| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 6157859 |
Upgradable implantable medical device with post-shock pacing and redraw functions |
December 5, 2000 |
| An implantable medical interventional device is adapted to provide therapy to a patient in whom the device is implanted to treat cardiac dysrhythmias including tachyarrhythmia. The device performs a plurality of functions corresponding to different levels of therapy for treatment of sens |
| 6076014 |
Cardiac stimulator and defibrillator with means for identifying cardiac rhythm disorder and cham |
June 13, 2000 |
| A medical interventional device is structured for implantation in a human patient, to respond to detection of cardiac activity of the patient indicative of cardiac dysrhythmias. The device includes a cardiac therapy system responsive to a detected arrhythmia in either the atrial or v |
| 6073049 |
Programmably upgradable implantable cardiac pacemaker |
June 6, 2000 |
| An implantable cardiac pacemaker is adapted to be selectively non-invasively upgraded from time to time after implantation to provide a plurality of different diagnostic, functional, and pacing operational modes in the form of respective combinations of single and dual chamber sensin |
| 5991665 |
Self-cooling transcutaneous energy transfer system for battery powered implantable device |
November 23, 1999 |
| A self-cooling transcutaneous energy transfer system is provided for transmitting power to an implantable medical device, such as a defibrillator. The system includes a housing that is supported above the human body by a base so as to define a space between the housing and the body. |
| 5978710 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator with safe noise mode |
November 2, 1999 |
| An implantable medical device for electrically stimulating the heart to beat generally includes a processor, a plurality of electrodes, a sense amplifier, a pulse generator, and a heart status monitor. The processor can determine when the patient has entered an environment of high el |
| 5963429 |
Printed circuit substrate with cavities for encapsulating integrated circuits |
October 5, 1999 |
| A printed circuit board substrate includes cavities in which electronic components, such as integrated circuits, are mounted and encapsulated. Once the electronic components are encapsulated, other electronic components can be mounted above the encapsulated component on the top surfa |
| 5954753 |
Implantable defibrillator with improved testing of capability to defibrillate |
September 21, 1999 |
| A defibrillator is designed for implantation in a patient and for programming certain of its parameters after implantation, including energy content of a shock waveform and timing of delivery of the shock waveform. A shock waveform generator of the device is responsive to a trigger signa |
| 5944744 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator with automatic electrogram profiling |
August 31, 1999 |
| An implantable medical device for electrically stimulating the heart to beat generally includes a processor, a plurality of electrodes, a sense amplifier, a pair of comparators, inner and outer target logic units, and pulse generator. The processor controls the magnitudes of inner and ou |
| 5941904 |
Electromagnetic acceleration transducer for implantable medical device |
August 24, 1999 |
| An electromagnetic accelerometer includes a rigid shell with a cavity in which two magnets are fixed at either and of the rigid shell and one magnet is allowed to move between the fixed magnets. The three magnets are arranged so that the movable magnet is suspended between the fixed magn |
| 5925069 |
Method for preparing a high definition window in a conformally coated medical device |
July 20, 1999 |
| A method is disclosed for rapidly removing electrically insulative coating material from a portion of the titanium housing of an implantable cardiac pulse generator. Pulsed excimer laser radiation ablates an organic coating, such as parylene or a similar polymer, to micromachine a co |
| 5876431 |
Small cable endocardial lead with exposed guide tube |
March 2, 1999 |
| A lead assembly adapted for endocardial fixation to a human heart is provided. The lead assembly includes a lead body that has a proximal end provided with a connector for electrical connection to a cardiac stimulator. The cardiac stimulator may be a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibri |
| 5876408 |
Method for enhancing implantation of thin leads |
March 2, 1999 |
| A method of implanting small diameter conductive leads for an artificial cardiac pacemaker or other body-implantable medical device includes inserting the lead to be implanted into a predetermined path within the patient's body with the assistance of a stylet for guiding the lead along |
| 5873897 |
Method and apparatus for dual chambered tachyarrhythmia classification and therapy |
February 23, 1999 |
| A method and apparatus for classifying and treating tachyarrhythmias. A cardiac stimulator includes an algorithm that uses dual chamber sensing to determine the type of tachyarrhythmia detected. If the tachyarrhythmia is of a type that responds well to ventricular therapy, such as a |
| 5873894 |
Diagnostic test protocol in an implantable medical device |
February 23, 1999 |
| An implantable medical device electrically stimulates the heart to beat and senses electrical activity in the heart. The medical device generally includes a processor, a plurality of electrodes, and a sense amplifier. The medical device is capable of performing a variety of diagnostic te |
| 5873733 |
Training unit for the pacemaker emergency intervention system using magnetic entry code |
February 23, 1999 |
| A training unit generally includes a processor, a magnetic field sensor, a plurality of control switches, and a message and data output device. Placing a PEIS magnet, constructed in accordance with the ISOWD 14994 standard, adjacent to or in contact with the training unit activates the |
| 5871532 |
Epicardial lead for minimally invasive implantation |
February 16, 1999 |
| A lead assembly for fixation to a human heart via thoracoscopy is provided. The lead assembly includes a lead that has a connector for connection to a cardiac stimulator, such as a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibrillator, or a sensing instrument. A fixation mechanism is coupled to the le |
| 5861009 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator with rate-adaptive T-wave detection |
January 19, 1999 |
| An implantable device for providing pacing and defibrillating stimuli to a heart, comprises: a power source, at least one electrode electrically connected to said power source, a sensor capable of providing data that can be used to determine a physiological pacing demand, and a control |
| 5851227 |
Cardiac pacemaker cable lead |
December 22, 1998 |
| A lead assembly adapted for endocardial fixation to a human heart is provided. The lead assembly includes a lead body that has a proximal end provided with a connector for electrical connection to a cardiac stimulator. The cardiac stimulator may be a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibri |
| 5843153 |
Steerable endocardial lead using magnetostrictive material and a magnetic field |
December 1, 1998 |
| Magnetically alterable material, such as magnetostrictive material, is used in combination with a suitable substrate and a suitable magnetic field to produce a stylet and lead assembly that curves in response to a suitable magnetic field. |
| 5843133 |
Dynamic bandwidth control in an implantable medical cardiac stimulator |
December 1, 1998 |
| An implantable medical device for electrically stimulating the heart to beat includes a sense circuit for detecting cardiac electrical activity. The sense circuit includes a band pass filter with an adjustable frequency response. The frequency response can be repeatedly adjusted after |
| 5817130 |
Implantable cardiac cardioverter/defibrillator with EMI suppression filter with independent grou |
October 6, 1998 |
| An implantable defibrillator, which may include cardioversion and pacemaker capabilities, which has EMI filters which are not susceptible to defibrillation shocks and which reduce or eliminate the effects of charging noise on sensing circuits used for continuous confirmation. A first |
| 5814088 |
Cardiac stimulator with lead failure detector and warning system |
September 29, 1998 |
| 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 |
| 5800495 |
Endocardial lead assembly |
September 1, 1998 |
| Various endocardial lead assemblies are disclosed that may be particularly useful for placement within the coronary sinus. One lead assembly includes an open-ended electrode that may be implanted in a patient by passing it along a previously implanted stylet. Another disclosed embodiment |
| 5800466 |
Dynamic atrial detection sensitivity control in an implantable medical cardiac simulator |
September 1, 1998 |
| An implantable medical device for electrically stimulating the heart to beat includes a sense circuit for detecting cardiac electrical activity. The sense circuit includes an amplifier with a dynamically adjustable gain to provide increased sensitivity to the electrogram during atrial |
| 5792203 |
Universal programmable cardiac stimulation device |
August 11, 1998 |
| An implantable medical device, such as a pacemaker, for electrically stimulating the heart to beat includes two or more node logic units connected by communication paths over which signals between nodes are conducted. Each node can provide pacing energy to an electrode and amplify el |
| 5792200 |
Adaptive mode switching in a rate-adaptive pacemaker and hysteresis for mode switching |
August 11, 1998 |
| A programmable pacemaker and program therefor are disclosed, wherein the pacer is programmed to operate in a first pacing mode whenever the measured atrial rate is less than a certain threshold switching rate R.sub.T, and to operate in a second pacing mode whenever the measured atria |
| 5782884 |
Rate responsive cardiac pacemaker with peak impedance detection for rate control |
July 21, 1998 |
| An implantable, rate responsive pacemaker, sensitive to impedance changes in the heart, wherein the cardiac pacing rate and maximum cardiac pacing rate, or either of them, are adjusted as a function of an interval between either the administration of a pacing pulse or the detection of th |
| 5782879 |
Apparatus and method for discriminating flow of blood in a cardiovascular system |
July 21, 1998 |
| An implantable cardiac stimulator delivers a first electrical shock via implantable stimulating electrodes at a time when there is substantially no flow of blood. At least one of the stimulating electrodes is disposed in a blood flow path of the cardiovascular system. The first shock is |
| 5776169 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator for minimally invasive implantation |
July 7, 1998 |
| An implantable system is provided for subcutaneous surgical implantation. The implantable system includes a smoothly contoured casing and an implantable apparatus designed to perform a desired medical function, such as cardiac stimulation, diagnosis, or drug infusion. The casing includes |
| 5772692 |
Implantable medical device with automatic adjustment to externally generated shocks |
June 30, 1998 |
| An implantable cardiac stimulator, which may include cardioversion and pacemaker capabilities, which has apparatus for detecting an externally applied shock, such as a defibrillation or cardioverting shock. In response to detection of such a shock, the cardiac stimulator has apparatu |
| 5772691 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator with polarity detection for detecting ectopic beats |
June 30, 1998 |
| An implantable medical device for electrically stimulating the heart to beat including a sense circuit for detecting cardiac electrical activity. The sense circuit includes a sense amplifier, band pass filter, and threshold detector. The threshold detector determines whether sensed c |
| 5769881 |
Endocardial lead with multiple branches |
June 23, 1998 |
| A lead assembly includes a proximal end that has a connector for electrical connection to a cardiac stimulator, such as a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibrillator, or a sensing instrument. The lead assembly includes an elongated proximal tubular portion that extends distally from the |
| 5766230 |
Pacemaker with intra-stimulus capture detection |
June 16, 1998 |
| A pacemaker is disclosed that includes circuitry for monitoring the current and/or voltage delivered to the heart during a pacing pulse. A microprocessor connects to the monitoring circuitry and analyzes the current (and/or voltage) to determine when capture occurs. When capture occu |
| 5759202 |
Endocardial lead with lateral active fixation |
June 2, 1998 |
| A lead assembly adapted for transvenous implantation into a human heart is provided. The lead assembly includes a connector for electrical connection to a cardiac stimulator. An elongated sheath assembly projects from the connector. The sheath assembly includes an inner elastic insulatin |
| 5755764 |
Implantable cardiac stimulation catheter |
May 26, 1998 |
| An implantable cardiac stimulation catheter includes a helical electrode segment disposed about a central core of electrically non-conductive material for delivering an electrical pulse to the heart of the patient. The catheter may include a tubular electrode segment disposed on the |
| 5749909 |
Transcutaneous energy coupling using piezoelectric device |
May 12, 1998 |
| An energy transmission system for transmitting energy non-invasively from an external unit to an implanted medical device to recharge a battery in the medical device. An alternating magnetic field is generated by the external charging unit and a piezoelectric device in the implanted medi |
| 5749900 |
Implantable medical device responsive to heart rate variability analysis |
May 12, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for evaluating heart rate variability of the heart of a person in order to forecast a cardiac event. A cardiac stimulator receives heart beat signals from the heart and determines a measurement of heart rate variability based on statistical data derived from the he |
| 5735891 |
Self-clamping anchoring sleeve |
April 7, 1998 |
| A cardiac stimulator lead and sleeve for anchoring the lead at its point of entry into a vein. More particularly, the present invention comprises a helical coil made of a resilient material that is capable of being uncoiled and wrapped around the lead and/or the vein such that it is |
| 5735883 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator with impedance based autothreshold |
April 7, 1998 |
| An implantable pacemaker with apparatus for detecting capture or adjusting the strength or duration of pacing pulses by assessing the mechanical evoked response that may be distinctly sensed through impedance sensing, pressure sensing, plethysmography or other suitable methods. When capt |
| 5735882 |
Cardiac stimulator with backup-mode self-recovery |
April 7, 1998 |
| A cardiac stimulator with a method and apparatus for automatically switching the cardiac stimulator to its normal mode from its backup mode. A fault monitor receives fault signals and determines whether a particular fault warrants activation of the backup mode. If so, a number of attempt |
| 5735881 |
Variable atrail blanking period in an implantable medical device |
April 7, 1998 |
| An implantable medical device for electrically stimulating the heart to beat including a pulse generator, a logic and control unit, and an atrial sense circuit. The atrial sense circuit processes signals from electrodes implanted in an atrial chamber of the heart. The atrial sense circui |
| 5735880 |
Method and apparatus for reliably producing pacing pulse trains |
April 7, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for reliably producing a pulse train includes a control system which automatically selects a secondary pulse generator circuit when high frequency pulses are needed or whenever the use of alternating pulse generators would be desirable. This secondary pulse gen |
| 5730125 |
Implantable medical device with enclosed physiological parameter sensors or telemetry link |
March 24, 1998 |
| An implantable medical device, such as a cardiac pacer, defibrillator or drug delivery system, includes a container housing the required power source and circuitry and a header portion molded or glued to the container housing. Sensors, including physiological parameter sensors as may be |
| 5722997 |
Method and apparatus for cardiac impedance sensing |
March 3, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for measuring impedance of heart tissue or the leads associated with a cardiac stimulation apparatus involves charging a capacitor, storing the value of the voltage across the capacitor when charged, discharging the capacitor into said lead/heart system and storing |
| 5720768 |
Dual chamber pacing with interchamber delay |
February 24, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for determining the origin of a cardiac signal in the heart of a patient. A cardiac stimulator includes a multiple-chamber electrode arrangement having at least two electrodes positioned to sense and/or pace different chambers of the heart. The electrodes switch fr |
| 5718720 |
Implantable cardiac stimulator with capture detection and impedance based autotuning of capture |
February 17, 1998 |
| An implantable cardiac stimulator for detecting capture or adjusting the strength or duration of pacing pulses by using an evoked response detector and periodically tuning the evoked response detector. When the electric evoked response detector is to be tuned, capture is verified by dete |
| 5713939 |
Data communication system for control of transcutaneous energy transmission to an implantable me |
February 3, 1998 |
| A data communication system for control of transcutaneous energy transmission to an implantable medical device is disclosed having an implantable medical device with rechargeable batteries and a single coil that is employed both for energy transmission and data telemetry. Control cir |
| 5713935 |
Method and apparatus for monitored biphasic cardiac impedance sensing |
February 3, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for monitoring balanced biphasic current pulses used for measuring impedance in cardiac stimulators involves detecting imbalances between the pulses of opposite polarity. Such imbalances are potentially harmful to cardiac stimulator users. By converting the two |
| 5713931 |
Method and apparatus for detecting amplitude loss in cardiac pacing pulses |
February 3, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for detecting loss of cardiac pacing pulse amplitude includes a comparator for comparing the actual pulse voltage to a reference voltage. In one advantageous embodiment, the reference voltage is determined as a percentage of the programmed pulse amplitude. The |
| 5713366 |
Method and apparatus for dual chamber cardiac analysis |
February 3, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for analyzing cardiac information involves recording both atrial and ventricular information related to a recognized event. This information can then be transmitted by telemetry to the physician and graphed on a common graph which plots both atrial and ventricular |
