U.S. patent application number 12/614121 was filed with the patent office on 2011-05-12 for systems and methods for off-line reprogramming of implantable medical device components to reduce false detections of cardiac events.
This patent application is currently assigned to PACESETTER, INC.. Invention is credited to Euljoon Park, Jeffery D. Snell.
Application Number | 20110112597 12/614121 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43797550 |
Filed Date | 2011-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110112597 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Snell; Jeffery D. ; et
al. |
May 12, 2011 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OFF-LINE REPROGRAMMING OF IMPLANTABLE
MEDICAL DEVICE COMPONENTS TO REDUCE FALSE DETECTIONS OF CARDIAC
EVENTS
Abstract
Techniques are provided for use by implantable medical devices
such as pacemakers or by external systems in communication with
such devices. An intracardiac electrogram (IEGM) is sensed within a
patient in which the device is implanted using a cardiac signal
sensing system. Cardiac events of interest such as arrhythmias,
premature atrial contractions (PACs), premature ventricular
contractions (PVCs) and pacemaker mediated tachycardias (PMTs) are
detected within the patient using event detection systems and then
portions of the IEGM representative of the events of interest are
recorded in device memory. Subsequently, during an off-line or
background analysis, the recorded IEGM data is retrieved and
analyzed to identify false detections. In response to false
detections, the cardiac signal sensing systems and/or the event
detection systems of the implantable device are selectively
adjusted or reprogrammed to reduce or eliminate any further false
detections, including false-positives or false-negatives. Various
adaptive reprogramming techniques are described.
Inventors: |
Snell; Jeffery D.;
(Chatsworth, CA) ; Park; Euljoon; (Valencia,
CA) |
Assignee: |
PACESETTER, INC.
Sylmar
CA
|
Family ID: |
43797550 |
Appl. No.: |
12/614121 |
Filed: |
November 6, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
607/27 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61N 1/37235 20130101;
A61B 2560/0271 20130101; A61N 1/3702 20130101; A61B 5/0031
20130101; A61B 5/316 20210101; A61B 5/349 20210101 |
Class at
Publication: |
607/27 |
International
Class: |
A61N 1/08 20060101
A61N001/08 |
Claims
1. A method for use with an implantable medical device, the method
comprising: sensing a cardiac signal within a patient in which the
device is implanted using a cardiac signal sensing system;
detecting cardiac events of interest within the patient using an
event detection system; recording portions of the cardiac signal,
including portions representative of the events of interest;
subsequently retrieving portions of the recorded cardiac signal and
analyzing the retrieved portions during an off-line analysis to
identify false detections of events of interest; and selectively
adjusting one or both of the cardiac signal sensing system and the
event detection system to reduce false detections of events of
interest.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the events of interest are
abnormal cardiac events.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the abnormal cardiac events
include one or more of: arrhythmia events, premature atrial
contraction (PAC) events, premature ventricular contraction (PVC)
events, pacemaker mediated tachycardia (PMT) events and automatic
mode switching (AMS) events.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the false detections include one
or both of false-positive detections and false-negative
detections.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting cardiac events of
interest within the patient using the event detection system is
performed substantially in real-time.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein retrieving and analyzing the
portions of the cardiac signal to identify false detections of
events of interest is performed using an off-line abnormal event
detection system.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the off-line abnormal event
detection system provides greater discrimination specificity than
the event detection system initially used to detect events of
interest.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein the off-line event detection
system is activated during periods of time when a processor of the
device has sufficient resources to device to the analysis.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving and analyzing the
portions of the cardiac signal to identify false detections of
events of interest includes: analyzing patient cardiac signals
using an alternative event detection system that is less
discriminating so as to identify possible false-negative
detections.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving and analyzing the
portions of the cardiac signal to identify false detections of
events includes: detecting the relative timing of event detections
and exploiting the relative timing to distinguish between false
detections and true detections.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving and analyzing the
portions of the cardiac signal to identify false detections of
events of interest includes: receiving an indication of false
detections from an external device.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the event detection system
exploits at least one adjustable detection parameter and wherein
the detection parameter is adjusted to reduce false detections.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the false detection is a
false-negative detection and wherein the detection parameter is
adjusted to expand a range of event detection to thereby reduce
false-negative detections.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein the false detection is a
false-positive detection and wherein the detection parameter is
adjusted to reduce a range of event detection to thereby reduce
false-positive detections.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the cardiac signal sensing system
exploits at least one sensitivity parameter and wherein the
sensitivity parameter is adjusted to improve event detection by
improving the sensing of cardiac signals used to detect events of
interest.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein selectively adjusting the
abnormal event detection system to reduce false detections of
events of interest includes: repeatedly reapplying the recorded
cardiac signal data from the patient to an off-line event detection
system along with an indication of false event detections while
adjusting parameters employed by the off-line detection system so
as to determine a set of detection parameters sufficient to reduce
false detections.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein selectively adjusting the event
detection system to reduce false detections of events of interest
includes controlling a rate at which parameters employed by the
detection system are iteratively adjusted.
18. The method of claim 1 wherein selectively adjusting the event
detection system to reduce false detections of events of interest
includes controlling a maximum range through which parameters
employed by the detection system are adjusted.
19. The method of claim 1 wherein selectively adjusting the event
detection system to reduce false detections of events of interest
includes employing a history of prior adjustments to control
subsequent adjustments.
20. The method of claim 1 further including detecting an inherent
limitation in the event detection system if adjustments to the
detection system and the sensing system are unable to eliminate
substantially all false detections.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein, upon detecting an inherent
limitation in the event detection system, the device selectively
adjusts a degree of bias between false-positive and false-negative
events.
22. The method of claim 20 wherein, upon detecting an inherent
limitation in the event detection system, the device generates a
warning.
23. The method of claim 20 wherein, upon detecting an inherent
limitation in the event detection system, the device reverts to a
previous parameter setting.
24. The method of claim 20 wherein, upon detecting an inherent
limitation in the event detection system, the device evaluates the
severity of events of interest and selectively inhibits the
recording of cardiac signal data based on severity.
25. The method of claim 1 wherein the cardiac signal is an
intracardiac electrogram (IEGM).
26. The method of claim 1 wherein all of the steps are performed by
the implantable medical device.
27. The method of claim 1 wherein at least some of the steps are
performed by an external device based on signals received from the
implantable medical device.
28. A system for use with an implantable medical management device,
the system comprising: a cardiac signal sensing system operative to
sense a cardiac signal within a patient in which the device is
implanted; an event detection system operative to detect cardiac
events of interest within the patient; a memory operative to record
portions of the cardiac signal, including portions representative
of the possible events of interest; a false detection
identification system operative to retrieve and analyze recorded
portions of the cardiac signal during an off-line analysis to
identify false detections of events of interest; and an adjustment
system operative to selectively adjust one or both of the cardiac
signal sensing system and the event detection system to reduce
false detections of events of interest.
29. A system for use with an implantable medical management device,
the system comprising: means for sensing a cardiac signal within a
patient in which the device is implanted using a cardiac signal
sensing system; means for detecting cardiac events of interest
within the patient using an event detection system; means for
recording portions of the cardiac signal, including portions
representative of the possible events of interest; means for
subsequently retrieving portions of the recorded cardiac signal and
analyzing the retrieved portions during an off-line analysis to
identify false detections of events of interest; and means for
selectively adjusting one or both of the cardiac signal sensing
system and the event detection system to reduce false detections of
events of interest.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates generally to implantable medical
devices such as pacemakers and implantable
cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and, in particular, to
techniques for reprogramming components of the devices employed to
detect abnormal cardiac events such as arrhythmias.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Implantable medical devices such as pacemakers and ICDs are
typically configured to sense electrical cardiac signals within a
patient as intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs). An IEGM is
representative of electrical signals emitted by active cardiac
tissue as detected by electrodes placed in, on or near the heart.
The IEGM is then used to control the operation of the device. For
example, the IEGM may be examined to detect arrhythmias or other
abnormal cardiac events such as premature atrial contractions
(PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) so that
appropriate thereby can then be delivered to the patient by the
device. The portions of the IEGM that correspond to abnormal
cardiac events are preferably digitized and recorded within the
implanted device, along with an indication of the date and time,
for eventual transmission to an external programmer for display
thereon, typically during follow-up sessions with a clinician. The
clinician can then review the IEGMs recorded within the patient
during the abnormal cardiac events to verify that the events were
indeed abnormal and to confirm that appropriate therapy was
delivered. The clinician can also reprogram the device, if
warranted.
[0003] The implanted device is also equipped to detect various
normal cardiac events within the IEGMs, such as atrial
depolarization events (P-waves), ventricular depolarization events
(R-waves or QRS-complexes), ventricular repolarization events
(T-waves) and to generate event marker codes representative of
these and other events for recording within device memory for
eventual transmission to the external programmer. The external
programmer then generates event marker icons based on the event
code and displays the icons along with the IEGM signals. Exemplary
event markers are: "P" for a sensed depolarization event in the
atria; "R" for a sensed depolarization event in the ventricles; "A"
for a paced depolarization event in the atria, and "V" for a paced
depolarization event in the ventricles. Along with event markers,
the programmer may also display numerical values indicative of
heart rate or indicative of various measured intervals between
atrial and ventricular events, based on still further IEGM
information recorded and transmitted by the implantable device.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,691, to Snell et al., entitled "Method
and System for Recording and Displaying a Sequential Series of
Pacing Events" provides a description of the operation of an
exemplary pacemaker and external programmer, including a detailed
description of the generation, transmission and display of IEGM
data and event markers. See, also, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/740,720, of Ferrise et al., entitled "System and Method for
Trigger-Specific Recording of Cardiac Signals using an Implantable
Medical Device." See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,776 to Levine et
al., entitled "Method and Apparatus for Generating and Displaying
Location-Specific Diagnostic Information using an Implantable
Cardiac Stimulation Device and an External Programmer." Herein,
IEGMs, corresponding event markers, and any other pertinent data
stored therewith are collectively referred to as "IEGM data."
[0005] Current state-of-the-art devices permit IEGMs to be sensed
and recorded using several possible electrode configurations. For
example, one IEGM might be derived from voltage signals sensed
between the right ventricular (RV) tip electrode and the RV ring
electrode; whereas another IEGM might be derived from voltage
signals sensed between the right atrial (RA) tip electrode and the
housing or "can" of the device itself. Each electrode combination
thereby provides a different representation of the electrical
conditions of the heart, which is particularly helpful to the
clinician. In this regard, if the patient is subject to atrial
arrhythmias, it may be advantageous to specifically examine atrial
IEGM data, such as an A.sub.R TIP-can IEGM; whereas, if the patient
is subject to ventricular arrhythmias, it may instead be
advantageous to examine ventricular IEGM data, such as a V.sub.R
TIP-V.sub.L TIP IEGM. Lead systems often include numerous
electrodes, thereby providing a wide range of choices of electrode
pairs for recording IEGMs. In addition to the aforementioned
A.sub.R TIP, V.sub.R TIP, V.sub.L TIP and device housing
electrodes, lead systems for use with state-of-the-art devices may
include: a right atrial ring electrode (A.sub.R RING), a left
ventricular tip electrode (V.sub.L TIP), a left atrial ring
electrode (A.sub.L RING), a left atrial coil (A.sub.L COIL), a
right ventricular coil (R.sub.V COIL), a left ventricular tip
electrode (V.sub.L TIP), a left ventricular ring electrode (V.sub.L
RING), left ventricular coil (V.sub.L COIL). Typically, IEGMs that
are sensed between the device housing and one of the electrodes
implanted on or within the heart, such as between the V.sub.R TIP
and the device housing, are referred to as "unipolar" IEGMs. IEGMs
sensed between a pair of the electrodes both implanted on or within
the heart, such as between the V.sub.R TIP and the V.sub.R RING,
are referred to as "bipolar" IEGMs.
[0006] As can be appreciated, given the memory and power
limitations within an implantable device, it is not typically
feasible to sense and record IEGM data from every possible pair of
electrodes. Accordingly, clinicians are invited to select
particular electrode configurations for recording IEGM data of
particular interest. For example, the clinician might select two
atrial channel IEGMs (i.e. IEGMs derived primarily from atrial
electrodes) and two ventricular channel IEGMs (i.e. IEGMs derived
primarily from ventricular electrodes) for recording. Moreover, it
is not ordinarily feasible to record each of the selected IEGMs at
all times. Rather it is typically feasible only to record IEGMs and
corresponding event markers during periods of interest, such as
during an arrhythmia or other abnormal cardiac event. Accordingly,
state-of-the-art devices are configured to record the selected IEGM
data only in response to the detection of arrhythmias or other
anomalous events of interest (PACs, PVCs, etc.), or following an
automatic mode switch (AMS) from one pacing mode to another. The
events triggering the recording of IEGMs are referred to as
"triggers." In state-of-the-art devices, the clinician is invited
to select the particular triggers to be used by the device in
activating the recording of the IEGM data.
[0007] In many cases, it is also desirable to record IEGM data
prior to the trigger, as well as just following the trigger, so
that the clinician can review the conditions leading up to the
trigger and the conditions following the trigger. This is
particularly important insofar as arrhythmias are concerned as the
clinician usually wants to be able to review IEGM data prior to the
onset of the arrhythmia so as to more readily diagnosis the cause
of the arrhythmia. Accordingly, many state-of-the-art devices are
configured to allow so-called "pre-trigger IEGMs" to be saved along
with IEGMs recorded during an arrhythmia. Briefly, the device
continuously detects and records IEGMs in a memory buffer, such as
a circular first-in/first-out queue. If an arrhythmia is detected,
the IEGMs recorded just prior to the onset of the arrhythmia are
transferred from the memory buffer to long-term memory, so that the
pre-trigger IEGMs can be saved along with IEGMs recorded during the
arrhythmia itself for subsequent review by the clinician. In this
manner, IEGM data detected during the period of time leading to the
onset of the arrhythmia is saved in long-term memory for subsequent
review by the clinician, without requiring all IEGMs to be saved in
long-term memory at all times. Pre-trigger IEGMs can also be
transferred to long-term memory upon detection of other selected
triggers, such as pacemaker-mediated tachycardias (PMTs), PVCs, AMS
events, etc. A particularly effective technique for implementing
pre-trigger memory is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,292 to
Kroll, entitled "System and Method for Controlling the Recording of
Diagnostic Medical Data in an Implantable Medical Device."
[0008] Thus, state-of-the-art implantable medical devices provide
for the recording of pre-trigger and post-trigger IEGMs upon
detection of particular diagnostic triggers chosen by the clinician
or other clinician. Moreover, the clinician can also specify the
particular electrode pairs for use in sensing the IEGMs to be
recorded. This provides considerable flexibility to the clinician
in obtaining IEGMs of interest while also reducing the amount of
data the device itself needs to record. However, there is
considerable room for further improvement.
[0009] It has been found that a large amount of stored IEGM data is
falsely triggered, i.e., the "abnormal" events triggering the
recording of IEGM data are often not actual abnormal events. For
example, events initially deemed to be PACs or PVCs might instead
have just been the result of far-field sensing of P-waves or
R-waves (FFRWs) from other cardiac chambers. Since stored IEGMs
typically require a significant amount of memory, such "false
positives" can result in the use of substantial device memory to
store unhelpful or useless information. Worse, in at least some
cases, a false detection can result in the delivery of unneeded or
inappropriate therapy.
[0010] In other cases, the implanted device might fail to detect
abnormal cardiac events that actually occurred within the patient.
Such "false-negatives" can result in a failure to deliver needed
therapy. Moreover, because the recording of IEGM data is not
triggered unless an abnormal event is detected, false-negatives
prevent important IEGM data from being properly recorded and then
sent to the external programmer for clinician review. As such, the
clinician might be unaware of that certain abnormal events are
occurring within the patient.
[0011] Accordingly, it is highly desirable to provide techniques
for reducing or eliminating the false-positive detection of events
of interest, particularly abnormal events, to prevent delivery of
inappropriate therapy and to prevent recordation of unneeded IEGM
data. It is also highly desirable to provide techniques for
reducing or eliminating false-negatives to better ensure proper
delivery of therapy and to ensure proper recordation of important
IEGM data. It is to these ends that aspects of the invention are
generally directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided for use
with an implantable medical device such as a pacemaker or ICD. An
IEGM or other cardiac signal is sensed within a patient in which
the device is implanted using a cardiac signal sensing system.
Cardiac events of interest are detected within the patient using
event detection systems and then portions of the cardiac signal,
including portions representative of the events of interest, are
recorded in device memory. Subsequently, portions of the recorded
cardiac signal are retrieved and analyzed during an off-line
analysis to identify false detections of events of interest. In
response to false detections, the cardiac signal sensing system
and/or the event detection systems of the device are selectively
adjusted or reprogrammed to reduce or eliminate any further false
detections of events of interest. Typically, the events of interest
are abnormal cardiac events, such as arrhythmias, PACs, PVCs, PMTs,
etc., and the device operates to identify false-positive detections
of such events during off-line analysis. However, in at least some
examples, the device also records apparently normal events for
off-line analysis so as to detect false-negatives therein or to
redefine what constitutes "normal" cardiac events.
[0013] In one embodiment, the implantable device performs an
off-line analysis of recorded IEGM data to detect false-positives
and false-negatives, then selectively adjusts the sensitivity by
which cardiac signals are detected by the cardiac signal sensing
system and/or selectively adjusts the parameters by which abnormal
cardiac events are detected so as to prevent further false
detections of abnormal events. In this regard, at least some false
detections of abnormal events are due to improperly set sensitivity
values, which results in improper detection of events within the
IEGM such as P-waves and R-waves. For example, if the sensitivity
is set too high, far-field events can be erroneously detected
within a given IEGM channel, triggering false-positive detection of
arrhythmias, PACs, PVCs, and the like. If the sensitivity is set
too low, near-field events can be missed within the IEGM, resulting
in failure to properly detect actual arrhythmias, PACs, PVCs, and
the like, i.e. false-negatives occur. By selectively adjusting or
reprogramming device sensitivity based on the off-line analysis of
recorded IEGM data, false detections due to sensitivity problems
can be reduced and, in some cases, completely eliminated. Also,
once any false-positive detections have been identified, the
corresponding IEGM data can be erased from memory, thereby freeing
memory resources for recording data that is more useful.
[0014] Other false detections arise due to improperly set detection
values employed by the various abnormal event detection components
of the implantable device, such as PAC detectors, PVC detectors,
arrhythmia detectors, etc. In particular, pre-determined ranges of
parameter values provided to distinguish normal cardiac events from
abnormal cardiac events may be set too wide or too narrow,
resulting in false-positives or false-negatives. By selectively
adjusting the parameters that define these ranges based on the
off-line analysis of the recorded IEGM data, false detections due
to range problems or the like can be reduced and, in some cases,
completely eliminated. Again, once any false-positive detections
have been identified, the corresponding IEGM data can be erased
from memory.
[0015] Depending upon the implementation, the off-line analysis can
be performed by the implantable device itself during periods of
time when the device can safely devote processor resources to the
analysis, such as while the patient is asleep or inactive and the
heart rate is relatively low and stable. In other implementations,
the off-line analysis is performed by an external device, such as
by a device programmer or a bedside monitor, using IEGM data
transmitted from the device. Based on the results of the off-line
analysis, the external device then transmits suitable reprogramming
commands to the implanted device to reprogram the device to address
any false detection problems. When using a device programmer, the
IEGM data can be displayed for clinician review, thereby allowing
the clinician to confirm the identification of any false detections
made by the external system and to also confirm any reprogramming
commands recommended by the external device. In the following, it
is assumed that the implantable device performs the off-line
analysis but it should be understood that the analysis could
instead by performed by external devices or systems, including
remote systems or distributed processing systems.
[0016] Within the device-based implementation, to detect
false-positives, the implantable device examines IEGM data
previously recorded during abnormal events, including any
pre-trigger or post-trigger data. To detect false-negatives, the
device examines other portions of recorded IEGM data, such as any
IEGM data automatically recorded by the device even in the absence
of abnormal events. As noted above, implantable devices can be
programmed to continuously detect and record a portion of recent
IEGM data in a temporary buffer to accommodate the recordation of
pre-trigger data. Such IEGM data can be examined by the device
during the off-line analysis to detect false-negatives. In some
cases, false-negatives might also be found within IEGM data
initially stored in response to detected abnormal events.
[0017] Insofar as the analysis of IEGM data is concerned, the
implantable device can employ off-line abnormal event detection
systems that have greater detection specificity than the
"real-time" detection systems ordinarily used by the device during
routine processing to detect abnormal cardiac events. By exploiting
greater detection specificity during the off-line analysis, the
device can distinguish false-positive events from true events and
also identify false-negatives that might have been overlooked by
the real-time detection systems. As one example, to detect atrial
arrhythmias in real-time, the device might simply compare the
atrial rate of the patient against one or more thresholds
indicative of atrial tachyarrhythmias. The off-line analysis system
might instead employ a more sophisticated morphological analysis of
the atrial IEGM data to distinguish true atrial tachyarrhythmias
from fast sinus rhythms. Typically, the off-line analysis
procedures are more processor-intensive than the device is capable
of performing in real-time and hence are only employed at times
when the device can safely devote the additional processor
resources to perform the more sophisticated analysis, such as while
the patient is generally inactive. For example, if the device
incorporates a multitasking operating system, then a fraction of
the operating duty cycle may be allocated to "off-line" processing
and the percentage of time allotted may be fixed or variable based
on this "generally inactive" determination. The generation of new
parameter values based on analysis of IEGM data by the off-line
system can be referred to as a "production"-based approached, as it
serves to produce a new set of parameter/sensitivity values.
[0018] Alternatively, rather than using a more sophisticated
off-line system that provides greater detection specificity, the
device uses the same basic detection procedures employed in
real-time but varies the ranges of detection/sensitivity parameters
while repeatedly re-applying the recorded IEGM data to the thereby
reveal false-negatives or false-positives. In one particular
example, the recorded IEGM data is repeatedly reapplied to the
detection systems while various detection/sensitivity parameters
are varied throughout a range of values until optimized values are
found that eliminate all or most false detections. Then, the actual
real-time detection system is reprogrammed to use the optimized
values. The generation of new parameter values based on repeated
reapplication of IEGM data to the detection systems can be referred
to as a "deduction"-based approached, as it serves to deduce a new
set of parameter/sensitivity values.
[0019] Note that, herein, "off-line" analysis refers to any
analysis of cardiac signal data that is delayed relative to
real-time and is based on recorded data. This should not to be
taken to imply that the implantable device itself is taken
off-line, since the device continues to operate within the patient
to detect possible abnormal cardiac events and to respond
accordingly. Alternatively, off-line analysis can be referred to as
"background analysis," "delayed analysis," or "retrospective
analysis," or by other suitable terms. Also, herein, "real-time"
analysis refers to any substantially non-delayed analysis of
cardiac signal data. This should not to be taken to imply that the
analysis occurs absolutely simultaneously with events as they occur
in the heart of the patient. As can be appreciated, given the
limitations of circuits and microprocessors, there can be minor
delays between the occurrence of an event in the heart of a patient
and its processing by the "real-time" detection components of the
implantable device. Nor should this to be taken as implying that
the real-time analysis does not itself exploit some form of
recorded data, since the real-time components can employ data that
is stored, at least temporality, in buffers of the like. More
generally, off-line analysis herein refers to any analysis of
recorded cardiac signal data that is delayed relative to the
real-time analysis by more than a trivial amount of time. Note also
that the on-going real-time processing of new cardiac signals does
not cease during the off-line analysis. The off-line analysis is a
background analysis that is performed contemporaneously with
on-going real-time event detection using processing components not
required by the real-time event detection components. As part of
the off-line analysis, the device can assess how quickly or how
early an event was detected. In general, an earlier or quicker
detection is likely to be a more accurate or reliable detection
than a later or slower detection. As such, this information can be
used in assessing false-positives and false-negatives.
[0020] Upon detection of a false-positive or a false-negative, the
implantable device preferably determines whether the false
detection was (1) due to a sensitivity problem, e.g. the
sensitivities of the atrial or ventricular channels were not set
properly; (2) a detection parameter problem, e.g. the ranges of
values used to detect PACs, PVCs, arrhythmias and the like were not
set properly; or (3) an inherent problem with the real-time
detection systems, e.g. there is no combination of sensitivity
values and detection parameter values that serve to substantially
eliminate all false detections. If the problem is due to
sensitivity, the device adjusts the sensitivities of certain
sensing channels to reduce sensitivity so as to, e.g., filter out
far-field events that might be triggering false-positives, or to
increase the sensitivity so as to, e.g., allow detection of
near-field events that might not have been properly detected,
resulting in false-negatives. If the problem is due to the
detection parameters, the device adjusts selected detection
parameters to, e.g., narrow the ranges of the parameters to
eliminate false-positives, or to, e.g., expand the ranges of the
parameters to eliminate false-negatives. Preferably, any
adjustments to sensitivity/detection parameters are limited to
relatively small incremental adjustments during each adjustment
iteration (i.e. the rate of change of the parameters is restricted)
and are also restricted to predetermined overall ranges of
acceptable values (i.e. the scope of changes to the parameters is
restricted). Also, preferably, a history of prior adjustments is
maintained and exploited so as to prevent previous adjustments that
may have been ineffective from being repeated.
[0021] If the detection issue is due to an inherent problem with
the real-time detection system, the implantable device can take
various actions based on device programming. The device can
generate warning signals to notify the patient and/or clinician
that abnormal events are occurring within the patient that are not
being properly detected. The clinician then takes appropriate steps
to remedy the problem such as by, e.g., adjusting the location of
the leads of the device to improve cardiac signal sensing or by
adjusting any operating parameters of the device that are beyond
the scope of the off-line adjustments the device itself can make.
The implantable device can also reset the various
detection/sensitivity parameters to default values or to previous
sets of programmed values that might yield a better, albeit not
perfect, detection of abnormal events. The device can also grade
the severity of various abnormal events and block the recording of
IEGM data for any series of abnormal events of the same or
decreasing severity (i.e. the device inhibits serial triggering of
multiple events of the same or decreasing severity.) For example,
the device might grade arrhythmias as being more severe than PVCs
and PACs and then inhibit the recording of IEGM data due to PVCs
and PACs following the recording of IEGM data triggered due to an
arrhythmia. Otherwise, IEGM data from arrhythmias might eventually
be overwritten by IEGM data from less significant events once the
memory of the device becomes full. Still further, the device can
adjust the various real-time detection/sensitivity parameters so as
to achieve a predetermined degree of bias between false-positive
and false-negatives. In this regard, the device might bias the
real-time detection components so as to ensure there will be
substantially no false-negatives, even if it means that
false-positives will occur, or vice versa.
[0022] Thus, techniques have been summarized whereby, inter alia,
data collection is triggered based on the natural or intrinsic
changes in device operation in relation to the patient (based on,
e.g., heart rhythm.) This is generally in contrast with
"provocative" techniques that change the operation of the device to
obtain data for use in reprogramming the device. It should be
understood, though, that a device equipped to perform the
techniques of the invention might additionally utilize provocative
techniques and then exploit data collected from the provocative
techniques in combination with any "triggered" data.
[0023] System and method implementations of these and other
techniques are presented herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] Features and advantages of the described implementations can
be more readily understood by reference to the following
description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates pertinent components of an implantable
medical system having a pacemaker or ICD equipped to perform an
off-line analysis of recorded IEGM data to identify false
detections of cardiac events of interest and to then reprogram
sensitivity values and/or event detection parameters to address any
such false detections;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a flowchart providing an overview of a technique
for the off-line adjustment of sensitivity values and/or event
detection parameters, which can be performed by the system of FIG.
1;
[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates an illustrative implementation of the
general technique of FIG. 2, primarily directed to detecting
abnormal events;
[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary techniques for use with the
implementation of FIG. 3 for detecting and distinguishing
false-positives and false-negatives;
[0029] FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary techniques for use with the
embodiment of FIG. 4 for the off-line adjustment/reprogramming of
sensitivity;
[0030] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary techniques for use with the
embodiment of FIG. 4 for the off-line adjustment/reprogramming of
abnormal event detection parameters;
[0031] FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary techniques for use with the
embodiment of FIG. 4 for adaptive and iterative off-line adjustment
of sensitivity/detection parameters;
[0032] FIG. 8 is a high level overview of an alternative method for
off-line reprogramming of the implantable device of FIG. 1 to
improve device performance;
[0033] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the
method of FIG. 8 directed to eliminating false-positive
detections;
[0034] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the
method of FIG. 8 directed to eliminating false-negative
detections;
[0035] FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the
method of FIG. 8 directed to addressing inconclusive/borderline
performance issues;
[0036] FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the
method of FIG. 8 directed to improving atrial arrhythmia
therapy;
[0037] FIG. 13 illustrates an alternative implementation of the
technique of FIG. 2 wherein the off-line analysis is performed by
an external system;
[0038] FIG. 14 is a simplified, partly cutaway view, illustrating
the pacer/ICD of FIG. 1 along with a set of leads implanted into
the heart of the patient;
[0039] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of the pacer/ICD of
FIG. 14, illustrating basic circuit elements that provide
cardioversion, defibrillation and/or pacing stimulation in the
heart an particularly illustrating an on-board off-line analysis
system for performing the techniques of FIGS. 2-12.
[0040] FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating
components of the external device programmer of FIG. 1, and in
particular illustrating a programmer-based off-line analysis system
for performing or controlling at least some of the techniques of
FIGS. 2-12.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0041] The following description includes the best mode presently
contemplated for practicing the invention. This description is not
to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely to describe
general principles of the invention. The scope of the invention
should be ascertained with reference to the issued claims. In the
description of the invention that follows, like numerals or
reference designators will be used to refer to like parts or
elements throughout.
Overview of Implantable System
[0042] FIG. 1 illustrates an implantable medical system 8 capable
of performing off-line analysis and reprogramming of internal
device components/procedures to address false detections of cardiac
events of interest, particularly abnormal events. Medical system 8
includes a pacer/ICD 10 or other cardiac rhythm management device
equipped with one or more cardiac sensing/pacing leads 12 implanted
within the heart of the patient for use in sensing electrical
cardiac signals. (Note that FIG. 1 provides only a stylized
representation of exemplary leads. A more complete and accurate
illustration of a set of leads is provided in FIG. 14.) The
pacer/ICD processes the cardiac signals substantially in real-time
using internal components and procedures to detect cardiac events
of interest--such as arrhythmias, PACs, PVCs, etc.--and then
responds to the events by delivering various appropriate therapies
or by performing other suitable actions. These responses may be
otherwise conventional. The pacer/ICD also records the cardiac
signal data corresponding to the events of interest in internal
memory in the form of IEGM data. Later, when processor resources
are available, an off-line or background analysis of the recorded
IEGM data is performed to identify false detections of events of
interest and then selected internal components/procedures of the
pacer/ICD are reprogrammed to reduce or eliminate further false
detections. This will be described in greater detail below.
[0043] In some implementations, the pacer/ICD itself performs the
off-line analysis based on the recorded IEGM data stored within its
memory system and then automatically reprograms its internal
components/procedures to address false detections. In other
implementations, the device transmits the recorded IEGM data via
telemetry to an external device programmer 14 that performs the
off-line analysis. The programmer analyzes the recorded IEGM data
to identify false detections of events of interest and then
generates suitable programming commands for reprogramming the
internal components/procedures of the pacer/ICD to address the
false detections. In some implementations, a clinician confirms the
programming commands before the commands are transmitted to the
pacer/ICD. Note that other external devices might instead be used
to perform the off-line analysis, such as bedside monitors, remote
monitoring systems, distributed systems, or the like. In at least
some embodiments, the external system automatically performs the
reprogramming without clinician supervision or confirmation. Note
also that the device programmer or bedside monitor can be directly
networked with a centralized computing system, such as the
HouseCall.TM. system or the Merlin@home/Merlin.Net systems of St.
Jude Medical.
[0044] In the following examples, it is assumed that the pacer/ICD
performs the off-line analysis. An example where the external
programmer performs the analysis is described below with reference
to FIG. 13.
Overview of Off-Line Analysis and Reprogramming
[0045] FIG. 2 broadly summarizes a general technique for off-line
adjustment of abnormal event detection systems/procedures of
pacer/ICDs or other implantable cardiac rhythm management devices.
Beginning at step 100, the pacer/ICD senses an IEGM or other
cardiac signal within the patient using a programmable signal
sensing system of the pacer/ICD, which may include various sense
amplifiers and the like described in greater detail below with
reference to FIG. 15. At step 102, the pacer/ICD detects episodes
of arrhythmia or other cardiac events of interest such as PACs,
PVCs, PMTs, etc. within the patient substantially in real-time
using an on-board programmable event detection system and responds
to the events by, e.g., delivering appropriate therapy or by
inhibiting or activating various other responses. The techniques by
which the pacer/ICD senses cardiac signals and then detects and
responds to cardiac events of interest can be otherwise
conventional.
[0046] At step 104, the pacer/ICD then records portions of the IEGM
in device memory for off-line analysis, including IEGM data
representative of any events of interest. As already noted, IEGM
data can include digitized IEGM signals from various atrial and
ventricular sensing channels as well as related data, such as event
markers and the like. In one example, both pre-trigger and
post-trigger IEGM data is stored using techniques described in the
above-cited patent documents of Ferrise et al., and Kroll. At step
106, during a subsequent off-line analysis, the recorded IEGM data
is retrieved and analyzed to identify any false detections of
events of interest by, e.g., analyzing the recorded IEGM data using
a more processor-intensive detection system that provides greater
event discrimination specificity. For example, to identify false
detections of atrial tachyarrhythmias, the off-line analysis might
exploit a more sophisticated morphological analysis, whereas the
real-time detection of atrial tachyarrhythmias might be based
solely on the atrial rate as compared to various thresholds.
Various exemplary off-line analysis techniques will be described in
detail below. Note that the on-going real-time processing of new
cardiac signals at steps 100 and 102 does not cease during the
off-line analysis of step 106. The off-line analysis is a
background analysis that is performed contemporaneously with
on-going real-time event detection using processing components not
required by the real-time event detection components.
[0047] At step 108, the cardiac signal sensing systems and/or the
real-time event detection systems of the pacer/ICD are selectively
adjusted in an effort to reduce or eliminate false detections of
cardiac events of interest by, e.g., adjusting or reprogramming
various programmable sensing/detection parameters. Various
exemplary off-line reprogramming techniques will be described in
detail below. In some cases, the adjustments will be sufficient to
substantially eliminate all false detections. In other cases,
perhaps due to inherent limitations in the on-board signal sensing
systems and/or the real-time abnormal event detection systems, the
reprogramming will only be able to reduce the number of
false-detections or, in some cases, the device might only be able
to adjust the bias between false-positive and false-negatives.
These and other responses will be described below.
[0048] Steps 100-108 may be repeated in a loop, as shown, so as to
iteratively or adaptively reprogram the real-time sensing and
detection systems of the pacer/ICD to allow these systems to adapt
over time to changing conditions within the patient, as might be
caused by the progression of heart disease or by the administration
of medications that affect the cardiac signals being sensed. In
some implementations, all of the steps are performed by the
pacer/ICD. In other implementations, at least some of these steps,
such as steps 106 and 108, are performed by an external system in
communication with the implantable device. An example exploiting
off-line processing by an external system will be described below
with reference to FIG. 13.
[0049] Thus, FIG. 2 summarizes a technique whereby data collection
is triggered (at step 104) based on the natural or intrinsic
changes in device operation in relation to the patient (based on,
e.g., heart rhythm.) This is generally in contrast with
"provocative" techniques that change the operation of the device to
obtain data. For provocative techniques, see, for example, U.S.
Pat. Nos. 7,558,627; 5,891,176; and 5,487,752. These patents
described, inter alia, provocative procedures that a device invokes
whereby the device changes its operation to perform a test--with
the results of said test then being used to "reprogram" the
device--so as to adapt device operation based on the test results.
It should be understood, though, that a device equipped to perform
the "non-provocative" technique of FIG. 2 might additionally
utilize provocative techniques and/or might exploit data collected
from provocative techniques in combination with the non-provocative
"triggered" data obtained at step 104.
Pacer/ICD-Based Off-Line Analysis/Reprogramming Examples
[0050] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary device-based technique for
off-line adjustment of event detection systems/procedures of a
pacer/ICD, particularly abnormal event detection systems and
procedures. Beginning at step 200, the pacer/ICD senses atrial and
ventricular IEGM signals using a set of programmable sensitivity
parameters. Typically, each sensing channel has at least one
adjustable value for use in specify the sensitivity by which
cardiac events, such as P-waves, R-waves and T-waves, are detected
on the channel. State-of-the-art devices accommodate at least a few
different sensing channels and, in some cases, many separate
channels.
[0051] At step 202, the pacer/ICD detects abnormal cardiac events
such as arrhythmias, PVCs, PACs and/or PMTs using a set of
real-time abnormal event detection systems/procedures that employ
programmable detection parameters. Other specific abnormal events
that might be detected and used to trigger the recordation of IEGM
data include: loss of capture (LOC); atrial tachycardia (AT);
atrial fibrillation (AF); ventricular tachycardia (VT); ventricular
fibrillation (VF); and the like. If the pacer/ICD is equipped to
perform AMS, an AMS event can also be regarded as an abnormal
cardiac event. With AMS, the pacer/ICD reverts from a tracking mode
such as a VDD or DDD mode to a nontracking mode such as VVI or DDI
mode upon detection of certain conditions, particularly AT/AF.
Still other abnormal cardiac events may be detected based on the
capabilities of the device. For example, the pacer/ICD might be
capable of detecting, e.g., atrial flutter, supraventricular
tachycardia (SVT), sinus tachycardia (ST), atrioventricular
re-entrant tachycardia (AVRT), atrioventricular nodal re-entrant
tachycardia (AVNRT), idiopathic RV tachycardia, idiopathic LV
tachycardia, and/or atrial or ventricular bigeminy, trigeminy, etc.
In general, any abnormal cardiac event (or combination of events)
detectable by the pacer/ICD within the electrical cardiac signals
of the heart can be employed as a trigger to trigger the recording
of IEGM data, whether the event constitutes an arrhythmia or
otherwise.
[0052] Also at step 202, the pacer/ICD responds to the abnormal
cardiac events by, e.g., initiating any therapies appropriate to
the detected abnormal event, such as by delivering therapy in
response to arrhythmias.
[0053] At step 204, the pacer/ICD then records portions of the IEGM
for subsequent off-line review (as well as event marker data,
physiological sensor data or other relevant diagnostic data),
including pre-trigger and post-trigger portions of the IEGM around
the detected abnormal events. Insofar as physiological sensor data
is concerned, if the device is equipped to sense various
physiological parameters such as arterial blood pressure, left
atrial pressure (LAP), etc., portions of these physiological
signals can be digitized and stored along with the IEGM data for
subsequent review or analysis. In some cases, these physiological
signals might be helpful in distinguishing false detections from
true detections of abnormal cardiac events.
[0054] At step 206, the pacer/ICD determines whether it can safely
devote resources to off-line analysis of the abnormal events. That
is, the pacer/ICD determines whether it can devote sufficient
processor resources to performing the analysis while still properly
monitoring the real-time cardiac signals of the patient and
responding as needed. This determination may be made by based on
the current processing load of the microprocessor or the device, in
combination with activity sensors, circadian sensors, or the like.
In some cases, the off-line analysis will be performed while the
patient is asleep or otherwise inactive, as the patient's heart
rate might be more stable at that time, with few or no on-going
abnormal events. For example, if the device incorporates a
multitasking operating system, then a fraction of the operating
duty cycle may be allocated to "off-line" processing and the
percentage of time allotted may be fixed or variable based on this
"generally inactive" determination. In some cases, the device might
be programmed to simply perform the off-line analysis
periodically.
[0055] Assuming off-line analysis is appropriate, then, at step
208, the pacer/ICD retrieves and analyzes the recorded IEGMs using
one or more off-line detection system/procedures that can be set to
provide more or less discrimination specificity than the real-time
system so as to identify false-positive and/or false-negative
detections of abnormal events. Exemplary techniques for detecting
false-positives and false-negatives are described below with
reference to FIG. 4. Note that the on-going real-time processing of
patient cardiac signals at steps 200 and 202 does not cease during
the off-line analysis. As already noted, the off-line analysis is a
background process that is performed contemporaneously with
on-going real-time event detection.
[0056] If one or more false detections have been identified, then,
at step 210, the pacer/ICD selectively adjusts or reprograms the
programmable sensitivity parameters (used at step 200) and/or the
parameters of the real-time abnormal event detection
systems/procedures (used at step 202) so as to compensate for false
detections. Various automatic adjustment techniques are shown in
FIGS. 4-12. At step 210, the pacer/ICD can also delete or erase (or
mark for erasure) those portions of device memory that contain IEGM
data recorded in response to false-positive detections. This frees
memory for recording IEGM data from true abnormal events.
[0057] At step 212, in the event that the pacer/ICD is delivering
any on-going therapy (activated at step 202) that had been
triggered by an event subsequently deemed to be a false-positive,
the pacer/ICD deactivates that therapy. If false-negatives have
been detected, particularly recent ones, the device might activate
therapies. Also at step 212, the pacer/ICD can record diagnostic
information pertaining to the false detections and to any
adjustments made to programmable parameters for subsequent
clinician review. Such diagnostic data might specify the data and
time of the original event that was subsequently deemed to be a
false event during the off-line analysis, and whether the event was
a false-positive or a false-negative.
[0058] As with the steps of FIG. 2, the steps of FIG. 3 may be
repeated in a loop, as shown, so as to iteratively or adaptively
reprogram the real-time sensing and detection systems of the
pacer/ICD to allow these systems to adapt over time to changing
conditions within the patient.
[0059] Turning now to FIG. 4, an exemplary off-line technique for
detecting and responding to false detections will be described.
These off-line analysis steps run in the background while real-time
event detection is on-going by the device. At step 214, the
pacer/ICD analyzes the IEGMs recorded during previously-detected
abnormal events and any other IEGM data that has been recorded
(alone or together with other recorded information such as event
markers and physiological sensor data) using the off-line detection
system/procedures to detect false-positives and/or false-negatives.
To detect false-positives, the pacer/ICD examines IEGM data
previously recorded during abnormal events, including any
pre-trigger or post-trigger data. To detect false-negatives, the
pacer/ICD examines other portions of recorded IEGM data, such as
any IEGM data automatically recorded by the device in temporary
buffers. As noted above, pacer/ICD can be programmed to
continuously detect and record a portion of recent IEGM data in a
circular queue to accommodate the recordation of pre-trigger data.
Such IEGM data can be examined by the pacer/ICD during the off-line
analysis to detect false-negatives. In some cases, false-negatives
might also be found within IEGM data stored in response to abnormal
events. That is, false-negatives can sometimes be identified within
portions of IEGM data that had been originally recorded in response
to abnormal events (which might have been false-positive events or
properly detected events.)
[0060] The off-line analysis of step 214 can be achieved by
exploiting off-line detection systems that can be set to be more or
less discriminating than the real-time detection systems (employed
at step 202 of FIG. 3.) As noted, one example of an off-line system
that is generally more discriminating than the real-time systems
are detection systems that employ morphological analysis of the
IEGM. In other cases, the pacer/ICD uses the same basic detection
procedures that are employed at step 202 of FIG. 3 for real-time
detection but varies the sensitivity/detection parameters of the
off-line versions of the procedures to reveal false-positives. As
one particular example, false-positives can sometimes occur due to
far-field sensing of ventricular events on an atrial sensing
channel. These false-positives can be exposed by adjusting atrial
sensitivity values to eliminate the far-field R-waves. As another
example, false-positives can sometimes occur due to T-wave
oversensing on a ventricular sensing channel. These false-positives
can be exposed by adjusting ventricular sensitivity values to
eliminate the T-wave oversensing.
[0061] One example of an off-line system that is generally less
discriminating than the real-time systems are detection systems
that employ a comparatively wider range of detection parameters. By
employing a wider range of values (such as a wider range of atrial
rates), more cardiac events thereby fall into the range and are
identified as abnormal cardiac events. In other cases, the
pacer/ICD uses the same basic detection procedures that are
employed at step 202 of FIG. 3 for real-time detection but varies
the sensitivity/detection parameters of the off-line versions of
the procedures to reveal false-negatives. As one particular
example, false-negatives can sometimes occur due to undersensing of
near-field events on sensing channels. These false-negatives can be
exposed by adjusting sensitivity values to eliminate the
undersensing.
[0062] Depending upon the particular abnormal event, and the
capabilities of the device, the pacer/ICD can also use
physiological sensor data to confirm or establish the false
detection. In this regard, some abnormal events are expected to
have certain affects on physiological parameters, such as by
causing a reduction in blood pressure or LAP. As such, this data,
if it is available, can be analyzed in combination with the IEGM
data to identify false detections.
[0063] Also, at step 214, the device can assess the relative timing
of false detections. That is, as part of the off-line analysis, the
device can assess how quickly or how early an abnormal event was
detected. In general, an earlier or quicker detection is likely to
be a more accurate or reliable detection than a later or slower
detection. As such, this information can be used in assessing
false-positives and false-negatives. As one example, the longer it
takes the device to classify a given cardiac rhythm as being
"abnormal," the less likely the rhythm is truly abnormal (that is,
the more likely the detection of the abnormal rhythm is a
false-positive.)
[0064] At step 216, if one or more false detections are identified,
the pacer/ICD determines whether the false detections were due to
(1) improper programming of sensitivity parameters; (2) improper
programming of the real-time abnormal event detection parameters
and/or (3) inherent limitations in the real-time detection
systems/procedures. Typically, the determination depends on the
particular cardiac event that triggered the false detection,
whether it was a false-negative or a false-positive, and the manner
by which it was detected. For example, if changes to sensitivity
values were needed to expose a false-positive or false-negative,
then the false detection was likely due to improper programming of
sensitivity parameters. If changes to detection parameter values
were needed to expose false-positives or false-negatives, then the
false detections were likely due to improper programming of the
detection parameters. The special case where inherent limitations
exist in the real-time detection systems/procedures (i.e. case (3))
will be discussed below.
[0065] If the false detection was due to a sensitivity problem,
then, at step 218, the pacer/ICD adjusts the sensitivity parameters
used to sense the IEGM in real-time to reduce or eliminate further
false detections by, e.g., reducing the sensitivity so as to filter
out far-field cardiac events that might be triggering false
positives or increasing the sensitivity to reduce undersensing. The
selective adjustment of sensitivity values is discussed further
below with reference to FIG. 5. If the false detection was due to a
detection parameter problem, then, at step 220, the pacer/ICD
adjusts the detection parameters used by the real-time abnormal
event detect systems to reduce or eliminate the false detections
by, e.g., narrowing a range of event detection in response to a
false-positive or widening the range in response to a
false-negative. As one particular example, AT might be detected in
real-time based on the atrial rate exceeding an AT rate threshold.
This threshold might be set too low, thereby causing fast sinus
rhythms to be misidentified as AT. If so, the AT threshold can be
increased to thereby effectively narrow the range in which AT is
detected so as to reduce false-positives of AT. The selective
adjustment of detection parameters is discussed further below with
reference to FIG. 6.
[0066] After adjusting the sensitivity and/or detection parameters,
the pacer/ICD, at step 222, determines whether the false detections
have been adequately eliminated by, e.g., feeding the IEGMs back
into an adjusted version of the real-time detection
system/procedures. That is, the same procedures used during
real-time to detect cardiac events can be emulated by the off-line
system but programmed to employ the new values/parameters. The
recorded IEGMs are then fed into the emulated real-time procedure
to determine if the procedure now properly detects abnormal cardiac
events with no significant occurrences of false-positives or
false-negatives. If so, then the false detections have been
adequately eliminated. If not, further adjustments are made by
repeating steps 216-222. In one example, the recorded IEGMs are
repeatedly fed into an emulated real-time detection procedure (that
emulates the detection procedure of step 202 of FIG. 3), along with
indications of true and false abnormal cardiac events, so as
adaptively train the detection procedure to properly detect actual
abnormal events while rejecting false events. Adaptive re-training
of a detection system is discussed further below with reference to
FIG. 7.
[0067] Once a set of sensitivity values and detection parameters
have been identified using the off-line systems that serve to
substantially eliminate false detections, processing returns to
step 210 of FIG. 3 where the new set of values and parameters are
then used to reprogram the actual real-time sensing and detection
systems of steps 200 and 202 so as to reduce or eliminate further
false detections.
[0068] If, at step 216 of FIG. 4, no set of sensitivity values
and/or detection parameters serve to eliminate substantially all
false detections, then there might be an inherent problem or
limitation in the detection procedure. Hence, if repeated
iterations of steps 216-222 through all ranges of acceptable
values/parameters fail to identify a suitable set of
values/parameters, an inherent detection problem is thereby
identified and processing proceeds to step 224
[0069] At step 224, the pacer/ICD can take various actions, based
on device programming. The device can generate warning signals to
notify the patient and/or clinician that abnormal events are
occurring within the patient that are not being properly detected.
Warnings can be generated using an internal warning device within
the pacer/ICD (such as a vibrating device or a voltage "tickle"
device) or via a beside monitor or a personal advisory module
(PAM). The patient then notifies the clinician or, in some cases,
the clinician is automatically notified via networked systems. The
clinician then takes appropriate steps to remedy the detection
problem such as by, e.g., adjusting the location of the leads of
the pacer/ICD to improve cardiac signal sensing or by adjusting any
operating parameters of the pacer/ICD that are beyond the scope of
the off-line adjustments the pacer/ICD itself can make within steps
218 and 220.
[0070] At step 224, the pacer/ICD can also reset the various
detection/sensitivity parameters to default values or to previous
sets of programmed values that might yield a better, albeit not
perfect, detection of abnormal events. The pacer/ICD can also grade
the severity of various abnormal events and inhibit the recording
of IEGM data for any series of abnormal events of the same or
decreasing severity (i.e. the pacer/ICD inhibits serial triggering
of multiple events of the same or decreasing severity.) For
example, the pacer/ICD might grade arrhythmias as being more severe
than PVCs and PACs and then inhibit the recording of IEGM data due
to PVCs and PACs following the recording of IEGM data triggered due
to an arrhythmia. Otherwise, IEGM data from arrhythmias might be
eventually overwritten by IEGM data from less significant events,
once the memory of the device becomes full. Still further, the
pacer/ICD can adjust the various real-time detection/sensitivity
parameters so as to achieve a predetermined degree of bias between
false-positive and false-negatives. In this regard, the device
might bias the real-time detection components so as to ensure there
will be substantially no false-negatives, even if it means that
false-positives will occur, or vice versa. In another example, the
device might set the bias such as false-positives and
false-negatives are equally likely.
[0071] Turning now to FIGS. 5-7, various exemplary sensitivity
value and detection parameters adjustment or retraining techniques
will be described for use during an off-line analysis and
reprogramming session.
[0072] FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary techniques for the off-line
adjustment of sensitivity that may be performed in connection with
the technique of FIG. 4, particular step 218. At step 226 of FIG.
5, the pacer/ICD sets maximum ranges within which the sensitivities
of the atrial and ventricular sensing channels can be adjusted.
That is, the "scope" or total range through which the parameters
can be adjusted is restricted to a predetermined or programmable
range. At step 228, the pacer/ICD set maximum increments by which
the sensitivities of the atrial and ventricular channels can be
adjusted during each off-line adjustment iteration. That is, the
"rate" at which the parameters are adjusted is restricted to a
predetermined or programmable adjustment rate. At step 230, the
pacer/ICD inputs the history of any prior adjustments to
sensitivity values. This may include a list of prior adjustments
made to the sensitivity values and the efficacy those adjustments
had in eliminating false detections. By taking the history into
account, redundant adjustments can be avoided. At step 232, the
pacer/ICD then selectively adjusts the atrial and/or ventricular
channel sensitivities in view of the history of any prior
adjustments so as to filter out false cardiac events (such as
FFRWs) that might have triggered false positive event detections
and/or to reveal true cardiac events that might have previously
gone undetected resulting in false-negatives. Depending upon the
capabilities of the device, step 232 may exploit adaptive
re-training. See FIG. 7 for an example of adaptive re-training.
[0073] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary techniques for the off-line
adjustment of detection parameters that may be performed in
connection with the technique of FIG. 4, particularly step 220. At
step 234 of FIG. 6, the pacer/ICD sets maximum ranges through which
various detection parameters can be adjusted, such as the ranges of
atrial or ventricular rates used to detect certain arrhythmias. At
step 236, the pacer/ICD sets the maximum increment by which the
detection parameters can be adjusted during each off-line
adjustment iteration. At step 238, the pacer/ICD inputs the history
of any prior adjustments to detection parameters. At step 240, the
pacer/ICD then selectively adjusts the detection parameters in view
of the history of any prior adjustments so as to reduce or
eliminate false-positive detections while also preventing
false-negative detections. Depending upon the capabilities of the
device, step 240 may exploit adaptive re-training as shown in FIG.
7.
[0074] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of adaptive re-training of
sensitivity/detection parameters during off-line analysis. At step
242, the off-line analysis system of the pacer/ICD inputs the
current set of sensitivity/detection parameters, previously
recorded IEGM data, and indications of true and false detections of
abnormal cardiac events already detected within the IEGM data (such
as those detected during step 214 of FIG. 4.) At step 244, the
pacer/ICD adjusts the sensitivity/detection parameters in an
attempt to eliminate false detections, such as by making
incremental adjustments to the values. At step 246, the pacer/ICD
then applies the recorded IEGM data to emulated versions of the
real-time sensing/detection systems of the device using the
adjusted sensitivity/detection parameters and while also applying
the indications of true and false detections to determine if the
false detections are eliminated and true detections are preserved.
For example, linear discriminators or other pattern classifiers may
be exploited that can be adaptively trained. Techniques for
training linear discriminators or other pattern classifiers are
described, e.g., in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/558,787,
filed Nov. 10, 2006, of Bharmi et al., entitled "System and Method
for Detecting Physiologic States based on Intracardiac Electrogram
Signals while Distinguishing Cardiac Rhythm Types."
[0075] If false-detections are substantially eliminated, then the
off-line analysis is complete. The set of sensitivity/detection
parameters that served to eliminate the false detections using the
emulated real-time sensing/detection systems are then used to
re-program the actual real-time sensing/detection systems for use
in detecting further abnormal events within the patient. If
false-detections are not yet substantially eliminated, then
processing returns to step 244 for further adjustments to the
parameters. This process continues until a set of
sensitivity/detection parameters are found that successfully
eliminate false detections. If no set of parameters are found that
substantially eliminate false detections, then an inherent
detection problem is thereby detected and suitable steps are taken,
as already explained in connection with step 224 of FIG. 4.
Alternative Device-Based Implementations
[0076] Turning now to FIGS. 8-12, various alternative techniques
for performing off-line device reprogramming of the pacer/ICD of
FIG. 1 will now be described, wherein a state-based representation
of the operation of the pacer/ICD is employed.
[0077] FIG. 8 shows a general overview of the operation of device
10 in this alternative implementation. State 302 indicates normal,
ongoing operation of device 10 under present programming and with
the presently set operating parameters. The parameters can include
parameters programmed at implantation and also parameters
determined by device 10 after ongoing operation. The parameters can
include patient age, an average rate, a maximum rate, a resting
rate, a rate distribution (e.g. % operation at different rates or
rate ranges), % paced vs. % sensed, A-V delay, etc. The parameters
can also include programmed or enabled therapies. It should be
understood that for production efficiency and convenience and cost
concerns, device 10 may include multiple therapies and functions
that are available, however are selectively enabled or set by a
clinician to adapt a generic device to the specific needs of a
particular patient. It should also be understood that the needs of
a patient can change over time, thus possibly indicating a change
in device programming.
[0078] State 304 follows from state 302 and includes a recording of
observed IEGM characteristics. These rate characteristics can
include both directly measured characteristics of the IEGM such as
the amplitude of a sensed ventricular contraction as well as
determined or calculated characteristics such as the % of paced
events vs. the % of sensed or intrinsic events.
[0079] State 306 follows from the recording of state 304 and
comprises an examination of the observed IEGM characteristics. The
examination of state 306 can include a comparison among different
observed characteristics, an examination of an apparent change of a
particular characteristic over time, an observation of a new
unexpected type of characteristic, and/or a confirmation of
observation of expected characteristics. The goal of the
examination of state 306 is to detect false events.
[0080] Proceeding from the examination of state 306 is a decision
state 312 wherein the device decides whether a change in the
programming is indicated. A "NO" decision indicates an optimal
match between device 10 operation and patient need. A "YES"
decision results when the examination of state 306 indicates that
some sort of adjustment to the device may be indicated to improve
performance thereof. A YES decision in state 312 will typically
result in a change in the programming under a state 314 that will
also typically change device 10 operating parameters indicated as
block 316.
[0081] The reprogramming that occurs in state 314 can include
changing the sensitivity of device 10 to attempt to detect events
that might be missed, changing a minimum or maximum rate to induce
the device to take greater control of heart function, to enable or
disable particular therapy regimens, and/or to change the criteria
under which the device determines that a particular event is
occurring. It should be understood that a wide variety of aspects
of device operation may be changed or considered in various
embodiments and that the specific examples described herein are
exemplary.
[0082] Also proceeding in parallel are states 310 wherein
diagnostics of the device operation are performed as well as a
recording in state 320 of device reprogramming. States 310 and 320
provide a clinician (during a subsequent review) with information
relating to device performance. In particular, states 310 and 320
can inform the clinician of possible changes in the device
operation since implantation. This can provide valuable information
about potential changes in the patient's condition as well as
refinements in what optimal device 10 operational parameters the
device itself has determined. It should be understood that, in
certain embodiments, a clinician can override certain reprogramming
changes and/or set limits beyond which the device may not
self-change its operation without confirmation of the
clinician.
[0083] FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary embodiments directed towards
improving the performance of device 10. One particular problem that
these aspects of the invention address is T-wave oversensing. This
can be caused by both early and late sensing of the ventricular
depolarization. This can result in persistent fast R sensing as the
R-wave is effectively double-sensed with timing being strongly
correlated to the prior R wave. This can further result in
incorrect tachycardia detection with attendant inappropriate shock
delivery and IEGM triggering and storage.
[0084] A further potential problem is if the R-wave amplitude
decreases or if the sensitivity threshold is set too low, device 10
may fail to correctly detect R-waves. This might lead to an
inappropriate determination of a bradycardia condition. This
condition can be noted by an increase in the proportion of pacing
provided by device 10 to intrinsically triggered beats.
[0085] FIG. 9 shows a state 402 indicating normal, ongoing device
10 operation, as previously described. Proceeding therefrom is a
state 404 wherein the observed IEGM characteristics (such as pacing
proportion, for example) are recorded. State 404 can include
recording occurrences and/or frequency of occurrence of detected
arrhythmia events. Proceeding therefrom is a state 406 wherein
these recorded IEGM characteristics are examined. The examination
of state 406 may include, for these embodiments, comparison of
recent pacing proportion with either a pre-programmed value and/or
a determined value from past device operation. State 406 may also
include comparison of an apparent high ventricular rate with data
from sensors to determine if patient activity is at a high level
(e.g. exercise.) State 406 may also include a comparison between
detected P- and R-waves to determine whether or not there is a
one-to-one correspondence therebetween, i.e. between detected
atrial and ventricular events. Proceeding in parallel is a state
410 wherein the ventricular rate information is diagnosed with the
results therefrom contributing to the examination of state 406.
[0086] Proceeding from state 406 is a decision state 412 wherein a
decision is made whether to change the ventricular sensitivity. A
NO decision results in retention of current device 10 programming.
A YES decision results in reprogramming of the ventricular
sensitivity in state 414 which results in a change of device 10
operating parameters as shown as block 416. An 8-10 mV signal is
typically a normal intrinsic signal amplitude. A 3-5 mV signal is
typically programmed as device 10 initial sensing threshold. The
reprogramming of ventricular sensitivity may be reduced to
approximately 0.5 mV; a sensitivity lower than 0.5 mV would
typically begin to pick up muscle noise so as to confound the
sensing of the R-wave. Reprogramming under state 414 would
preferably be performed in stages, e.g. reprogram from a 3 mV
sensitivity to 2.5 mV. Device 10 would then return to states 402,
404, 406, and 412 to determine whether the reprogrammed ventricular
sensitivity has substantially restored accurate R-sensing or
whether additional reprogramming under state 414 is indicated.
[0087] Note that the current device 10 operating parameters 416
influence both the operation of the device in state 402 as well as
the decision making of state 412. The reprogramming of the
ventricular sensitivity in state 414 can be performed under hard
rule logic of either inductive or deductive nature or can employ a
fuzzy logic methodology. Further, as can be seen in FIG. 9, the
reprogramming described above is preferably performed as an ongoing
and iterative process.
[0088] Interrelated to the reprogramming of state 414 is a
recordation state 420. State 420 records the reprogramming history
of state 414. The record stored in state 420 is used as an input to
the decisions made in state 412 leading to possible reprogramming
of state 414. This aspect of the invention inhibits "oscillation"
in the reprogramming, i.e. switching back and forth between
programming conditions. The decision of state 412 can include
whether an excessive amount of reprogramming back and forth is
occurring and can disable further reprogramming or impose a time
delay before reprogramming is permitted. This aspect also can serve
to trigger alternative approaches when it becomes apparent that an
oscillation in the programming is indicated. The record of state
420 can also be extracted by a clinician to examine any
reprogramming history. This can provide valuable information on
possible changes that may have occurred in the patient's
condition.
[0089] FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary embodiments directed towards
avoiding false negatives. These features may be directed, for
example, towards reducing the failure to detect AF. This problem
might otherwise result in partially missed or completely missed AF
detection when intermittent AF is known or expected to be
occurring. This concern may be addressed by increasing atrial
sensitivity of device 10.
[0090] FIG. 10 shows a state 502 indicating normal device 10
operation. Proceeding therefrom is a state 504 wherein the observed
IEGM characteristics (for this embodiment this would include
detected atrial contractions, rate, etc.) are recorded. Proceeding
therefrom is a state 506 wherein these recorded IEGM
characteristics are examined. The examination of state 506 would be
directed to determining if device 10 appears to be undersensing,
e.g. failing to detect events that are assumed to be occurring. For
example, if an examination of the patient indicates that
intermittent AF is occurring and presumably would continue to occur
yet device 10 fails to detect this fibrillation, an increase in the
atrial sensitivity might be indicated to allow the device to detect
what may be lower amplitude atrial signals.
[0091] Another potential occurrence that might indicate that the
atrial sensitivity is set too low is detection of a wide
variability in the atrial rate. This could be caused by borderline
detection of the atrial events such that periodically some of the
atrial contractions are not detected, thus leading to a detected
atrial rate that is artificially lower than the actual intrinsic
activity. A possible confirming factor that can be considered in
the examination of state 506 is comparison with other activity
sensors to attempt to determine whether a drop in detected rate
corresponds to a drop in patient activity level. A further
comparison could be made to the detected ventricular events, again
assuming a one-to-one correspondence therebetween. State 510
provides for analysis and recording of atrial IEGM information.
[0092] Proceeding from the examination of state 506 is a decision
state 512 wherein a decision is made whether to change, for
example, the atrial sensitivity. A NO decision results in retention
of current device 10 programming. A YES decision can result in
reprogramming of, in this example, the atrial sensitivity in state
514, which results in a change of device 10 operating parameters as
shown as block 516. Upon determination of need for a change in the
sensitivity setting, the atrial threshold could be lowered in
increments, and the states 502, 504, 506, 512, and possibly 514 are
repeated to determine whether satisfactory device 10 operation has
been obtained by the new parameters.
[0093] It should also be understood that the current device 10
operating parameters 516 influence both the operation of device 10
in state 502 as well as the decision making of state 512. The
reprogramming of the atrial sensitivity in state 514 can be
performed under hard rule logic of either inductive or deductive
nature or can employ a fuzzy logic methodology.
[0094] FIG. 11 illustrates exemplary embodiments directed towards
improving the performance of device 10 when detecting inconclusive
or borderline signals. Particular problems addressed by these
aspects of the invention relate to fusion. Fusion in this context
refers to cardiac depolarization (atrial or ventricular) resulting
from multiple foci. In the context of pacing, fusion generally
refers to an observed IEGM waveform resulting when an intrinsic
depolarization and a generated output pulse occur simultaneously
and thus both contribute to electrical activation of the heart
chamber.
[0095] In one particular application, a proprietary beat-by-beat
pacing system technology, AutoCapture.TM., automatically verifies
capture of each paced beat, adapts the output to changing patient
thresholds, and reserves a full-amplitude output as a safety
margin. Fusion can cause confounding of the evoked response signals
in such systems as the AutoCapture.TM. resulting in inappropriate
back-up pacing and extraneous capture recovery threshold searches.
This problem is exhibited as intermittent, yet persistent, back-up
pacing and capture recovery searches. The embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 11 address these problems by increasing fusion detection
sensitivity and/or by increasing fusion tolerance, and/or by
enabling/changing the hysteresis rate. The hysteresis, or escape,
or hysteresis escape rate is a programmed rate lower than the base
rate. The pulse generators can be inhibited if the detected
intrinsic rate exceeds the hysteresis rate. Hysteresis is provided
to enable the heart 12 to function independently at a reduced rate
below the base rate but above the hysteresis rate, but with
monitoring by device 10. Should the intrinsic rate drop below the
hysteresis rate, one cycle of pacing at the hysteresis rate is
typically provided followed by pacing at the base rate until the
intrinsic rate is again determined to be above the hysteresis
rate.
[0096] FIG. 11 shows a state 602 indicating normal device 10
operation. Proceeding therefrom is a state 604 wherein apparent LOC
events and fusion occurrences are recorded. Proceeding therefrom is
a state 606 wherein the LOC and fusion characteristics are
examined. Also optionally occurring in parallel with states 604 and
606 is a state 610 wherein diagnostics are performed as part of the
AutoCapture.TM. system. Proceeding from state 606 is a decision
state 612 wherein it is determined whether or not to alter the
hysteresis rate. A NO decision will result in retention of the
currently set value. A YES decision in state 612 will lead to state
614 wherein the hysteresis rate is reprogrammed. The function of
device 10 and the intrinsic activity of the heart 12 would then
continue to be examined in state 606 to determine whether a further
change in the hysteresis rate is indicated. As previously
described, the operating parameters, such as the hysteresis rate,
can be iteratively adjusted until desired operation is
achieved.
[0097] Further proceeding from state 612 is another decision state
620 wherein a decision is made whether or not to change the fusion
detection criteria in a state 622. Reprogramming the fusion
detection criteria can include changing the upper and/or lower
limits for the negative area under the curve following a pacing
pulse to establish fusion occurrence. A NO decision will result in
retention of current device 10 programming. A NO decision can also
result in e.g. speeding up the pacing rate to confirm capture. A
YES decision may trigger a capture threshold search to reestablish
a capture threshold. A YES decision may also result in a change in
the number and/or frequency of apparent LOC events to trigger a
capture threshold search.
[0098] FIG. 12 illustrates exemplary embodiments directed towards
improving the performance of device 10 in situations where the
patient condition changes during the implantation period. For
example, a patient may spontaneously develop AF events after
implantation of device 10 where none were observed prior to
implantation or in previous check-up visits. Device 10 typically is
provided with a plurality of therapy programs, all of which are
often not enabled at implantation. Thus, prior programming of
appropriate therapies to address the AF is available in device 10,
however, was not made as it was not indicated at the time.
[0099] This particular issue manifests as intermittent runs of
high, irregular atrial rates. One response of device 10, according
to one aspect of the invention, is to enable device mode switching
and set a trigger rate on recent atrial rate diagnostics.
Alternatively, or in addition, device 10 may enable Dynamic Atrial
Overdrive.TM. (DAO) pacing to suppress the progression of the AF.
Overdrive pacing refers to programming the base rate higher than
the patient's intrinsic rhythm, thereby causing the pulse generator
to pace all the time. In overdrive pacing, the pulse generator
gains control of the heart 12, which can be effective in
terminating or inhibiting certain tachycardias and other
arrhythmias. For example, with an intrinsic rate of 80 bpm, device
10 can overdrive via pacing at a rate of 85 bpm and periodically
drop down the paced rate to confirm the intrinsic rate and return
to overdrive pacing.
[0100] FIG. 12 shows a state 802 indicating normal ongoing device
10 operation. Proceeding therefrom is a state 804 wherein the
observed rate characteristics are recorded (in this embodiment, the
atrial events). Proceeding therefrom is a state 806 wherein these
recorded rate characteristics are examined. In this embodiment, the
examination of state 806 is directed to examining the current
atrial rate characteristics and comparing these to past records.
The examination of state 806 may indicate that atrial fibrillation
appears to be occurring, at least intermittently, at present, but
had not been previously detected. In state 810, the atrial rate
information is analyzed and recorded with the results therefrom
contributing to the examination of state 806.
[0101] Proceeding from state 806 is a decision state 812 wherein a
decision is made to change the atrial fibrillation therapy. A NO
decision results in retention of current device 10 programming,
which, in this aspect, would not have DAO pacing enabled. A YES
decision may result in reprogramming of the atrial fibrillation
therapies in state 814, which results in a change of device 10
operating parameters as shown as block 816. In particular, the
decision of state 812 in the situation illustrated in this
embodiment would result in a reprogramming in state 814 including
enabling DAO pacing where this therapy was not previously enabled.
The reprogramming of state 814 can also include changing the atrial
rate that triggers a switch between therapy modes of device 10. For
example, the detected atrial rate at which fibrillation onset has
occurred can be changed. The device 10 operating parameters 816
influence both the operation of device 10 in state 802 as well as
the decision making of state 812.
[0102] Aspects of the operation of exemplary embodiments of device
10 have been described with reference to the state diagrams of
FIGS. 8-12. These features may be implemented independently of one
another or in parallel operation in any possible combination in
specific applications and embodiments. It should also to be
understood that other operational aspects of device 10, including
those previously described with reference can operate separately,
or in parallel with, or in the absence of, the features described
with reference to FIGS. 8-12.
Off-Line Reprogramming Performed by External System
[0103] Turning now to FIG. 13, techniques will now be summarized
for off-line analysis employing an external system such as a device
programmer or bedside monitor. Many of these steps are the same or
similar to steps performed by the implantable device of the
preceding examples and hence will not be described in detail
again.
[0104] Beginning at step 900, the external system inputs atrial and
ventricular IEGM data originally detected by the pacer/ICD using a
set of sensitivity parameters previously programmed into the
device. At step 902, the external system inputs a list of events of
interest (such as arrhythmias, PVCs, PACs and/or PMTs or other
abnormal cardiac events) detected by the pacer/ICD using a set of
on-board real-time event detection systems/procedures that employ
detection parameters previously programmed into the device. At step
904, the external system inputs portions of IEGM data previously
recorded by the pacer/ICD (as well as event marker data,
physiological sensor data or other relevant diagnostic data),
including IEGM data portions corresponding to the cardiac events of
interest, such as pre-trigger and post-trigger data and any other
recorded IEGM data.
[0105] At step 906, the external system analyzes the input IEGM
data using one or more programmer-based detection system/procedures
that provide more or less discrimination specificity than the
real-time systems used by the pacer/ICD, so as to identify any
false detections of events of interest, such as by distinguishing
false arrhythmias from true arrhythmias. This may exploit
techniques similar to those of step 214 of FIG. 4 but implemented
by the external system. At step 908, the external system determines
a set of recommended adjustments to the programmable sensitivity
parameters of the pacer/ICD and/or to the parameters of the
real-time event detection systems/procedures of the pacer/ICD for
compensating for false detections. This may exploit techniques
similar to those of FIGS. 5-7 but implemented by the external
system. At step 910, the external system (assuming it is so
equipped) then displays the recommended adjustments to the
clinician for approval and, in response to clinician input, the
external system re-programs the pacer/ICD with the recommended
adjustments or with other adjustments specified by the clinician.
Alternatively, the external system can automatically reprogram the
pacer/ICD without clinician approval, as may be appropriate if the
external system is a bedside monitor or the like.
[0106] Although primarily described with respect to examples
wherein the implantable device is a pacer/ICD, other implantable
medical devices may be equipped to exploit the techniques described
herein such as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices and
CRT-D devices. For the sake of completeness, an exemplary pacer/ICD
will now be described, which includes components for performing the
functions and steps already described.
Exemplary Pacer/ICD
[0107] With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, a description of an
exemplary pacer/ICD will now be provided. FIG. 14 provides a
simplified block diagram of the pacer/ICD, which is a dual-chamber
stimulation device capable of treating both fast and slow
arrhythmias with stimulation therapy, including cardioversion,
defibrillation, and pacing stimulation, and also capable of setting
and using VV pacing delays, as discussed above. To provide other
atrial chamber pacing stimulation and sensing, pacer/ICD 10 is
shown in electrical communication with a heart 1012 by way of a
left atrial lead 1020 having an atrial tip electrode 1022 and an
atrial ring electrode 1023 implanted in the atrial appendage.
Pacer/ICD 10 is also in electrical communication with the heart by
way of a right ventricular lead 1030 having, in this embodiment, a
ventricular tip electrode 1032, a right ventricular ring electrode
1034, a right ventricular (RV) coil electrode 1036, and a superior
vena cava (SVC) coil electrode 1038. Typically, the right
ventricular lead 1030 is transvenously inserted into the heart so
as to place the RV coil electrode 1036 in the right ventricular
apex, and the SVC coil electrode 1038 in the superior vena cava.
Accordingly, the right ventricular lead is capable of receiving
cardiac signals, and delivering stimulation in the form of pacing
and shock therapy to the right ventricle.
[0108] To sense left atrial and ventricular cardiac signals and to
provide left chamber pacing therapy, pacer/ICD 10 is coupled to a
CS lead 1024 designed for placement in the "CS region" via the CS
os for positioning a distal electrode adjacent to the left
ventricle and/or additional electrode(s) adjacent to the left
atrium. As used herein, the phrase "CS region" refers to the venous
vasculature of the left ventricle, including any portion of the CS,
great cardiac vein, left marginal vein, left posterior ventricular
vein, middle cardiac vein, and/or small cardiac vein or any other
cardiac vein accessible by the CS. Accordingly, an exemplary CS
lead 1024 is designed to receive atrial and ventricular cardiac
signals and to deliver left ventricular pacing therapy using at
least a left ventricular tip electrode 1026 and a LV ring electrode
1025, left atrial pacing therapy using at least a left atrial ring
electrode 1027, and shocking therapy using at least a left atrial
coil electrode 1028. With this configuration, biventricular pacing
can be performed. Although only three leads are shown in FIG. 14,
it should also be understood that additional leads (with one or
more pacing, sensing and/or shocking electrodes) might be used
and/or additional electrodes might be provided on the leads already
shown.
[0109] A simplified block diagram of internal components of
pacer/ICD 10 is shown in FIG. 15. While a particular pacer/ICD is
shown, this is for illustration purposes only, and one of skill in
the art could readily duplicate, eliminate or disable the
appropriate circuitry in any desired combination to provide a
device capable of treating the appropriate chamber(s) with
cardioversion, defibrillation and pacing stimulation. The housing
1040 for pacer/ICD 10, shown schematically in FIG. 15, is often
referred to as the "can", "case" or "case electrode" and may be
programmably selected to act as the return electrode for all
"unipolar" modes. The housing 1040 may further be used as a return
electrode alone or in combination with one or more of the coil
electrodes, 1028, 1036 and 1038, for shocking purposes. The housing
1040 further includes a connector (not shown) having a plurality of
terminals, 1042, 1043, 1044, 1045, 1046, 1048, 1052, 1054, 1056 and
1058 (shown schematically and, for convenience, the names of the
electrodes to which they are connected are shown next to the
terminals). As such, to achieve right atrial sensing and pacing,
the connector includes at least a right atrial tip terminal
(A.sub.R TIP) 1042 adapted for connection to the atrial tip
electrode 1022 and a right atrial ring (A.sub.R RING) electrode
1043 adapted for connection to right atrial ring electrode 1023. To
achieve left chamber sensing, pacing and shocking, the connector
includes at least a left ventricular tip terminal (V.sub.L TIP)
1044, a left ventricular ring terminal (V.sub.L RING) 1045, a left
atrial ring terminal (A.sub.L RING) 1046, and a left atrial
shocking terminal (A.sub.L COIL) 1048, which are adapted for
connection to the left ventricular ring electrode 1026, the left
atrial ring electrode 1027, and the left atrial coil electrode
1028, respectively. To support right chamber sensing, pacing and
shocking, the connector further includes a right ventricular tip
terminal (V.sub.R TIP) 1052, a right ventricular ring terminal
(V.sub.R RING) 1054, a right ventricular shocking terminal (V.sub.R
COIL) 1056, and an SVC shocking terminal (SVC COIL) 1058, which are
adapted for connection to the right ventricular tip electrode 1032,
right ventricular ring electrode 1034, the V.sub.R coil electrode
1036, and the SVC coil electrode 1038, respectively.
[0110] At the core of pacer/ICD 10 is a programmable
microcontroller 1060, which controls the various modes of
stimulation therapy. As is well known in the art, the
microcontroller 1060 (also referred to herein as a control unit)
typically includes a microprocessor, or equivalent control
circuitry, designed specifically for controlling the delivery of
stimulation therapy and may further include RAM or ROM memory,
logic and timing circuitry, state machine circuitry, and I/O
circuitry. Typically, the microcontroller 1060 includes the ability
to process or monitor input signals (data) as controlled by a
program code stored in a designated block of memory. The details of
the design and operation of the microcontroller 1060 are not
critical to the invention. Rather, any suitable microcontroller
1060 may be used that carries out the functions described herein.
The use of microprocessor-based control circuits for performing
timing and data analysis functions are well known in the art.
[0111] As shown in FIG. 15, an atrial pulse generator 1070 and a
ventricular pulse generator 1072 generate pacing stimulation pulses
for delivery by the right atrial lead 1020, the right ventricular
lead 1030, and/or the CS lead 1024 via an electrode configuration
switch 1074. It is understood that in order to provide stimulation
therapy in each of the four chambers of the heart, the atrial and
ventricular pulse generators, 1070 and 1072, may include dedicated,
independent pulse generators, multiplexed pulse generators or
shared pulse generators. The pulse generators, 1070 and 1072, are
controlled by the microcontroller 1060 via appropriate control
signals, 1076 and 1078, respectively, to trigger or inhibit the
stimulation pulses.
[0112] The microcontroller 1060 further includes timing control
circuitry (not separately shown) used to control the timing of such
stimulation pulses (e.g., pacing rate, AV delay, atrial
interconduction (inter-atrial) delay, or ventricular
interconduction (V-V) delay, etc.) as well as to keep track of the
timing of refractory periods, blanking intervals, noise detection
windows, evoked response windows, alert intervals, marker channel
timing, etc., which is well known in the art. Switch 1074 includes
a plurality of switches for connecting the desired electrodes to
the appropriate I/O circuits, thereby providing complete electrode
programmability. Accordingly, the switch 1074, in response to a
control signal 1080 from the microcontroller 1060, determines the
polarity of the stimulation pulses (e.g., unipolar, bipolar,
combipolar, etc.) by selectively closing the appropriate
combination of switches (not shown) as is known in the art.
[0113] Atrial sensing circuits 1082 and ventricular sensing
circuits 1084 may also be selectively coupled to the right atrial
lead 1020, CS lead 1024, and the right ventricular lead 1030,
through the switch 1074 for detecting the presence of cardiac
activity in each of the four chambers of the heart. Accordingly,
the atrial (ATR. SENSE) and ventricular (VTR. SENSE) sensing
circuits, 1082 and 1084, may include dedicated sense amplifiers,
multiplexed amplifiers or shared amplifiers. The switch 1074
determines the "sensing polarity" of the cardiac signal by
selectively closing the appropriate switches, as is also known in
the art. In this way, the clinician may program the sensing
polarity independent of the stimulation polarity. Each sensing
circuit, 1082 and 1084, preferably employs one or more low power,
precision amplifiers with programmable gain and/or automatic gain
control, bandpass filtering, and a threshold detection circuit, as
known in the art, to selectively sense the cardiac signal of
interest. The automatic gain control enables pacer/ICD 10 to deal
effectively with the difficult problem of sensing the low amplitude
signal characteristics of atrial or ventricular fibrillation. The
outputs of the atrial and ventricular sensing circuits, 1082 and
1084, are connected to the microcontroller 1060 which, in turn, are
able to trigger or inhibit the atrial and ventricular pulse
generators, 1070 and 1072, respectively, in a demand fashion in
response to the absence or presence of cardiac activity in the
appropriate chambers of the heart.
[0114] For arrhythmia detection, pacer/ICD 10 utilizes the atrial
and ventricular sensing circuits, 1082 and 1084, to sense cardiac
signals to determine whether a rhythm is physiologic or pathologic.
As used in this section "sensing" is reserved for the noting of an
electrical signal, and "detection" is the processing of these
sensed signals and noting the presence of an arrhythmia. The timing
intervals between sensed events (e.g., AS, VS, and depolarization
signals associated with fibrillation which are sometimes referred
to as "F-waves" or "Fib-waves") are then classified by the
microcontroller 1060 by comparing them to a predefined rate zone
limit (i.e., bradycardia, normal, atrial tachycardia, atrial
fibrillation, low rate VT, high rate VT, and fibrillation rate
zones) and various other characteristics (e.g., sudden onset,
stability, physiologic sensors, and morphology, etc.) in order to
determine the type of remedial therapy that is needed (e.g.,
bradycardia pacing, antitachycardia pacing, cardioversion shocks or
defibrillation shocks).
[0115] Cardiac signals are also applied to the inputs of an
analog-to-digital (A/D) data acquisition system 1090. The data
acquisition system 1090 is configured to acquire intracardiac
electrogram signals, convert the raw analog data into a digital
signal, and store the digital signals for later processing and/or
telemetric transmission to an external device 1102. The data
acquisition system 1090 is coupled to the right atrial lead 1020,
the CS lead 1024, and the right ventricular lead 1030 through the
switch 1074 to sample cardiac signals across any pair of desired
electrodes. The microcontroller 1060 is further coupled to a memory
1094 by a suitable data/address bus 1096, wherein the programmable
operating parameters used by the microcontroller 1060 are stored
and modified, as required, in order to customize the operation of
pacer/ICD 10 to suit the needs of a particular patient. Such
operating parameters define, for example, the amplitude or
magnitude, pulse duration, electrode polarity, for both pacing
pulses and impedance detection pulses as well as pacing rate,
sensitivity, arrhythmia detection criteria, and the amplitude,
waveshape and vector of each shocking pulse to be delivered to the
patient's heart within each respective tier of therapy. Other
pacing parameters include base rate, rest rate and circadian base
rate.
[0116] Advantageously, the operating parameters of the implantable
pacer/ICD 10 may be non-invasively programmed into the memory 1094
through a telemetry circuit 1100 in telemetric communication with
an external device, such as a programmer 14, bedside monitor 16,
transtelephonic transceiver or a diagnostic system analyzer or
other external system. The telemetry circuit 1100 is activated by
the microcontroller by a control signal 1106. The telemetry circuit
1100 advantageously allows intracardiac electrograms and status
information relating to the operation of pacer/ICD 10 (as contained
in the microcontroller 1060 or memory 1094) to be sent to the
external device 1102 through an established communication link
1104. Pacer/ICD 10 further includes an accelerometer or other
physiologic sensor 1108, commonly referred to as a
"rate-responsive" sensor because it is typically used to adjust
pacing stimulation rate according to the exercise state of the
patient. However, the physiological sensor 1108 may further be used
to detect changes in cardiac output, changes in the physiological
condition of the heart, or diurnal changes in activity (e.g.,
detecting sleep and wake states) and to detect arousal from sleep.
Accordingly, the microcontroller 1060 responds by adjusting the
various pacing parameters (such as rate, AV delay, VV delay, etc.)
at which the atrial and ventricular pulse generators, 1070 and
1072, generate stimulation pulses. While shown as being included
within pacer/ICD 10, it is to be understood that the physiologic
sensor 1108 may also be external to pacer/ICD 10, yet still be
implanted within or carried by the patient. A common type of rate
responsive sensor is an activity sensor incorporating an
accelerometer or a piezoelectric crystal, which is mounted within
the housing 1040 of pacer/ICD 10. Other types of physiologic
sensors are also known, for example, sensors that sense the oxygen
content of blood, respiration rate and/or minute ventilation, pH of
blood, ventricular gradient, etc.
[0117] The pacer/ICD additionally includes a battery 1110, which
provides operating power to all of the circuits shown in FIG. 15.
The battery 1110 may vary depending on the capabilities of
pacer/ICD 10. If the system only provides low voltage therapy, a
lithium iodine or lithium copper fluoride cell typically may be
utilized. For pacer/ICD 10, which employs shocking therapy, the
battery 1110 should be capable of operating at low current drains
for long periods, and then be capable of providing high-current
pulses (for capacitor charging) when the patient requires a shock
pulse. The battery 1110 should also have a predictable discharge
characteristic so that elective replacement time can be detected.
Accordingly, appropriate batteries are employed.
[0118] As further shown in FIG. 15, pacer/ICD 10 is shown as having
an impedance measuring circuit 1112, which is enabled by the
microcontroller 1060 via a control signal 1114. Uses for an
impedance measuring circuit include, but are not limited to, lead
impedance surveillance during the acute and chronic phases for
proper lead positioning or dislodgement; detecting operable
electrodes and automatically switching to an operable pair if
dislodgement occurs; measuring respiration or minute ventilation;
measuring thoracic impedance for determining shock thresholds;
detecting when the device has been implanted; measuring
respiration; and detecting the opening of heart valves, etc. The
impedance measuring circuit 1112 is advantageously coupled to the
switch 1174 so that any desired electrode may be used.
[0119] In the case where pacer/ICD 10 is intended to operate as an
implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) device, it detects the
occurrence of an arrhythmia, and automatically applies an
appropriate electrical shock therapy to the heart aimed at
terminating the detected arrhythmia. To this end, the
microcontroller 1060 further controls a shocking circuit 1116 by
way of a control signal 1118. The shocking circuit 1116 generates
shocking pulses of low (up to 0.5 joules), moderate (0.5-10 joules)
or high energy (11 to 40 joules), as controlled by the
microcontroller 1060. Such shocking pulses are applied to the heart
of the patient through at least two shocking electrodes, and as
shown in this embodiment, selected from the left atrial coil
electrode 1028, the RV coil electrode 1036, and/or the SVC coil
electrode 1038. The housing 1040 may act as an active electrode in
combination with the RV electrode 1036, or as part of a split
electrical vector using the SVC coil electrode 1038 or the left
atrial coil electrode 1028 (i.e., using the RV electrode as a
common electrode). Cardioversion shocks are generally considered to
be of low to moderate energy level (so as to minimize pain felt by
the patient), and/or synchronized with an R-wave and/or pertaining
to the treatment of tachycardia. Defibrillation shocks are
generally of moderate to high energy level (i.e., corresponding to
thresholds in the range of 11-40 joules), delivered asynchronously
(since R-waves may be too disorganized), and pertaining exclusively
to the treatment of fibrillation. Accordingly, the microcontroller
1060 is capable of controlling the synchronous or asynchronous
delivery of the shocking pulses.
[0120] An internal warning device 1099 may be provided for
generating perceptible warning signals to the patient via
vibration, voltage or other methods.
[0121] Insofar as off-line analysis and reprogramming is concerned,
microcontroller 1060 includes a real-time cardiac event detection
system 1101 that detects cardiac events of interest substantially
in real-time, such as abnormal events. The detection system
includes an arrhythmia detection unit 1103, a PMT detection unit
1105 and a miscellaneous event detection unit 1107 for detecting
other events of interest such as PACs, PVCs, LOC events, AMS
events, etc. Indications of the cardiac events of interest and
corresponding IEGM data are stored in memory 1094.
[0122] An off-line false detection identification system 1109 is
operative to subsequently retrieve and analyze recorded IEGM to
identify false detections of events of interest within the patient
in accordance with the various false event identification
techniques described above. To this end, system 1109 includes a
false-positive detection unit 1111 and a false-negative detection
unit 1113. An off-line adjustment system 1115 is operative to
selectively adjust one or both of the cardiac signal sensing system
of the pacer/ICD and event detection system 1103 to reduce false
detections of events of interest, in accordance with the various
reprogramming or adjustment techniques described above. To this
end, system 1115 includes a sensitivity adjustment unit 1117, a
detection parameter adjustment unit 1119, and an inherent detection
problem identification unit 1121.
[0123] A warning/diagnostics controller 1123 is provided to
generate any needed warnings, such as warning indicative of an
inherent detection problem, and to record diagnostics pertaining to
the off-line analysis, such as in indication of any adjustments
made to the various sensitivity/detection parameters.
[0124] Depending upon the implementation, the various components of
the microcontroller may be implemented as separate software modules
or the modules may be combined to permit a single module to perform
multiple functions. In addition, although shown as being components
of the microcontroller, some or all of these components may be
implemented separately from the microcontroller, using application
specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or the like.
[0125] As noted, at least some of the techniques described herein
can be performed by (or under the control of) an external device.
For the sake of completeness, an exemplary device programmer will
now be described, which includes components for controlling at
least some of the functions and steps already described.
Exemplary External Programmer
[0126] FIG. 16 illustrates pertinent components of an external
programmer 14 for use in programming the pacer/ICD of FIG. 15 and
for performing the above-described off-line analysis techniques.
For the sake of completeness, other device programming functions
are also described herein. Generally, the programmer permits a
physician or other user to program the operation of the implanted
device and to retrieve and display information received from the
implanted device such as IEGM data and device diagnostic data.
Additionally, the external programmer can be optionally equipped to
receive and display electrocardiogram (EKG) data from separate
external EKG leads that may be attached to the patient. Depending
upon the specific programming of the external programmer,
programmer 14 may also be capable of processing and analyzing data
received from the implanted device and from the EKG leads to, for
example, render preliminary diagnosis as to medical conditions of
the patient or to the operations of the implanted device.
[0127] Now, considering the components of programmer 14, operations
of the programmer are controlled by a CPU 1202, which may be a
generally programmable microprocessor or microcontroller or may be
a dedicated processing device such as an application specific
integrated circuit (ASIC) or the like. Software instructions to be
performed by the CPU are accessed via an internal bus 1204 from a
read only memory (ROM) 1206 and random access memory 1230.
Additional software may be accessed from a hard drive 1208, floppy
drive 1210, and CD ROM drive 1212, or other suitable permanent mass
storage device. Depending upon the specific implementation, a basic
input output system (BIOS) is retrieved from the ROM by CPU at
power up. Based upon instructions provided in the BIOS, the CPU
"boots up" the overall system in accordance with well-established
computer processing techniques.
[0128] Once operating, the CPU displays a menu of programming
options to the user via an LCD display 1214 or other suitable
computer display device. To this end, the CPU may, for example,
display a menu of specific programmable parameters of the implanted
device to be programmed or may display a menu of types of
diagnostic data to be retrieved and displayed. In response thereto,
the physician enters various commands via either a touch screen
1216 overlaid on the LCD display or through a standard keyboard
1218 supplemented by additional custom keys 1220, such as an
emergency VVI (EVVI) key. The EVVI key sets the implanted device to
a safe VVI mode with high pacing outputs. This ensures life
sustaining pacing operation in nearly all situations but by NO
means is it desirable to leave the implantable device in the EVVI
mode at all times.
[0129] Once all pacing leads are mounted and the pacing device is
implanted, the various parameters are programmed. Typically, the
physician initially controls the programmer 14 to retrieve data
stored within any implanted devices and to also retrieve EKG data
from EKG leads, if any, coupled to the patient. To this end, CPU
1202 transmits appropriate signals to a telemetry subsystem 1222,
which provides components for directly interfacing with the
implanted devices, and the EKG leads. Telemetry subsystem 1222
includes its own separate CPU 1224 for coordinating the operations
of the telemetry subsystem. Main CPU 1202 of programmer
communicates with telemetry subsystem CPU 1224 via internal bus
1204. Telemetry subsystem additionally includes a telemetry circuit
1226 connected to telemetry wand 1228, which, in turn, receives and
transmits signals electromagnetically from a telemetry unit of the
implanted device. The telemetry wand is placed over the chest of
the patient near the implanted device to permit reliable
transmission of data between the telemetry wand and the implanted
device. Herein, the telemetry subsystem is shown as also including
an EKG circuit 1234 for receiving surface EKG signals from a
surface EKG system 1232. In other implementations, the EKG circuit
is not regarded as a portion of the telemetry subsystem but is
regarded as a separate component.
[0130] Typically, at the beginning of the programming session, the
external programming device controls the implanted devices via
appropriate signals generated by the telemetry wand to output all
previously recorded patient and device diagnostic information.
Patient diagnostic information includes, for example, recorded IEGM
data and statistical patient data such as the percentage of paced
versus sensed heartbeats. Device diagnostic data includes, for
example, information representative of the operation of the
implanted device such as lead impedances, battery voltages, battery
recommended replacement time (RRT) information and the like. Data
retrieved from the pacer/ICD also includes the data stored within
the recalibration database of the pacer/ICD (assuming the pacer/ICD
is equipped to store that data.) Data retrieved from the implanted
devices is stored by external programmer 14 either within a random
access memory (RAM) 1230, hard drive 1208 or within a floppy
diskette placed within floppy drive 1210. Additionally, or in the
alternative, data may be permanently or semi-permanently stored
within a compact disk (CD) or other digital media disk, if the
overall system is configured with a drive for recording data onto
digital media disks, such as a write once read many (WORM)
drive.
[0131] Once all patient and device diagnostic data previously
stored within the implanted devices is transferred to programmer
14, the implanted devices may be further controlled to transmit
additional data in real time as it is detected by the implanted
devices, such as additional IEGM data, lead impedance data, and the
like. Additionally, or in the alternative, telemetry subsystem 1222
receives EKG signals from EKG leads 1232 via an EKG processing
circuit 1234. As with data retrieved from the implanted device
itself, signals received from the EKG leads are stored within one
or more of the storage devices of the external programmer.
Typically, EKG leads output analog electrical signals
representative of the EKG. Accordingly, EKG circuit 1234 includes
analog to digital conversion circuitry for converting the signals
to digital data appropriate for further processing within the
programmer. Depending upon the implementation, the EKG circuit may
be configured to convert the analog signals into event record data
for ease of processing along with the event record data retrieved
from the implanted device. Typically, signals received from the EKG
leads are received and processed in real time.
[0132] Thus, the programmer receives data both from the implanted
devices and from optional external EKG leads. Data retrieved from
the implanted devices includes parameters representative of the
current programming state of the implanted devices. Under the
control of the physician, the external programmer displays the
current programmable parameters and permits the physician to
reprogram the parameters. To this end, the physician enters
appropriate commands via any of the aforementioned input devices
and, under control of CPU 1202, the programming commands are
converted to specific programmable parameters for transmission to
the implanted devices via telemetry wand 1228 to thereby reprogram
the implanted devices. Prior to reprogramming specific parameters,
the physician may control the external programmer to display any or
all of the data retrieved from the implanted devices or from the
EKG leads, including displays of EKGs, IEGMs, and statistical
patient information. Any or all of the information displayed by
programmer may also be printed using a printer 1236.
[0133] Insofar as off-line analysis and reprogramming is concerned,
CPU 1202 also preferably includes a false detection identification
system 1250 that is operative to retrieve and analyze recorded IEGM
data from the pacer/ICD and to identify false detections of events
of interest within the patient generally in accordance with the
various false event identification techniques, described above. A
false-detection-based re-programming system 1252 is provided that
is operative to selectively adjust one or both of the cardiac
signal sensing system of the pacer/ICD and event detection system
of the pacer/ICD to reduce false detections of events of interest,
generally in accordance with the various reprogramming or
adjustment techniques described above. Adjusted pacing parameters
and/or other control information is then transmitted to the
pacer/ICD under the control of the telemetry sub-system.
[0134] Programmer/monitor 14 also includes a modem 1238 to permit
direct transmission of data to other programmers via the public
switched telephone network (PSTN) or other interconnection line,
such as a T1 line or fiber optic cable. Depending upon the
implementation, the modem may be connected directly to internal bus
1204 may be connected to the internal bus via either a parallel
port 1240 or a serial port 1242. Other peripheral devices may be
connected to the external programmer via parallel port 1240 or a
serial port 1242 as well. Although one of each is shown, a
plurality of input output (IO) ports might be provided. A speaker
1244 is included for providing audible tones to the user, such as a
warning beep in the event improper input is provided by the
physician. Telemetry subsystem 1222 additionally includes an analog
output circuit 1245 for controlling the transmission of analog
output signals, such as IEGM signals output to an EKG machine or
chart recorder.
[0135] With the programmer configured as shown, a physician or
other user operating the external programmer is capable of
retrieving, processing and displaying a wide range of information
received from the implanted devices and to reprogram the implanted
device if needed. The descriptions provided herein with respect to
FIG. 16 are intended merely to provide an overview of the operation
of programmer and are not intended to describe in detail every
feature of the hardware and software of the programmer and is not
intended to provide an exhaustive list of the functions performed
by the programmer.
[0136] In general, while the invention has been described with
reference to particular embodiments, modifications can be made
thereto without departing from the scope of the invention. Note
also that the term "including" as used herein is intended to be
inclusive, i.e. "including but not limited to."
* * * * *