Organ rejection monitoring
First Claim
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1. An implantable medical device comprising:
- an impedance measuring circuit contained within the implantable medical device, wherein the impedance measuring circuit is configured to make measurements of the impedance across at least a portion of a transplanted organ in a patient;
a processor contained within the implantable medical device, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the patient is experiencing rejection of the transplanted organ as a function of the impedance measurements;
a first electrode for placement in contact with the transplanted organ;
a second electrode for placement in contact with the transplanted organ;
a first electrode for placement in contact with a non-transplanted organ; and
a second electrode for placement in contact with the non-transplanted organ, wherein the impedance measuring circuit is further configured to make measurements of the impedance of at least a portion of the transplanted organ with the first and second electrodes for placement in contact with the transplanted organ, and make reference measurements of the impedance of at least a portion of the non-transplanted organ with the first and second electrodes for placement in contact with the non-transplanted organ.
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Abstract
The invention is directed to techniques for monitoring organ rejection. An implanted device monitors the impedance of the transplanted organ. When the impedance measurements indicate that the organ is being rejected, the device provides early warning of rejection.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An implantable medical device comprising:
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an impedance measuring circuit contained within the implantable medical device, wherein the impedance measuring circuit is configured to make measurements of the impedance across at least a portion of a transplanted organ in a patient; a processor contained within the implantable medical device, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the patient is experiencing rejection of the transplanted organ as a function of the impedance measurements; a first electrode for placement in contact with the transplanted organ; a second electrode for placement in contact with the transplanted organ; a first electrode for placement in contact with a non-transplanted organ; and a second electrode for placement in contact with the non-transplanted organ, wherein the impedance measuring circuit is further configured to make measurements of the impedance of at least a portion of the transplanted organ with the first and second electrodes for placement in contact with the transplanted organ, and make reference measurements of the impedance of at least a portion of the non-transplanted organ with the first and second electrodes for placement in contact with the non-transplanted organ. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An implantable medical device comprising:
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an impedance measuring circuit contained within the implantable medical device, wherein the impedance measuring circuit is configured to make measurements of an impedance across at least a portion of a transplanted organ in a patient, and measure an impedance across at least a portion of a reference organ in the patient; and a processor contained within the implantable medical device, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the patient is experiencing rejection of the transplanted organ as a function of the impedance measurements. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An implantable medical device comprising:
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an impedance measuring circuit configured to make measurements of the impedance across at least a portion of a transplanted organ in a patient; and a processor configured to monitor variations in the sensed impedance on a periodic basis, and determine that the patient is experiencing rejection of the transplanted organ when the variations decrease over time. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method comprising:
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sensing, with an implantable medical device, an impedance across at least a portion of a transplanted organ in a patient; sensing, with the implantable medical device, a reference impedance across at least a portion of a non-transplanted organ; and determining, with the implantable medical device, whether the patient is experiencing rejection of the transplanted organ as a function of the impedance based on the impedance and the reference impedance. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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Specification