Concurrent therapy detection in implantable medical devices

• US 9,227,068 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2013
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Ternes, David J., Ruble, Stephen, Hamann, Jason J., Baker, Kenneth L.
• Primary Examiner(s): VOORHEES, CATHERINE M
• Application Number:
  US14/013,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20140005494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0028 Body tissue as transmission medium, i.e. transmission systems where the medium is the human body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4848 Monitoring or testing the effects of treatment, e.g. of medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7207 of noise induced by motion artifacts
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36146 specified by the stimulation parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37 Monitoring; Protecting
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37288 Communication to several implantable medical devices within one patient

Abstract

Various method embodiments detect a concurrent therapy, where the concurrent therapy includes a plurality of therapy pulses. Detecting the concurrent therapy includes detecting at least one electrical pulse, extracting at least one characteristic from the at least one electrical pulse, comparing the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of therapy pulses, and detecting that the concurrent therapy is being applied if the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse favorably compares to the at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting a therapy using an implantable device to implement a process, including;

detecting at least one electrical pulse;

extracting at least one characteristic from the at least one electrical pulse, wherein the therapy includes therapy pulses with at least one characteristic;

comparing the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to the at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses; and

detecting that the therapy is being applied when the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse favorably compares to the at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the at least one electrical pulse includes detecting a rising edge or a falling edge of the electrical pulse.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting the rising edge or the falling edge of the electrical pulse includes detecting both the rising edge and the falling edge of the electrical pulse.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting the rising edge or a falling edge of the electrical pulse includes applying a high frequency filter to transform a sensed pulse signal into a transformed signal, wherein the transformed signal has spikes corresponding to transitions at the rising and falling edges of the sensed pulse.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein extracting includes extracting a pulse width from the at least one electrical pulse, and comparing the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses includes comparing the pulse width of the detected pulse to a pulse width of the therapy pulses.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein extracting includes extracting a pulse frequency from the at least one electrical pulse, and comparing the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses includes comparing the pulse frequency of the detected pulse to a pulse frequency of the therapy pulses.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein

detecting at least one electrical pulse includes detecting a plurality of pulses;

and

comparing at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses includes comparing an on/off ratio for the detected pulses to an on/off ratio for the therapy pulses.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein

extracting at least one characteristic from the at least one electrical pulse includes extracting a waveform for the at least one electrical pulse;

and

comparing at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses includes comparing the waveform for the detected pulses to a waveform for the therapy pulses.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising applying therapy detection criteria to the at least one detected pulse, and detecting that the therapy is being applied when both the therapy detection criteria is satisfied and the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse favorably compares to the at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing or presenting marker information to identify that the therapy is being applied.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the therapy is a first electrical therapy, the method further comprising delivering another electrical therapy, wherein delivering the other electrical therapy includes sensing electrical activity to control the electrical therapy, the method further comprising modifying characteristics for sensing electrical activity when the first electrical therapy is being applied.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising gathering diagnostic information, and distinguishing between diagnostic information gathered when the therapy is being applied and diagnostic information gathered when the therapy is not being applied.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the therapy is a first electrical therapy, the method further comprising delivering another electrical therapy, and altering the other electrical therapy when the first electrical therapy is being applied.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing characteristics of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of therapy pulses includes accessing a database of therapies, wherein the database includes pulse characteristics for at least two potential concurrent therapies.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

beginning a learning mode to enable an implantable medical device to characterize pulses of a detected electrical signal; and

storing the characterization of the pulses of the detected electrical signal in the IMD,

wherein comparing at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one characteristic of therapy pulses includes comparing the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to at least one of the characteristics of the therapy pulses characterized in the learning mode.

16. A method, comprising:

detecting a therapy using an implantable device to implement a process including;

detecting at least one electrical pulse, wherein detecting the at least one electrical pulse includes detecting a rising edge or a falling edge of the electrical pulse;

extracting at least one characteristic from the at least one electrical pulse, wherein the therapy includes therapy pulses with at least one characteristic;

comparing the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse to the at least one characteristic of therapy pulses; and

detecting that the therapy is being applied when the at least one characteristic of the detected pulse favorably compares to the at least one characteristic of the therapy pulses; and

storing or presenting marker information to identify that the concurrent therapy is being applied.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the therapy is a first electrical therapy, the method further comprising delivering another electrical therapy, wherein delivering the other electrical therapy includes sensing electrical activity to control the other electrical therapy, the method further comprising modifying characteristics for sensing electrical activity when the first electrical therapy is being applied.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising gathering diagnostic information, and distinguishing between diagnostic information gathered when the therapy is being applied and diagnostic information gathered when the therapy is not being applied.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the therapy is a first electrical therapy, the method further comprising delivering another electrical therapy, the method further comprising altering the other electrical therapy when the first electrical therapy is being applied.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein detecting the rising edge or a falling edge of the electrical pulse includes applying a high frequency filter to transform a sensed pulse signal into a transformed signal, wherein the transformed signal has spikes corresponding to transitions at the rising and falling edges of the sensed pulse.