Hand-held surface ECG and RF apparatus incorporated with a medical device

• US 6,748,260 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2001
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Crowley, Thomas, Brecht, Mark, Au, Nelson, Tal, Elisha, Buchenau, Marion, Powell, Richard M., Oakley, Nick, Pearce, Edwin M. Jr., Perry Pool, Nancy, Karshmer, David, Nelson, Chester G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bockelman, Mark
• Application Number:
  US09/821,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20020095093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,167 Days
• Field of Search: 600/509, 600/520, 600/519, 600/523, 600/372, 600/384, 600/382, 128/903, 607/30-32, 607/60, 482/8-9
• US Class Current: 600/509
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0468 Built-in electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/332 Portable devices specially adapted therefor

Abstract

A hand-holdable structure implementing electrodes to enable good skin-electrode contact to acquire ECG readings is disclosed. Specifically, the structure is shaped to enable patients to apply a simple gentle grip to have a reliable skin-electrode contact and to automatically commence ECG tracing transmission to a patient monitoring station. In one embodiment the structure incorporates an RF telemetry head to simultaneously transfer IMD stored data in conjunction with the ECG tracings. The structure independently or in combination with the RF telemetry head is adaptable to a system of data communications with a programmer or equivalent instrument to transfer ECG and IMD data to a remotely located physician station or patient data storage server. The system is also adaptable for use with a web-enabled network such as, without limitation, the Internet, intranet, World Wide Web, extranet or equivalent.

Claims

1. A hand device devoid of adhesive material and electrically conductive gel material to establish reliable skin-electrode contact for physiological signal acquisition of surface electrocardiogram (ECG), myocardial electrogram (EGM) and pacemaker stimulation signals from a patient, comprising:

a first bulbous structure including at least one surface electrode, said first bulbous structure configured to be easily manually grasped to thereby establish electrical communication between said at least one surface electrode and one hand of a patient;

a second bulbous structure including at least one surface electrode, said second bulbous structure configured to be easily manually grasped to thereby establish electrical communication between said at least one surface electrode and contact in another hand of the patient; and

a telemetry unit having operable data communications link with said first bulbous structure and said second bulbous structure,

said first bulbous structure operatively electrically connected to said second bulbous structure wherein a temporal physiological surface EGG signals generated between said first and said second bulbous structures is automatically transmitted to said telemetry unit via said data communication link when electrical communication is established for both the first and second bulbous structures.

wherein the telemetry unit includes means for establishing wireless communication with a pacemaker disposed within the patient so that temporal EGM signals from the pacemaker are automatically communicated via the data communications rink when electrical communication is established for both the first and second bulbous structures.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the means for establishing Wireless communication comprises a headless RF telemetry incorporated into one of said first and second bulbous structures to uplink to the pacemaker.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein a one of said first and second bulbous structures comprises a substantially ovoid shape conforming to a human grasp.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein each said at least one electrode is shaped to conform to said substantially ovoid shape.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein each at least one electrode substantially covers a major surfaces of said substantially ovoid shape.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said telemetry unit includes a communication link to transmit the surface ECG and the temporal EGM signals to one of:

a pacemaker programmer, a personal computer, a remote electronic station, a data server.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said temporal EGM signals includes historical medical data collected from the pacemaker.

8. A hand-held surface ECG and radio frequency system for detecting cardiac depolarizations for remote monitoring of temporal electrocardiogram (ECG signals and internal cardiac electrogram (EGM) signals from a patient with an implantable medical device (IMD) such as a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, the system comprising:

a pair of structures operatively electrically coupled together and each of said pair of structures shaped to conform to a manual grasp of a patient;

electrodes incorporated into the pair of structures to enable reliable skin-electrode contact at said grasp of the patent, wherein said contact is established without use of adhesive material or electrically conductive gel material;

a data communication means linking said pair of structures and a radio frequency system for automatically enabling transmission of temporal ECG signals from the pair of structures upon establishment of skin-electrode contact to an external communication device, and wherein said data communication means also automatically transmitting EGM signals from an IMD disposed with in said patient.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein each of said pair of structures comprise substantially ovoid shapes forming a first end and second end rigidly spaced apart by a connecting member.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said connecting member includes means for routing a data communications cable between said first end and said second end.

11. A method of automatically communicating physiologic signals of a patient to a remote location, comprising:

Initiating a communication link from a pair of structures when each one of said pair of structures is manually grasped in each hand of a patient, said communication link including at least two streams of data, a first data stream comprising surface electrocardiogram (ECG) information and a second data stream comprising internal electrogram (EGM) information generated by an implantable medical device (IMD) disposed within said patient; and

terminating the communication link when the manual grasp between at least one of the pair of structures and the patient is interrupted.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein each of the pair of structures comprise an ovoid shape.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein at least one surface electrode associated with each of said pair of structures comprises a contoured shaped corresponding to a major surface of each of the pair of structures.

14. A method according to claim 11, wherein the second data stream comprises historical EGM data.

15. A method according to claim 11, wherein the second data stream comprises a temporal trace of cardiac activity, including delivery of pacing therapy.

16. A method according to claim 11, wherein each of the pair of structures comprises a bulbous shape.

17. A method according to claim 11, wherein the second data stream is communicated via a radio frequency link between the IMD and an external telemetry device incorporated into a one of the pair of structures.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein one of said pair of structures includes a magnetic unit and wherein when said magnetic unit is disposed near the IMD the radio frequency link is established.