Wearable defibrillator with a multivector shock waveform
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A transthoracic defibrillator for external defibrillation, comprising:
- at least three electrodes configured to be attached to the thorax of a patient to establish at least two electrical paths across the thoracic cavity and through the heart of the patient, wherein each of the at least two electrical paths has an associated impedance; and
a defibrillator circuit contained in a defibrillator housing, wherein the defibrillator circuit is operatively connected to the at least three electrodes and is configured to deliver a defibrillation waveform across each of the at least two electrical paths, and wherein the at least three electrodes are incorporated into a garment or belt that can be worn by the patient;
a measurement circuit configured to measure the impedance of each of the at least two electrical paths, wherein the measurement circuit is configured to measure impedance in at least one of the following ways;
(a) simultaneously across at least two pairs of electrodes using carrier frequencies that differ by at least 5 kHz between each of the simultaneously tested pairs; and
(b) sequentially between different pairs of electrodes;
wherein a parameter of the defibrillation waveform delivered along each electrical path is influenced by a measured impedance associated the electrical path; and
wherein the at least two electrical paths form a first vector and a second vector, and the defibrillation waveforms comprise at least one of the following;
(a) a sequence of non-zero voltages including a positive shock on the first vector, followed by a positive shock on the second vector, followed by a negative shock on the first vector, followed by a negative shock on the second vector; and
(b) a sequence of non-zero voltages including a positive shock on the first vector, followed by a positive shock on the second vector, followed by a negative shock simultaneously on the first and second vectors.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A transthoracic defibrillator for external defibrillation comprises at least three electrodes configured to be attached to the thorax of a patient to establish at least two electrical paths across the thoracic cavity and through the heart of the patient. In addition, a defibrillator circuit contained in a defibrillator housing has the capability to deliver a different defibrillation waveform across each of the at least two electrical paths.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A transthoracic defibrillator for external defibrillation, comprising:
-
at least three electrodes configured to be attached to the thorax of a patient to establish at least two electrical paths across the thoracic cavity and through the heart of the patient, wherein each of the at least two electrical paths has an associated impedance; and a defibrillator circuit contained in a defibrillator housing, wherein the defibrillator circuit is operatively connected to the at least three electrodes and is configured to deliver a defibrillation waveform across each of the at least two electrical paths, and wherein the at least three electrodes are incorporated into a garment or belt that can be worn by the patient; a measurement circuit configured to measure the impedance of each of the at least two electrical paths, wherein the measurement circuit is configured to measure impedance in at least one of the following ways;
(a) simultaneously across at least two pairs of electrodes using carrier frequencies that differ by at least 5 kHz between each of the simultaneously tested pairs; and
(b) sequentially between different pairs of electrodes;wherein a parameter of the defibrillation waveform delivered along each electrical path is influenced by a measured impedance associated the electrical path; and wherein the at least two electrical paths form a first vector and a second vector, and the defibrillation waveforms comprise at least one of the following;
(a) a sequence of non-zero voltages including a positive shock on the first vector, followed by a positive shock on the second vector, followed by a negative shock on the first vector, followed by a negative shock on the second vector; and
(b) a sequence of non-zero voltages including a positive shock on the first vector, followed by a positive shock on the second vector, followed by a negative shock simultaneously on the first and second vectors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method of transthoracic defibrillation, comprising:
-
attaching at least two electrodes to the thorax of a patient to establish at least a first electrical path across the thoracic cavity and through the heart of the patient; determining if the patient is in ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), or atrial fibrillation (AF); establishing at least a second electrical path if VF or AF is determined, wherein establishing at least a second electrical patent comprises attaching at least one additional electrode to the thorax of the patient to establish at least one additional electrical path across the thoracic cavity and through the heart of the patient; and sending a defined amount of electrical energy as a first shock across at least one of the electrical paths.
-
-
18. The method of transthoracic defibrillation, comprising:
-
attaching two electrodes to the thorax of a patient to establish a first electrical path across the thoracic cavity and through the heart of the patient; delivering a first shock to the patient; determining if the first shock was effective in establishing regular heart rhythm; if the first shock was not effective, attaching at least one more electrode to the patient; delivering a multivector shock to the patient.
-
Specification