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Measurement of the approximate elapsed time of ventricular fibrillation and monitoring the response of the heart to therapy

  • US 5,077,667 A
  • Filed: 06/13/1990
  • Issued: 12/31/1991
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/10/1989
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for measuring a clinically useful characteristic of the fibrillating heart of a subject which correlates with the approximate elapsed time since the onset of ventricular fibrillation of the heart, and with the metabolic state of the heart after therapeutic intervention, and for treating the subject for heart fibrillation, the method comprising:

  • (a) connecting electrodes to the body of the subject and detecting from the electrodes an analog electrical potential which is proportional to the electrical potential generated by the fibrillating heart;

    (b) sampling said analog potential for a selected interval of time to obtain a set of time domain samples;

    (c) detecting the power distribution of the fibrillating heart by machine transforming said time domain samples to a frequency domain power spectrum;

    (d) detecting the median frequency which bisects the energy of said power spectrum;

    (e) treating the fibrillating heart by a therapeutic intervention;

    (f) thereafter periodically detecting said median frequency; and

    (g) treating the fibrillating heart by applying a means for defibrillation when said detected median frequency rises above a selected frequency.

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