Apparatus for interpreting and displaying cardiac events of a heart connected to a cardiac pacing means

• US 4,596,255 A
• Filed: 02/15/1985
• Issued: 06/24/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories)
• Original Assignee: Siemens-Elema AB (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Mann, Brian M., Sholder, Jason A., Snell, Jeffery D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Application Number:
  US06/701,795
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• Field of Search: 128/419 PT, 128/697, 128/710, 128/711, 128/712
• US Class Current: 600/510
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37247 User interfaces, e.g. input or presentation means
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37252 Details of algorithms or data aspects of communication system, e.g. handshaking, transmitting specific data or segmenting data

Abstract

The present invention is an apparatus (1) for interpreting and displaying cardiac events of a heart connected to a cardiac pacing means (2) comprising a telemetry head (4), a first interpreting mean 6 with means connected to said telemetry head (4), a second interpreting means (12) with means connected to a plurality of ECG electrodes having paddles 8a at their digital end via electrical conduit (10), a control means (14) with means connected to said first and second interpreting means, (6) and (12) respectively, a multi-section memory means (16) with means connected to said control means (14), a D/A convertor (20) with means connected to said memory (16) a printing means (22) with means connected to said D/A convertor (20), logic means (24) with means connected to said memory means (16) and a display means (26) with means connected to said logic means (24).

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying cardiac events of a heart connected to an implanted cardiac pacemaker of a patient, said aparatus comprising:

telemetry head means for receiving, in a first information channel, telemetered information from said implanted pacemaker;

skin electrode means for receiving, in a second information channel, ECG information sensed at the skin of said patient, said ECG information being separate and distinct from the telemetered information received by said telemetry head means;

controller means coupled to both said first and second information channels for synchronizing time the telemetered information received over the first information channel and the ECG information received over the second information channel, and for processing the information received over the first and second information channels in parallel while maintaining the synchronization therebetween, said controller means generating digital command signals representative of the information received over these first and second information channels and the synchronization therebetween;

memory means for storing said digital command signals; and

display means responsive to said digital command signals stored in said memory means for simultaneously displaying a synchronized representation of the telemetered and ECG information received over the first and second information channels.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said display means includes a display monitor having a display surface on which the telemetered information from the first information channel, and the ECG information, from the second information channel, are simultaneously displayed one above the other on the same time base.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said second information channel includes second interpreter means for digitizing the ECG information received by the skin electrode means.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said display means further includes a printer for printing the synchronized telemetered data stored in said memory means.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the telemetered information from said implanted pacemaker comprises RF encoded signals, the information included in these RF encoded signals including the occurrence of specified cardiac and pacemaker events as determined by said implanted pacemaker, such as an atrial contraction (P), a ventricular contraction (R), the generation of an atrial stimulation pulse (A), and the generation of a ventricular stimulation pule (V), and wherein said telemetry head means includes means for receiving said RF encoded signals and converting them to encoded digital signals, and further wherein said first information channel includes first interpreter means for initially decoding said encoded digital signals prior to presenting said signals to said controller means.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said display means includes means for displaying on said display surface the occurrence of said specified cardiac and pacemaker events as a distinguishing letter, such as a "P", "R", "A", or "V", said distinguishing letter being simultaneously displayed on the display surface in synchrony with the displayed ECG information received over the second information channel.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said means for displaying further includes means for displaying on said display surface, a horizontal time line with vertical line markers placed thereon, each vertical line marker having one of said distinguishing letters displayed therewith, and further including means for determining and displaying a numeric number on said display surface representing the time difference between adjcent vertical line markers as determined relative to the time base used by said display means.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said telemetered information received from said implanted pacemaker over said first information channel further includes refractory time periods associated with the operation of said implanted pacemaker, and wherein said display means includes means for displaying said refractory time periods as a horizontal line that is simultaneously displayed in synchrony with the ECG information received over the second information channel, the beginning, length, and ending of the horizontal line, as measured with respect to the time base, representing the beginning, length, and ending, respectively, of the refractory time period that is displayed.