Waveform Artifact Detection in Implantable Medical Devices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Implantable medical devices face challenges in accurately monitoring physiological signals due to waveform artifacts caused by mechanical noise, which conventional filtering methods often fail to remove without losing desired signal information.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a method and apparatus that detect and classify pressure signal waveforms using feature extraction and classification criteria, allowing for the differentiation between artifact-contaminated and artifact-free waveforms, enabling informed decisions on data usage or sensor repositioning without filtering out the artifact.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If conventional filtering or signal averaging methods are used to remove artifact, then artifact is reduced, but desired signal information is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveartifactVSAvoiddesired signal information

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the pressure signal into individual waveforms and analyzes each waveform's morphology characteristics separately. By examining features such as waveform shape, amplitude, and temporal patterns of each segmented waveform, the system can identify artifact-contaminated waveforms without applying filtering that would distort the original signal and lose information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of trying to remove artifact through filtering (the conventional approach), the patent inverts the approach by detecting and identifying artifact waveforms through morphology analysis, then selectively excluding only those identified artifact waveforms from monitoring decisions. This inversion allows retention of all signal information while eliminating only the harmful artifact portions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Measurement precision

If artifact removal filtering is applied, then signal quality is improved, but signal fidelity deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesignal qualityVSAvoidsignal fidelity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary morphology analysis and artifact detection on each waveform before any filtering or signal processing is applied. By pre-identifying artifact-contaminated waveforms through their morphological characteristics, the system can make informed decisions about which waveforms to use for monitoring without applying filters that would compromise signal fidelity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent converts the presence of artifact into a beneficial detection opportunity by using artifact-induced morphological changes as the basis for identification. The artifact contamination, which normally degrades signal quality, becomes a detectable feature that allows the system to identify and exclude only those specific artifact waveforms while preserving all other signal information intact.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS8380295B2Detection of waveform artifact

Publication Date: 2013.02.19 MEDTRONIC INC

AI summary

An implantable medical device system including a physiological sensor detects signal artifact in a signal waveform acquired by the sensor. Features of individual waveforms in the sensor signal are extracted. Sample waveforms are classified by expert observation into at least two classes including an artifact class. A distribution range for each of the extracted features from the sample waveforms is determined for each of the classes. Waveform classification criteria are established in response to the determined distribution ranges.