ARRHYTHMIA DETECTOR

• US 3,677,260 A
• Filed: 09/04/1970
• Issued: 07/18/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gould, Inc. (Transdigm Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Horst Funfstuck, Shmuel Elazar
• Inventors: Funfstuck, Horst, Elazar, Shmuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Application Number:
  US05/069,634
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 128/2.5T,2.6A,2.6F,2.6R
• US Class Current: 600/515
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/364 Detecting abnormal ECG interval, e.g. extrasystoles, ectopic heartbeats

Abstract

This application relates to means for measuring and recording variations in frequency of repetitive events which may be subject to large changes in frequency and is particularly useful in connection with the measuring and recording of the frequency of ectopic heartbeats. This is accomplished by generating the train of pulses responsive to the frequency of the events of interest, establishing a potential responsive to the frequency of said train of pulses, generating a linear sawtooth pulse whose amplitude is responsive to the frequency of the applied pulses and comparing said amplitude of said sawtooth pulse with a reference potential, establishing the difference between the amplitude potential and said reference potential, means responsive to said difference to indicate the frequency of the pulses resulting in said difference whose magnitude varies from that resulting from a predetermined variation of the frequency of said repetitive events.

Claims

1. A cardiac arrhythmia detector comprising:

means to establish a train of pulses responsive to heartbeats;

means to establish a dc potential responsive to said train of pulses;

means to establish a sawtooth pulse responsive to said dc potential and to the frequency of said train of pulses;

means to establish a reference potential;

means for comparing the potential of the amplitude of said sawtooth pulse with a reference potential;

means for establishing a second reference potential responsive to the difference between the potential of the amplitude of said sawtooth pulse and said reference potential; and

means for comparing the potential of the amplitude of said sawtooth pulse with the second reference potential and means to indicate a sawtooth pulse amplitude potential in excess of said second reference potential as an indication of an ectopic pulse beat.

2. An arrhythmia detector according to Claim 1, in which said means for establishing a train of pulses responsive to said heartbeats includes an R pulse detector, said R pulse detector comprising an RC circuit responsive to said first mentioned train of pulses, means to generate a potential responsive to the potential of the train of pulses arising from that fraction of the R portion of the pulse whose amplitude is in excess of the amplitude of the remaining portions of said heartbeat pulse, means to apply said potential to said R C circuit, means responsive to said potential at said RC circuit to generate a train of square wave pulses at the frequency of said R wave fraction, and means responsive to the frequency of such train of square waves to generate the aforesaid first mentioned dc potential.

3. In the arrhythmia detector according to claim 1, said means to establish said second reference potential, including a second RC circuit, to establish said second dc potential responsive to said difference potential and means for applying said second dc potential, to establish said second reference potentials responsive to said second dc potential.

4. In the cardiac arrhythmia detector according to Claim 1, said means for comparing said sawtooth amplitude potential with said first mentioned reference potential, comprising means to establish a reference potential responsive to the frequency of heartbeat pulses of rate less than the normal heartbeat pulse rate and another reference potential responsive to the heartbeat pulse frequency greater than normal heartbeat pulse frequency rate, said other reference potential being higher than said first mentioned reference potential and comparing the potential of the amplitude of the sawtooth pulse with each of said reference potentials and applying the difference between the amplitude potential of said sawtooth pulse and said second named reference potential to said indicating means to indicate the ectopic pulse beat.

5. An arrhythmia detector according to claim 1, in which said means for establishing a train of pulses responsive to said heartbeats includes an R pulse detector, said R pulse detector comprising an RC circuit responsive to said first mentioned train of pulses means to generate a potential responsive to the potential of the train of pulses arising from the fraction of the R position of the pulse whose amplitude is in excess of the amplitude of the remaining portions of said heartbeat pulse, means to apply said potential to said R C circuit, means responsive to said potential at said RC circuit to generate a train of square wave pulses at the frequence of said R wave fraction, and means responsive to the frequency of such train of square waves to generate the aforesaid first mentioned dc potential, said means to establish said first mentioned second reference potential, including a second RC circuit, to establish a second dc potential responsive to said difference potential, means for applying said second dc potential, to establish said second reference potentials responsive to said second dc potentials.

6. An arrhythmia detector according to claim 1, in which said means for establishing a train of pulses responsive to said heartbeats includes an R pulse detector, said R pulse detector comprising an RC circuit responsive to said first mentioned train of pulses, means to generate a potential responsive to the potential of the train of pulses arising from that fraction of the R portion of the pulse whose amplitude is in excess of the amplitude of the remaining portions of said heartbeat pulse, means to apply said potential to said R C circuit, means responsive to said potential at said RC circuit to generate a train of square wave pulses at the frequency of said R wave fraction, and means responsive to the frequency of such train of square waves to generate the aforesaid first mentioned dc potential, said means to establish said second reference potential, including a second RC circuit, to establish a second dc potential responsive to said difference potential, means for applying said second dc potential, to establish said second reference potentials responsive to said second dc potential, said means for comparing said sawtooth potential with said first mentioned reference potential comprising means to establish a reference potential responsive to the frequency of heartbeat pulses of rate less than the normal heartbeat pulse rate and another reference potential responsive to the heartbeat pulse frequency greater than normal heartbeat pulse frequency rate, said other reference potential being higher than said first mentioned reference potential and comparing the potential of the amplitude of the sawtooth pulse with each of said reference potentials and applying the difference between the amplitude potential of said sawtooth pulse and said second named reference potential.