Implantable Cardiac System Intrinsic Conduction Time Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing implantable cardiac pacemakers face challenges in accurately determining atrioventricular and interventricular conduction times post-implantation, as these times can change, requiring frequent adjustments to ensure effective heart stimulation, and previous methods involve extrinsic stimulation that may overlap with intrinsic cardiac activity.
Innovation Solution
An implantable system with detection units for atrial, right ventricular, and left ventricular activities that automatically measures intrinsic conduction times without external stimulation, allowing for precise and reliable determination of atrioventricular and interventricular conduction times, which can be used to adjust pacemaker parameters and monitor heart condition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If extrinsic stimulation is used to determine conduction times, then measurement can be performed, but the stimulation may overlap with intrinsic cardiac activity causing inaccurate measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the heart's own intrinsic electrical signals to measure conduction times, eliminating the need for external stimulation. The detection units capture intrinsic atrial and ventricular activities, and the processor calculates conduction times based on these self-generated signals, thereby avoiding interference with natural cardiac rhythm.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and measures only the intrinsic cardiac activities without introducing external stimulation. By isolating and analyzing the heart's own electrical signals through multiple detection units, the system obtains accurate conduction time measurements without the harmful effect of extrinsic stimulation overlapping with intrinsic activity.
2Reliability
If conduction time is measured frequently to account for changes, then therapeutic effectiveness is maintained, but device complexity and operational burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors conduction times by automatically detecting intrinsic cardiac activities at regular intervals and calculating conduction times without requiring manual intervention. This continuous automatic measurement ensures therapeutic effectiveness is maintained while simplifying the operational burden through automated processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor automatically compares measured conduction times with target values and adjusts pacemaker parameters accordingly. This closed-loop feedback system maintains reliable therapeutic effectiveness by continuously adapting to conduction time changes while reducing the complexity of manual measurement and adjustment procedures.
3Measurement precision
If multiple detection units are used to measure conduction times, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each detection unit is designed to detect multiple types of intrinsic cardiac activities (atrial and ventricular) depending on its position and configuration. The detection units serve universal purposes in measuring different conduction times (AV and VV) while maintaining high precision, thereby reducing the need for specialized separate measurement systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines multiple detection units into a unified pacemaker device that automatically performs conduction time measurements and parameter adjustments. By merging the detection, processing, and control functions into a single integrated system, the invention achieves high measurement precision without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An implantable system detecting electrical signals of a human or animal heart includes a processor, a memory unit, a first detection unit for atrial activity, a second detection unit for right ventricular activity and a third detection unit for left ventricular activity. The system automatically performs steps at regular intervals including detecting an intrinsic right atrial activity using the first detection unit; detecting an intrinsic right ventricular activity using the second detection unit; determining a time between the intrinsic right atrial activity and the intrinsic right ventricular activity, and storing this time as atrioventricular conduction time. Additionally or alternatively the steps include detecting an intrinsic right ventricular activity using the second detection unit; detecting an intrinsic left ventricular activity using the third detection unit; and determining a time between the intrinsic right ventricular activity and the intrinsic left ventricular activity, and storing this time as interventricular conduction time.