System and method for emulating a surface EKG using internal cardiac signals sensed by an implantable medical device
First Claim
1. A method for emulating a surface electrocardiogram (EKG) of a patient in which an implantable cardiac stimulation device is implanted, the method comprising:
- sensing first and second cardiac signals using electrodes implanted within the patient;
identifying a pair of baseline points in each the first and second cardiac signals; and
selectively concatenating that portion of the first cardiac signal that lies between the pair of baseline points with that portion of the second cardiac signal that lies outside the pair of baseline points, using the baseline points as concatenation points to yield an emulated surface EKG.
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Abstract
A surface electrocardiogram (EKG) is emulated using signals detected by the internal leads of an implanted device. In one example, the emulation is performed using a technique that concatenates portions of signals sensed using different electrodes, such as by combining far-field ventricular signals sensed in the atria with far-field atrial signals sensed in the ventricles or by combining near-field signals sensed in the atria with near-field signals sensed in the ventricles. In another example, the emulation is performed using a technique that selectively amplifies or attenuates portions of a single signal sensed using a single pair of electrodes, such as by attenuating near-field portions of an atrial unipolar signal relative to far-field portions of the same signal or by attenuating atrial portions of a cross-chamber signal relative to ventricular portions to the same signal. The surface EKG emulation may be performed by the implanted device itself or by an external programmer based on cardiac signals transmitted thereto.
23 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method for emulating a surface electrocardiogram (EKG) of a patient in which an implantable cardiac stimulation device is implanted, the method comprising:
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sensing first and second cardiac signals using electrodes implanted within the patient; identifying a pair of baseline points in each the first and second cardiac signals; and selectively concatenating that portion of the first cardiac signal that lies between the pair of baseline points with that portion of the second cardiac signal that lies outside the pair of baseline points, using the baseline points as concatenation points to yield an emulated surface EKG. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for emulating a surface electrocardiogram (EKG) of a patient, the system comprising:
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one or more electrodes implanted within the patient; sensing circuitry operative to sense first and second cardiac signals using the one or more electrodes; and an EKG emulation unit operative to identify a pair of baseline points in each of the first and second cardiac signals and to selectively concatenate that portion of the first cardiac signal that lies between the pair of baseline points with that portion of the second cardiac signal that lies outside the pair of baseline points, using the baseline points as concatenation points to yield an emulated surface EKG.
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Specification