Method and apparatus for variable capacitance defibrillation
First Claim
1. A defibrillation apparatus, wherein said defibrillation apparatus delivers a shocking waveform to produce a desired cardiac response in the cardiac cell membrane of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
- a pair of electrodes, wherein said pair of electrodes are securable to said patient; and
an electronic circuit, wherein said electronic circuit is operably coupled to said pair of electrodes, wherein said electronic circuit includes an energy storage portion that comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor and wherein said electronic circuit initiates delivery of said shocking waveform through said pair of electrodes upon detection of a shockable condition within said cardiac cell membrane.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for delivering therapeutic electrical energy to a patient'"'"'s heart comprising at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient such that a given amount of energy can be stored at a lower voltage than a traditional fixed capacitor having an equivalent capacitance. Due to the variable capacitance capacitor'"'"'s ability to store energy at a lower voltage, initial defibrillation current levels are reduced effectively minimizing the risk of tissue damage caused by high initial current levels. In addition, the use of a variable capacitance capacitor reduces the amount of current decay throughout the discharge cycle as opposed to current AED designs utilizing fixed capacitance capacitors which experience an exponential decline in defibrillation current during the discharge cycle.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A defibrillation apparatus, wherein said defibrillation apparatus delivers a shocking waveform to produce a desired cardiac response in the cardiac cell membrane of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a pair of electrodes, wherein said pair of electrodes are securable to said patient; and an electronic circuit, wherein said electronic circuit is operably coupled to said pair of electrodes, wherein said electronic circuit includes an energy storage portion that comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor and wherein said electronic circuit initiates delivery of said shocking waveform through said pair of electrodes upon detection of a shockable condition within said cardiac cell membrane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for generating a shocking waveform for application to a cardiac cell membrane of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing at least one patient specific parameter to determine if defibrillation of said cardiac cell membrane is required; charging an energy storage portion, wherein said energy storage portion comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor; and discharging the energy storage portion in the form of a defibrillation waveform; and delivering said defibrillation waveform to said cardiac cell membrane of said patient. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of sustaining a level of defibrillation current during the delivery of a defibrillation waveform to the cardiac cell membrane of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing at least one patient specific parameter to determine if defibrillation of said cardiac cell membrane is required; charging an energy storage portion, wherein said energy storage portion comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor; and discharging the energy storage portion in the form of a defibrillation waveform, wherein upon discharging the energy storage portion a level of a defibrillation current of said energy source decays at a substantially linear rate; and delivering said defibrillation waveform to said cardiac cell membrane of said patient.
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16. A method of sustaining a level of defibrillation current during the delivery of a defibrillation waveform to the cardiac cell membrane of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing at least one patient specific parameter to determine if defibrillation of said cardiac cell membrane is required; charging an energy storage portion, wherein said energy storage portion comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor; and discharging the energy storage portion in the form of a defibrillation waveform, wherein said at least one variable capacitance capacitor has an initial defibrillation current and wherein said initial defibrillation current is less than the initial defibrillation current of a comparable non-variable capacitor that is capable of replacing said variable capacitance capacitor within said energy storage portion; and delivering said defibrillation waveform to said cardiac cell membrane of said patient.
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17. A method of sustaining a level of defibrillation current during the delivery of a defibrillation waveform to the cardiac cell membrane of a patient, comprising:
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providing a defibrillation apparatus wherein said defibrillation apparatus delivers a shocking waveform to produce a desired cardiac response in the cardiac cell membrane of a patient; providing instructions for sustaining defibrillation current, the instructions including; sensing at least one patient specific parameter to determine if defibrillation of said cardiac cell membrane is required; charging an energy storage portion, wherein said energy storage portion comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor; discharging the energy storage portion in the form of a defibrillation waveform, wherein upon discharging the energy storage portion a level of a defibrillation current of said energy source decays at a substantially linear rate; and delivering said defibrillation waveform to said cardiac cell membrane of said patient.
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18. A method of sustaining a level of defibrillation current during the delivery of a defibrillation waveform to the cardiac cell membrane of a patient, comprising:
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providing a defibrillation apparatus wherein said defibrillation apparatus delivers a shocking waveform to produce a desired cardiac response in the cardiac cell membrane of a patient; providing instructions for sustaining defibrillation current, the instructions including; sensing at least one patient specific parameter to determine if defibrillation of said cardiac cell membrane is required; charging an energy storage portion, wherein said energy storage portion comprises at least one variable capacitance capacitor having a large positive voltage coefficient and a capacitance that significantly increases with an amount of charge contained by the variable capacitance capacitor; discharging the energy storage portion in the form of a defibrillation waveform, wherein said at least one variable capacitance capacitor has an initial defibrillation current and wherein said initial defibrillation current is less than the initial defibrillation current of a comparable non-variable capacitor that is capable of replacing said variable capacitance capacitor within said energy storage portion; and delivering said defibrillation waveform to said cardiac cell membrane of said patient.
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Specification