Means to inhibit a digital cardiac pacemaker
First Claim
1. a programmable implantable medical device having program stroage means for accepting and storing a programming signal remotely applied thereto which influences the operating conditions of the medical device, one of the conditions being the complete inhibition of the operation of said medical device on the body in which the medical device is implanted, characterized by:
- program acceptance means responsive to the programming signal for providing signals manifesting the conditions under which said medical device is programmed to operate, one of said signals comprising an inhibition condition signal manifested directly upon receipt and acceptance of a programming signal providing the inhibition condition;
oscillator means responsive to said program acceptance means signals, other than said inhibition condition signal, for providing a periodic control signal for periodically operating said medical device;
inhibit control means responsive to the inhibition condition signal for providing an inhibit control means signal to completely inhibit operation of said medical device on the body upon acceptance by the program acceptance means of the programming signal; and
timing means responsive to said oscillator means for terminating the provision of said inhibition condition signal after the passage of a certain time related to a predetermined number of periodic control signals of said oscillator means and since the receipt of the last programming signal manifesting the inhibition condition.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A programmable cardiac pacemaker pulse generator utilizing digital circuitry for controlling the provision of cardiac stimulating pulses. The pulse generator is capable of having the rate, the pulse width, the pulse amplitude, the refractory period, the sensitivity and the mode of operation programmed. In addition, the pulse generator can have the output inhibited and can respond to programming signals causing a threshold margin test to be performed, effects of closure of the reed switch overridden, a hysteresis function added and a high rate exceeding the normal upper rate limit programmed. Many of the programmable functions of the pulse generator can either be programmed on a permanent or a temporary basis. The pulse generator further includes means for signaling the acceptance of a programming signal, and means to reset the program acceptance circuit if extraneous signals are detected as programming signals. The program signal acceptance circuit performs several different checks on the detected programming signal including a parity check, an access code check and determining if the proper number of signals were transmitted within a given time. The timing circuit of the pulse generator includes a crystal clock oscillator and counter means for counting the clock pulses therefrom to determine the rate of the pacemaker. The pulse width of each pacemaker pulse is determined by using a voltage controlled oscillator in place of the crystal oscillator to obtain energy compensation due to the battery voltage decreasing with time.
17 Citations
27 Claims
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1. a programmable implantable medical device having program stroage means for accepting and storing a programming signal remotely applied thereto which influences the operating conditions of the medical device, one of the conditions being the complete inhibition of the operation of said medical device on the body in which the medical device is implanted, characterized by:
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program acceptance means responsive to the programming signal for providing signals manifesting the conditions under which said medical device is programmed to operate, one of said signals comprising an inhibition condition signal manifested directly upon receipt and acceptance of a programming signal providing the inhibition condition; oscillator means responsive to said program acceptance means signals, other than said inhibition condition signal, for providing a periodic control signal for periodically operating said medical device; inhibit control means responsive to the inhibition condition signal for providing an inhibit control means signal to completely inhibit operation of said medical device on the body upon acceptance by the program acceptance means of the programming signal; and timing means responsive to said oscillator means for terminating the provision of said inhibition condition signal after the passage of a certain time related to a predetermined number of periodic control signals of said oscillator means and since the receipt of the last programming signal manifesting the inhibition condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. In a programmable cardiac pacemaker pulse generator which provides a cardiac stimulating pulse to output terminals adapted to being electrically coupled to the heart and includes program acceptance means for receiving and providing signals manifesting the information contained in a programming signal applied thereto, oscillator means responsive to the program acceptance means signals for providing cardiac stimulating pulse control signals under the conditions manifested by said program acceptance signals, sense means for sensing natural heart signals and providing reset signals, means for resetting said oscillator means in response to said reset signals and cardiac stimulating pulse control signals, and output means responsive to said cardiac stimulating pulse control signals for providing said cardiac stimulating pulses, the improvement of means to completely inhibit the provision of said cardiac stimulating pulses in response to a programming signal manifesting an inhibition condition comprising:
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normally enabled gate means to which said cardiac stimulating pulse control signals and a gate control signal normally enabling said gate means are applied and which provides, when enabled, said cardiac stimulating pulse control signal to said output means; inhibit means responsive directly to said program acceptance means signals for providing said gate control signal to enable said gate means in the absence of an inhibition condition manifested by said program acceptance means signals and to disable said gate means in response to an inhibition condition manifested by said program acceptance means signals; and timing means responsive to the successive resetting of said oscillator means a plurality of times for providing a time delay signal a certain time after said inhibit means provides said gate control signal to disable said gate means and in the absence of any intervening program acceptance signals manifesting said inhibition condition, said inhibit means responding to said timing means signal by providing a gate control signal to enable said gate means. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification