Cardiac stimulator with lead failure detector and warning system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A lead failure detector for use with a cardiac stimulator comprising:
- means for measuring impedance of a lead;
means for calculating an upper impedance limit and a lower impedance limit;
means for comparing said measured impedance with the upper impedance limit and the lower impedance limit; and
means for activating an alarm in response to said measured impedance being one of greater than said upper impedance limit and less than said lower impedance limit.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for detecting failure or impending failure of a lead and for providing a warning to a patient or a patient'"'"'s physician. The impedance of the lead is repeatedly measured and compared with certain impedance limits. If the measured impedance falls outside of these impedance limits, an alarm may be given to the patient, or a warning may be given to the patient'"'"'s physician.
206 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A lead failure detector for use with a cardiac stimulator comprising:
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means for measuring impedance of a lead; means for calculating an upper impedance limit and a lower impedance limit; means for comparing said measured impedance with the upper impedance limit and the lower impedance limit; and means for activating an alarm in response to said measured impedance being one of greater than said upper impedance limit and less than said lower impedance limit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A lead failure detector for use with a cardiac stimulator comprising:
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means for receiving data correlative to repeated impedance measurements of a lead; means for calculating a maximum impedance limit and a minimum impedance limit in response to a first of said repeated impedance measurements; means for calculating an upper impedance limit and a lower impedance limit in response to each of said repeated impedance measurements; means for determining whether said data correlative to each of said repeated impedance measurements is greater than one of said maximum impedance limit and said upper impedance limit and is less than one of said minimum impedance limit and said lower impedance limit; and means for generating an alarm initiation signal in response to said data correlative to one of said repeated impedance measurements being greater than one of said maximum impedance limit and said upper impedance limit or being less than one of said minimum impedance limit and said lower impedance limit. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A lead failure detector for use with a cardiac stimulator comprising:
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a lead adapted to transmit electrical signals to a heart of a patient; means for measuring impedance of said lead; means for determining whether said measured impedance is within a given impedance range and for delivering an alarm initiation signal in response to said measured impedance being outside said given range; and means for alerting the patient in response to said alarm initiation signal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A lead failure detector for use with a cardiac stimulator comprising:
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a lead adapted to transmit electrical signals; an impedance measurement circuit for measuring impedance of said lead; a comparison circuit for comparing said measured impedance with an impedance limit, said comparison circuit delivering an alarm initiation signal in response to said measured impedance differing from said impedance limit by a given magnitude; and an alarm circuit for alerting a patient in response to said alarm initiation signal. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A lead failure detector for use with a cardiac stimulator, comprising:
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a lead adapted to transmit electrical signals to a heart; an impedance measurement circuit coupled to said lead; a control circuit coupled to said impedance measurement circuit, said impedance measurement circuit measuring impedance of said lead in response to receiving a first control signal from said control circuit; a comparison circuit determining whether said measured impedance is within a first impedance range and a second impedance range, said comparison circuit delivering an alarm initiation signal in response to said measured impedance being outside at least one of the first impedance range and the second impedance range; and an alarm circuit delivering an alarm in response to said alarm initiation signal. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A computer-readable medium containing a software program for use with a cardiac stimulator, said program comprising:
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a routine for receiving data correlative to an impedance measurement of a lead; a routine for determining whether said impedance measurement data is within a first impedance range and a second impedance range; and a routine for generating an alarm initiation signal in response to said measured impedance being outside at least one of the first impedance range and the second impedance range. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A computer-readable medium containing a software program for use with a cardiac stimulator, said program comprising:
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a routine for receiving data correlative to repeated impedance measurements of a lead; a routine for calculating a maximum impedance limit and a minimum impedance limit in response to a first of said repeated impedance measurements; a routine for calculating an upper impedance limit and a lower impedance limit in response to each of said repeated impedance measurements; a routine for determining whether said data correlative to each of said repeated impedance measurements is greater than one of said maximum impedance limit and said upper impedance limit and is less than one of said minimum impedance limit and said lower impedance limit; and a routine for generating an alarm initiation signal in response to said data correlative to one of said repeated impedance measurements being greater than one of said maximum impedance limit and said upper impedance limit or being less than one of said minimum impedance limit and said lower impedance limit.
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34. A method of detecting failure of a lead used with a cardiac stimulator, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) measuring impedance of a lead; (b) comparing said impedance of said lead with an impedance limit; and (c) alerting a patient in response to said impedance of said lead differing from said impedance limit in a given manner. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of detecting failure of a lead used with a cardiac stimulator, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) repeatedly measuring impedance of said lead; (b) calculating a moving impedance average correlative to the repeated impedance measurements; (c) calculating an impedance range correlative to the moving impedance average; (d) determining whether said impedance of said lead is within the calculated impedance range; and (e) generating an alarm initiation signal in response to said impedance of said lead being outside the calculated impedance range. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41)
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42. A method of detecting failure of a lead used with a cardiac stimulator, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) repeatedly measuring impedance of said lead; (b) calculating a maximum impedance limit and a minimum impedance limit in response to a first of said repeated impedance measurements; (c) calculating an upper impedance limit and a lower impedance limit in response to each of said repeated impedance measurements; (d) determining whether each of said repeated impedance measurements is greater than one of said maximum impedance limit and said upper impedance limit and is less than one of said minimum impedance limit and said lower impedance limit; and (e) generating an alarm initiation signal in response to one of said repeated impedance measurements being greater than one of said maximum impedance limit and said upper impedance limit or being less than one of said minimum impedance limit and said lower impedance limit.
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Specification