Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080269818 | Non-Invasive Cardiac Potentiation Therapy - An external cardiac medical device for delivering Cardiac Potentiation Therapy (CPT). Techniques used with the device include initial diagnosis of the patient, delivery of the CPT, and configuration of the external device, so that CPT can be effectively and efficiently provided. In particular, these techniques include initially determining whether a patient should receive CPT, how to set the coupling interval for delivering CPT, how to configure the external medical device to deliver CPT stimulation pulses while not adversely affecting the device's ability to sense a patient's cardiac parameters and/or signals. | 10-30-2008 |
20090171345 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT OF AN IMPEDANCE USING A CATHETER SUCH AS AN ABLATION CATHETER - A catheter and patch electrode system is provided for use with an apparatus, such as an ablation generator, having a 4-wire interface for improved impedance measurement. The 4-wire interface includes a pair of source connectors across which an excitation signal is produced and a pair of sense connector wires across which the impedance is measured. The RF ablation generator may also produce an ablation signal across a source wire and an indifferent return patch electrode. The system further includes a cable that connects the generator to a catheter. The catheter includes a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, with an ablation tip electrode disposed at the distal end. A source lead is electrically coupled to the tip electrode and extends through the shaft to the proximal end where it is terminated. An optional sense lead is also electrically coupled to the tip electrode and extends through the shaft to the proximal end. The system further includes a source return (e.g., skin patch) and a sense return (e.g., skin patch), either or none of which may be combined with the indifferent return, and if used may be placed on opposite sides of the patient for improved performance. The impedance sensor circuit produces an excitation signal across the source connectors, which is then carried to the catheter by the cable, then to the tip electrode, travels through the complex load (tissue volume), and returns to the generator via a patch electrode. The impedance is measured by observing the voltage drop across the sense connectors caused by the excitation signal. | 07-02-2009 |
20090275827 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE PROXIMITY OF AN ELECTRODE TO TISSUE IN A BODY - A method and system for assessing proximity between an electrode and tissue is provided. The system includes an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU is configured to acquire values for first and second components of a complex impedance between the electrode and the tissue, and to calculate an electrical coupling index (ECI) responsive to the first and second values. The ECU is further configured to process the ECI to determine the proximity of the electrode to the tissue. The ECU may be configured to calculate an electrical coupling index rate (ECIR) based on the calculated ECI and information relating to the change in location of the electrode, and to assess proximity based on the ECIR. Alternatively, the ECU may be configured to assess the proximity using the calculated ECI, as opposed to the ECIR. | 11-05-2009 |
20100152804 | SECURE AND EFFICACIOUS THERAPY DELIVERY FOR A PACING ENGINE - The above-described methods and apparatus are believed to be of particular benefit for patients suffering heart failure including cardiac dysfunction, chronic HF, and the like and all variants as described herein and including those known to those of skill in the art to which the invention is directed. It will understood that the present invention offers the possibility of monitoring and therapy of a wide variety of acute and chronic cardiac dysfunctions. The current invention provides systems and methods for delivering therapy for cardiac hemodynamic dysfunction via the innervated myocardial substrate receives one or more discrete pulses of electrical stimulation during the refractory period of said innervated myocardial substrate. | 06-17-2010 |
20100168557 | MULTI-ELECTRODE ABLATION SENSING CATHETER AND SYSTEM - The invention is directed to a multi-electrode ablation sensing catheter and system suitable for medical procedures such as cardiac ablation. In one embodiment of the invention, a catheter is provided having an elongated catheter shaft and a catheter tip having two or more closely spaced electrodes mounted on the catheter tip, where the electrodes are coupled to a plurality of electronic circuitries and are used for electrogram sensing, impedance sensing, and location sensing and orientation. In another embodiment of the invention, a catheter system is provided having a catheter with an elongated catheter shaft and a catheter tip with two or more closely spaced electrodes mounted on the catheter tip, and an RF generator circuitry, an electrogram sensing circuitry, an impedance sensing circuitry, and a location sensing and orientation circuitry. | 07-01-2010 |
20100168560 | Devices and Methods for Catheter Localization - A medical device can be localized by providing at least three non-colinear localization elements (e.g., electrodes) thereon. Once placed in a non-ionizing localization field, three adjacent localization elements, at least one of which will typically be a spot electrode, may be selected, and the non-ionizing localization field may be used to measure their locations. A cylinder is defined to fit the measured locations of the selected localization elements. The cylinder is rotationally oriented using the measured location of a spot electrode. Location and rotational attitude information may be used to construct a three-dimensional representation of the medical device within the localization field. The electrodes may be provided on the medical device or on a sheath into which the medical device is inserted. The invention also provides systems and methods for identifying and calibrating deflection planes where the medical device and/or sheath are deflectable. | 07-01-2010 |
20100179444 | IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE WITH ADAPTIVE SIGNAL PROCESSING AND ARTIFACT CANCELLATION - A medical device having a sensor sensing an n-dimensional signal during a first known variable condition and during a second known variable condition different from the first known variable condition, a processor performing principal component analysis (PCA) on the sensed n-dimensional signal to generate a first template corresponding to a principal component of variation associated with the first known variable condition and a second template corresponding to a principal component of variation associated with the second known variable condition, a storage device storing the first template and the second template, and a controller detecting a patient condition in response to the stored templates. | 07-15-2010 |
20100179445 | IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE WITH ADAPTIVE SIGNAL PROCESSING AND ARTIFACT CANCELLATION - A medical device includes one or more sensors used to acquire a multi-dimensional signal. In one embodiment, principal component analysis is performed on the multi-dimensional signal to produce signal data. The principal component analysis results are used to cancel signal artifact in one embodiment. A medical device controller produces one of a therapy control and a diagnostic output in response to the signal data. | 07-15-2010 |
20100179611 | IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE WITH ADAPTIVE SIGNAL PROCESSING AND ARTIFACT CANCELLATION - A medical device includes one or more sensors used to acquire a multi-dimensional signal. In one embodiment, principal component analysis is performed on the multi-dimensional signal to produce signal data. The principal component analysis results are used to cancel signal artifact in one embodiment. A medical device controller produces one of a therapy control and a diagnostic output in response to the signal data. | 07-15-2010 |
20110125150 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSESSING EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF ABLATION THERAPY - A system and method for assessing effective delivery of ablation therapy to a tissue in a body is provided. A three-dimensional anatomical map of the tissue is generated and displayed with the map defining a corresponding volume. An index is generated corresponding to a location within the volume with the index indicative of a state of ablation therapy at the location. The index may be derived from one or more factors such as the duration an ablation electrode is present at the location, the amount of energy provided, the degree of electrical coupling between an ablation electrode and the tissue at the location and temperature. A visual characteristic (e.g., color intensity) of a portion of the anatomical map corresponding to the location is then altered responsive to the index. | 05-26-2011 |
20110160593 | INTRACARDIAC IMAGING SYSTEM UTILIZING A MULTIPURPOSE CATHETER - A three dimensional physiological mapping system utilizing an intracardiac echo catheter capable of being located in six degrees of freedom by a visualization, navigation, or mapping system. An echocardiography image of the intracardiac echo catheter may be projected within a geometric model of the visualization, navigation, or mapping system where the location of the projected image is adjusted in response to user input identifying a structure present in the echocardiography image and the geometric model. | 06-30-2011 |
20110264000 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING TISSUE TYPE AND MAPPING TISSUE MORPHOLOGY - A method and system for determining tissue type is provided. The system comprises an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to acquire a value of an electrical parameter between a first electrode electrically coupled with tissue and a second electrode. The ECU is further configured to identify a tissue type from a plurality of tissue types based at least on the acquired value, and in an exemplary embodiment, to generate a tissue morphology map comprising a marker representative of the identified tissue type. The method comprises acquiring a value of an electrical parameter between a first electrode electrically coupled with tissue and a second electrode. The method further comprises identifying a tissue type from a plurality of tissue types based on at least the acquired value of the electrical parameter, and in an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises generating a tissue morphology map based on the identified tissue type. | 10-27-2011 |
20120155723 | DETERMINATION OF CARDIAC GEOMETRY RESPONSIVE TO DOPPLER BASED IMAGING OF BLOOD FLOW CHARACTERISTICS - A system and method for identifying a location of a physical structure in a body is provided. The system includes an electronic control unit configured to register a first image of a portion of the body in a three-dimensional coordinate system. The electronic control unit is further configured to identify the location of the physical structure in the three-dimensional coordinate system responsive to flow of a fluid shown in the image. The fluid may comprise blood. In one embodiment, the electronic control unit is further configured to generate a second image, such as a three dimensional model, incorporating a representation of the physical structure within a larger physical environment in the three-dimensional coordinate system. | 06-21-2012 |
20120165664 | REFINEMENT OF AN ANATOMICAL MODEL USING ULTRASOUND - A method of refining an anatomical model includes acquiring a two-dimensional echocardiogram that has a variable intensity, relating the two-dimensional echocardiogram to a plurality of mapping points that exist in three-dimensional space, and determining a confidence value for each of two or more mapping points that corresponds to an intensity at a point on the two-dimensional echocardiogram. | 06-28-2012 |
20120165671 | IDENTIFICATION OF OBJECTS IN ULTRASOUND - An apparatus and method for identifying objects in an ultrasound image that includes acquiring ultrasound information from a catheter, locating the ultrasound information to a three-dimensional cardiac model having two or more distinct anatomic objects, displaying at least one of the distinct anatomic objects from the cardiac model within a visual representation of the ultrasound information, and identifying the at least one of the distinct anatomic objects within the visual representation of the ultrasound information using the identifier provided for that object in the three-dimensional cardiac model. | 06-28-2012 |
20120165672 | REFINEMENT OF AN ANATOMICAL MODEL USING ULTRASOUND - A method of displaying the influence of an aspect of a model includes acquiring a two-dimensional echocardiogram having a variable intensity; relating the two-dimensional echocardiogram to a plurality of mapping points, the mapping points existing in a three-dimensional model space; determining a degree of influence value for a mapping point; and displaying the mapping point with a visual attribute that corresponds to the determined degree of influence value. | 06-28-2012 |
20120172724 | AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION OF INTRACARDIAC DEVICES AND STRUCTURES IN AN INTRACARDIAC ECHO CATHETER IMAGE - An intracardiac imaging system configured to display electrode visualization elements within an intracardiac echocardiography image where the electrode visualization elements represent intracardiac electrodes in close proximity to the plane of the image. The system further allows cross sections of tissue structures embodied in intracardiac echocardiography images to be modeled within a visualization, navigation, or mapping system when automatically segmented to generate shell elements for modifying the modeled tissue structures. | 07-05-2012 |
20120303084 | SECURE AND EFFICACIOUS THERAPY DELIVERY FOR A PACING ENGINE - The above-described methods and apparatus are believed to be of particular benefit for patients suffering heart failure including cardiac dysfunction, chronic HF, and the like and all variants as described herein and including those known to those of skill in the art to which the invention is directed. It will understood that the present invention offers the possibility of monitoring and therapy of a wide variety of acute and chronic cardiac dysfunctions. The current invention provides systems and methods for delivering therapy for cardiac hemodynamic dysfunction via the innervated myocardial substrate receives one or more discrete pulses of electrical stimulation during the refractory period of said innervated myocardial substrate. | 11-29-2012 |
20130172712 | ELECTRICALLY TRANSPARENT INTRODUCER SHEATH - An introducer sheath for a medical device is provided. The sheath includes a deformable, elongate body disposed about a longitudinal axis. The body has proximal and distal ends and defines a lumen extending between the proximal and distal ends and configured to allow passage of the medical device therethrough. The body is configured to allow an electric current to pass radially between a space outside of the body and the lumen such that the position of the medical device within a patient can be monitored and electrogram readings from body tissues can be measured while the device is in the sheath. In some embodiments of the invention, the body may include a one or more apertures extending from the radially outer surface of the body to the lumen or a portion of the body may be made from a conductive and/or fluid permeable material. | 07-04-2013 |
20130274582 | System and Method for Diagnosing Arrhythmias and Directing Catheter Therapies - An efficient system for diagnosing arrhythmias and directing catheter therapies may allow for measuring, classifying, analyzing, and mapping spatial electrophysiological (EP) patterns within a body. The efficient system may further guide arrhythmia therapy and update maps as treatment is delivered. The efficient system may use a medical device having a high density of sensors with a known spatial configuration for collecting EP data and positioning data. Further, the efficient system may also use an electronic control system (ECU) for computing and providing the user with a variety of metrics, derivative metrics, high definition (HD) maps, HD composite maps, and general visual aids for association with a geometrical anatomical model shown on a display device. | 10-17-2013 |
20130310674 | System and method for assessing effective delivery of ablation therapy - A system and method for assessing effective delivery of ablation therapy to a tissue in a body is provided. A three-dimensional anatomical map of the tissue is generated and displayed with the map defining a corresponding volume. An index is generated corresponding to a location within the volume with the index indicative of a state of ablation therapy at the location. The index may be derived from one or more factors such as the duration an ablation electrode is present at the location, the amount of energy provided, the degree of electrical coupling between an ablation electrode and the tissue at the location and temperature. A visual characteristic (e.g., color intensity) of a portion of the anatomical map corresponding to the location is then altered responsive to the index. | 11-21-2013 |
20130338467 | Electrode catheter device with indifferent electrode for direct current tissue therapies - An electrode catheter device with indifferent electrode for direct current tissue therapies is disclosed. An example of the catheter device has a flexible tubing with at least one ablation electrode. The catheter device also may also be used with a sheath for introducing the flexible tubing inside a patient's body. An indifferent electrode on the sheath can provide a ground for a direct current (DC) pulse to deliver electrical energy and create an electrical field adjacent a tissue. Various other embodiments are also disclosed. | 12-19-2013 |
20140128722 | Noise tolerant localization systems and methods - A system and method for tracking catheter electrode locations with the body of a patient during an MRI scan sequence includes mitigation logic configured to identify one or more impedance measurements that were taken during potentially noise-inducing conditions (i.e., magnet gradients, RF pulses), and were thus subject to corruption by noise. The mitigation logic is configured to replace the potentially corrupt impedance measurements with previously-obtained impedance measurements taken from an immediately preceding acquisition cycle (e.g., from a previous time-slice). | 05-08-2014 |
20140275913 | ACTIVE DETECTION OF SENSOR TRANSITION FROM COVERED TO EXPOSED - An introducer may comprise a shaft and a proximal electrode. The shaft may have a proximal end portion and an interior lumen, the interior lumen configured to receive a catheter therethrough. The proximal electrode may be coupled with the proximal end portion and may be configured to act as an electrical source or sink so as to create an electrical field within the interior lumen. A position of an electrode coupled with the catheter may be determined according to the electrical field. | 09-18-2014 |
20140278129 | REGULARIZATION SCHEMES FOR NON-CONTACT MAPPING WITH A MEDICAL DEVICE - An embodiment of a method for solving the inverse problem of electrophysiology and determining a voltage distribution on a surface of a tissue may comprise receiving a plurality of voltages collected by a plurality of electrodes adjacent to the surface, discretizing the problem using a Finite Element Method (FEM) or a Boundary Element Method (BEM), introducing one or more regularization terms to an error minimization formulation, and solving, by a processor, the voltage distribution according to the plurality of voltages and according to the regularization terms. The regularization terms may comprise one or more of a Laplacian smoothness operator, a Tikhonov regularization matrix, a confidence matrix, and a linear operator that interpolates the plurality of electrode voltages to the tissue voltage distribution. | 09-18-2014 |
20150080715 | Intracardiac imaging system utilizing a multipurpose catheter - A three dimensional physiological mapping system utilizing an intracardiac echo catheter capable of being located in six degrees of freedom by a visualization, navigation, or mapping system. An echocardiography image of the intracardiac echo catheter may be projected within a geometric model of the visualization, navigation, or mapping system where the location of the projected image is adjusted in response to user input identifying a structure present in the echocardiography image and the geometric model. | 03-19-2015 |