Method and apparatus for displaying programming events detected by an implantable medical device

• US 6,308,100 B1
• Filed: 09/22/1999
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Er, Siew Bee, Ly, Quang
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Application Number:
  US09/400,766
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 607/30, 607/31, 607/59
• US Class Current: 607/31
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/372 Arrangements in connection with the implantation of stimulators

Abstract

A pacemaker or other implantable medical device stores diagnostic information pertaining to a variety of events detected pacemaker for subsequent transmission to an external programmer. The external programmer displays graphical representations of the diagnostic information under the control of a physician operating the programmer. In one example, the pacemaker senses events occurring within the heart during a refractory period following generation of a stimulation signal, stores diagnostic information pertaining to those events as “event records” within the pacemaker, and ultimately transmits the event records to the external programmer for display in various graphical formats. The events occurring during the refractory period include events such as a P-wave detected during a relative post-ventricular atrial refractory period not followed by a ventricular pulse or an R-wave detected during a relative ventricular refractory period or a P-wave detected during an atrial refractory period during an AV/PV interval. Other examples of diagnostic information stored by the pacemaker include information pertaining to operations triggered within the pacemaker as a result of the condition of the patient, such as an auto-mode switching event, or as a result of the condition of the pacemaker itself, such as a battery test operation. Still other examples of diagnostic information recorded by the pacemaker and displayed by the external programmer include information pertaining to programming signals received from the external programmer, such as a heart base rate and rest rate re-programming signals.

Claims

1. A system for detecting and displaying information received from an implantable medical device capable of being programmed by programming signals received from a remote programming device, the system comprising:

means for receiving signals from the implantable medical device representative of a sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device including signals representative of the receipt of programming signals by the implantable medical device from the remote programming device;

means for processing the signals received from the implantable medical device to determine therefrom the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device including the receipt of programming signals by the implantable medical device; and

means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device including icons representative of the receipt of programming signals by the implantable medical device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of receipt of a pacemaker mode selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of receipt of a heart base rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of receipt of a heart rest rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of receipt of a maximum pacemaker tracking rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of receipt of a maximum pacemaker sensing rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of receipt of a pacemaker rate responsive AV/PV delay selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of events detected by the implantable medical device within heart tissue of a patient in which the medical device is implanted.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of a patient in which the medical device in implanted.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device displays, as part of the sequence, icons representative of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of the medical device itself.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for graphically displaying the icons includes a computer display screen.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for graphically displaying the icons includes a computer print-out device.

13. The system of claim 1 further including means for transmitting programming signals to the implantable medical device.

14. An implantable medical device of use with the system of claim 1 comprising:

means for detecting and storing a sequence of events, including electrical events detected within heart tissue of a patient in which the implantable medical device is implanted;

means for receiving programming signals from the external programmer;

means for storing, as part of the sequence of events, and indication of receipt of the programming signals;

means for controlling operations of the implantable medical device based on the received programming signals; and

means for transmitting signals to the external programmer representative of the stored sequence of events.

15. The implantable medical device of claim 14 wherein the means for transmitting signals to the external programmer representative of the stored sequence of events transmits, as part of the sequence of events, an indication of one or more of:

receipt of a pacemaker mode selection programming signal;

receipt of heart base rate selection programming signal;

receipt of heart rest rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a maximum pacemaker sensing rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a pacemaker rate responsive AV/PV delay selection programming signal.

16. The implantable medical device of claim 14 wherein means for detecting and storing a sequence of events operates to detect and store an indication of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of a patient in which the medical device is implanted.

17. The implantable medical device of claim 14 wherein means for detecting and storing a sequence of events operates to detect and store an indication of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of the medical device itself.

18. A system for programming an implantable medical device and for detecting and displaying information received from implantable medical device, the system comprising:

a command transmitter unit operative to transmit programming signals to the implantable medical device;

a data receiver unit operative to receive signals from the implantable medical device representative of a sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device including signals representative of the receipt of the programming signals by the implantable medical device;

a controller operative to process the signals received by the data receiver unit from the implantable medical device to determine therefrom the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device; and

a graphic display device operative to graphically displaying icons representative of the sequence of events detected by the implantable medical device including icons representative of the receipt of the programming signals by the implantable medical device.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the graphic display device is operative to display, as part of the sequence of events, icons representative of programming events detected by the implantable medical device including one or more of:

receipt of a pacemaker mode selection programming signal;

receipt of a heart base rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a heart rest rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a maximum pacemaker tracking rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a maximum pacemaker sensing rate selection programming signal; and

receipt of a pacemaker rate responsive AV/PV delay selection programming signal.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the graphic display device is operative to display, as part of the sequence of events, icons representative of events detected by the implantable medical device within heart tissue of a patient in which the medical device is implanted.

21. The system of claim 18 wherein the graphic display device is operative to display, as part of the sequence of events, icons representative of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of a patient in which the medical device is planted.

22. The system of claim 18 wherein the graphic display device is operative to display, as part of the sequence of events, icons representative of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of the medical device itself.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the graphic display device includes a computer display screen.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the graphic display device includes a computer print-out device.

25. An implantable medical device for use with the system of claim 18 comprising:

a sensed event detection unit operative to detect a sequence of electrical events occurring within heart tissue of a patient in which the implantable medical device is implanted;

an event data storage unit operative to store data representative of the sequence of electrical events detected by the event detection unit;

a command receiver unit operative to receive programming signals from the external programmer;

a programmed function storage unit operative to control the event data storage unit to store, as part of the sequence of events stored therein, an indication of receipt of the programming signals; and

a data transmitter unit operative to transmit data stored within the event data storage unit including the stored sequence of events.

26. The implantable medical device of claim 25 wherein the event data storage unit stores, as part of the sequence of events, an indication of one or more of:

receipt of a pacemaker mode selection programming signal;

receipt of heart base rate selection programming signal;

receipt of heart rest rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a maximum pacemaker tracking rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a maximum pacemaker sensing rate selection programming signal;

receipt of a pacemaker rate responsive AV/PV delay selection programming signal.

27. The implantable medical device of claim 25 wherein the event data storage unit stores, as part of the sequence of events, and indication of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of a patient in which the medical device is implanted.

28. The implantable medical device of claim 25 wherein the event data storage unit stores, as part of the sequence of events, and indication of events triggered within the implantable medical device as a result of the condition of the medical device itself.

29. A method for programming an implantable medical device using an external programmer and for displaying information received from the implantable medical device on a graphic display of the external programmer, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting and storing a sequence of events using the implantable medical device, including detecting electrical events within heart tissue of a patient in which the implantable medical device is implanted and storing an indication thereof;

receiving programming signals transmitted by the external programmer;

storing an indication of receipt of the programming signals within the implantable medical device as part of the stored sequence of events;

receiving a data retrieval signal transmitted by the external programmer and, in response thereto, transmitting signals from the implantable medical device to the external programmer representative of the stored sequence of events; and

receiving the signals transmitted by the implantable medical device using the external programmer and, in response thereto, graphically displaying icons representative of the stored sequence of events including icons representative of the receipt of the programming signals by the implantable medical device.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of graphically displaying icons representative of the stored sequence of events is performed to display, as part of the sequence, icons representative of one or more of:

receipt of a pacemaker mode selection programming signal by the implantable medical device;

receipt of a heart base rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device;

receipt of a heart rest rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device;

receipt of a maximum pacemaker tracking rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device;

a maximum pacemaker sensing rate selection programming signal by the implantable medical device; and

a pacemaker rate responsive AV/PV delay selection programming signal by the implantable medical device.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of graphically displaying icons representative of the stored sequence of events is performed to display, as part of the sequence, icons representative of the events detected by the implantable medical device within the heart tissue of the patient in which the medical device is implanted.