditions. During normal conditions, monitoring occurs at a lower frequency to reduce complexity and power consumption. When temperature thresholds are exceeded or abnormal patterns are detected, the system automatically increases monitoring frequency to improve detection accuracy, thus resolving the contradiction between continuous monitoring and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the monitoring parameter (temperature) and adjusts the sampling rate based on the patient's physiological state. By modifying the monitoring intensity according to the detected temperature deviations and health status, the system achieves high detection accuracy when needed while maintaining lower complexity during normal operation
2Speed
If the IMD collects temperature data at high rates for treatment decisions, then the treatment responsiveness is improved, but the data processing complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic temperature monitoring at different intervals rather than continuous high-rate sampling. During normal conditions, temperature is measured at extended intervals to reduce energy consumption. When temperature deviations are detected, the system switches to more frequent periodic measurements to enable rapid treatment response, thus balancing speed and energy usage
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary temperature monitoring at lower intensity to detect trends and patterns. By analyzing temperature data at reduced frequency during normal conditions, the system can identify emerging issues before they require urgent treatment, allowing for proactive intervention while minimizing energy consumption during stable periods
3Reliability
If the IMD provides comprehensive temperature-based diagnostics and treatment, then the patient outcome improvement is enhanced, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the temperature monitoring and response functions into distinct operational modes: diagnostic mode for data collection, alert mode for threshold detection, and treatment mode for active intervention. Each mode operates with appropriate complexity levels, allowing comprehensive patient care while managing device complexity through functional segmentation rather than implementing all capabilities simultaneously
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
The system provides timely intervention and reduces false alerts by accurately monitoring temperature changes, enabling early detection of conditions like hypothermia and hyperthermia, thereby improving patient safety and reducing hospital visits.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor configured to collect treatment temperature data at a first rate when the IMD operates in a first mode and collect diagnostic temperature data at a second rate when the IMD operates in a second mode
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
A system (300) for temperature-based diagnosis and treatment is provided. The system (300) includes an IMD (100, 302) comprising a temperature sensor (253, 324) configured to collect treatment temperature data at a first rate when the IMD (100, 302) operates in a first mode and collect diagnostic temperature data at a second rate that is less than the first rate when the IMD (100, 302) operates in a second mode. The system (300) also includes one or more processors (306, 340) configured to analyze the treatment temperature data when the IMD (100, 302) is in the first mode and deliver a treatment of the IMD (100, 302) based on the treatment temperature data, and analyze the diagnostic temperature data when the IMD (100, 302) is in the second mode and communicate an alert based on the diagnostic temperature data.