Abstract: The disclosure relates to a device and a method for detecting electromagnetic fields, in particular fields occurring in imaging magnetic resonance tomography.

Abstract: A medical implant includes a hermetically sealed hollow housing having a hermetically sealed feedthrough suitable for conducting electrical signals to and from the hollow housing without impairing the hermetic seal thereof. The hollow housing includes a circuit suitable for measuring signals from the human body, sending signals to the human body, and transmitting signals to a receiver located outside the body. The implant also includes a connection housing having an insulating connection body, an externally accessible cavity for connecting an implantable electrode line, an insulating substrate having at least one electrically conductive strip conductor structure, and contacts that are securely electrically connected to a strip conductor structure present in or on the substrate material. The substrate may be embedded in the connection body in such a way that the contacts are present in the externally accessible cavity.

Abstract: A swallowing stimulation system has a swallowing stimulator for use in triggering an act of swallowing in a patient. The swallowing system has an operating unit including operating elements for receiving user inputs, whereby the operating elements are allocated to different possible physical properties of a food, such that a user can allocate a particular food by means of the operating elements to at least one of at least two categories. The operating unit is designed to generate a control signal corresponding to a user input for the swallowing stimulator, and the swallowing stimulator is designed so that a stimulus for triggering an act of swallowing is formed in response to the control signal.

Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to a method, a device, and a computer-readable storage medium for detecting heart beats from cardiac signals whose quality, expressed in terms of signal amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio, varies dynamically in time. Hence, a method, a device, and a computer-readable storage medium for detecting electrical signals originating from a human or animal heart is proposed. The method includes the following steps: a) identifying an initial indication of the event in at least one of the signal channels, b) deciding whether or not the identified initial indication confirms the event depending on the quality of the signal channels in which initial indications are identified; and c) determining a point-of-detection for the event depending on the quality of the signal channels and depending from the shape of the signal.

Abstract: An implantable medical device having a transceiver for transmitting/receiving wirelessly transmitted data, which is turned off or switched into an energy-saving rest state between individual data transmissions via the transceiver and having a waking unit which is implemented to switch the transceiver by a waking signal from its turned-off state or its rest state into its fully operational state, the waking unit having a low-power receiver and a waking control unit of which the low-power receiver is implemented to monitor multiple predefined frequency ranges in such a way that in case of a transmission of sufficient signal strength in one of the frequency ranges, it generates an output signal and outputs it to the waking control unit and of which the waking control unit is implemented to analyze output signals of the low-power receiver and output a waking signal to the transceiver which switches it on or to fully operational.

Abstract: A biventricular cardiac stimulator is disclosed, comprising a right ventricular stimulation unit, a left ventricular stimulation unit, and a pacemaker timer. In order to detect the effect of a particular atrioventricular delay time (AVD) and a particular interventricular delay time (VVD), the cardiac stimulator has a detector for sensing a hemodynamic benefit. To optimize AVD and VVD, the pacemaker timer is connected to a memory for a particular instantaneous value for the atrioventricular delay time (AVDinst) and the interventricular delay time (VVDinst), and may be used to trigger at certain points in time at least one right ventricular trigger signal and one left ventricular trigger signal, based on new values for the atrioventricular delay time (AVDtest) and the interventricular delay time (VVDtest) which differ from the instantaneous values for the atrioventricular delay time (AVDinst) and the interventricular delay time (VVDinst).

Abstract: A physiological measurement instrument is disclosed, having a detector, implemented as one or more sensors, for measuring values of one or more physiological measured parameters associated with a body of a human or animal subject, and for detecting values of a physical parameter that indicates an operating position of the measurement instrument relative to the body, and an operating-position-determining unit that receives and analyzes output signals from the detector, to determine the operating position of the measurement instrument.

Abstract: An extracorporeal physiological measurement device is disclosed, having fastening means for attaching to the body of a person or animal, measurement means for detection of values of a physiological measured variable on the body, and movement-detecting means and measured-value-influencing means connected thereto at the input for influencing the detected measured values before processing or storage as a function of a position or movement status of the body or the measurement device detected by the detection means such that the measured-value-influencing means have a unit for detection of a shift in position between the measurement device and the body.

Abstract: A method for producing a ceramic substrate material having a first layer and possibly a further layer is specified. The first layer comprises at least one first component made of a crystalline ceramic material and/or a glass material as a matrix and a second component made of a further crystalline ceramic material, which is provided in the matrix. An etching step is performed, mantle areas of the crystals and/or crystal agglomerates of the second component being etched selectively in the first layer to generate a cavity structure in the first layer. The present invention also relates to a corresponding ceramic substrate material, an antenna or an antenna array, and the use of the ceramic substrate material for an antenna or an antenna array.

Abstract: An implantable cardiac device includes a housing (2), pulse generator (7) therein to generate physiologically effective electrical pulses, a shock lead (3), externally of the housing (2), connectable to the pulse generator (7) and implantable into a patient's body to apply physiologically effective electrical pulses to the patient's body, a monitor (8) to automatically detect a lead condition as to whether the shock lead (3) is implanted or not, and control (9), which due to the detected lead condition automatically enables or disables the pulse generator (7).

Abstract: An implantable medical device (IMD) is provided which is capable of sensing and determining its orientation, and of determining whether the IMD has been displaced over time away from its original or optimal position. Electronic components of the IMD, including a processor, digital memory, signal conditioning components, and a power supply, are preferably hermetically sealed within a biocompatible housing. At least three subcutaneous electrodes have fixed relative spacing for sensing electrical cardiac activity for various combinations of two electrodes, forming sensing vectors. Amplitude ratios and sign indicators associated with the sensing vectors are compared with a reference to determine an orientation of the device. In one embodiment, a telemetry unit transmits orientation data as a function of time to a remote device, and the remote device compares different stored orientations to detect displacement over time.

Abstract: A biventricular cardiac stimulator has a right-ventricular sensing unit, having or connected to a terminal for a right-ventricular sensing electrode, a left-ventricular sensing unit, having or connected to a terminal for a left-ventricular sensing electrode, and a pacemaker timer, which is connected to the right-ventricular sensing unit and the left-ventricular sensing unit.

Abstract: Housing for medical implant, such as cardiac pacemaker, defibrillator, cardioverter, etc. Housing including hollow housing and terminal body attached to hollow housing, which has electrical terminal(s), situated in an externally accessible cavity of the terminal body, for connecting an electrode line, and terminal body including a base body made of electrically insulating plastic, connected to hollow housing and carries electrical supply lines and electrical contacts, which are electrically connected thereto, for the electrical terminal so that the contacts are connected via the electrical supply lines to electrical components in the interior of the hollow housing, electrical supply lines being welded to the electrical contacts and the electrical supply lines and electrical contacts, which are welded to one another, being embedded in the base body and thus fixed in their final position, and the base body being glued to the hollow housing using an adhesive between hollow housing and terminal body.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for detecting sleep apnea by analyzing characteristic physiological oscillations of the heart rate variability (HRV). Starting from recorded ECG data of the patient, for example, as a long-term sequence of the changing RR intervals, the heart rate variability is examined using autocorrelation calculations for the occurrence of rhythmic oscillations of various frequencies. If oscillations typical for apnea occur having very long period durations in the range of 20 to 80 seconds, these are detected as a maximum of the autocorrelation function. If a pathological sleep apnea accordingly exists, individual apnea events may be identified by prompt analysis of short recorded RR sequences, e.g., in the minute interval.

Abstract: The invention relates to a configuration and a method for the management of data of a plurality of programmable personal medical devices. The configuration comprises a first plurality of personal devices, a second plurality of patient devices each calibrated to at least one personal device, a third plurality of programming devices each calibrated to at least one personal device, a central management unit, a service center, and a management database. The patient devices and/or the programming devices are controlled using management data, upon establishment of the existence of a communication between the management unit and the patient device and/or a programming device, on the basis of this establishment and on the basis of stored management data, specific management data being transmitted to the patient device and/or programming device.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an electrode catheter for defibrillation, mapping or ablation of cardiac tissue. Said catheter comprises a terminal (40) on the proximal end of the electrode catheter and one or more sensing and/or treatment electrodes (14, 16) that are situated on or in the vicinity of the distal end of the electrode catheter, in addition to at least one electric conductor (44, 62), which is used to electrically connect a respective sensing or treatment electrode to the terminal. The electric conductor (44, 62) is composed of carbon and the electrode catheter is configured to be suitable for us as part of magnetic resonance tomography and for connection to electrophysiotherapy equipment. Said catheter comprises at least one defibrillation electrode, or at least one sensing electrode (14, 16) for the recording and evaluation of cardiac tissue potentials, or at least one treatment electrode (14) for delivering high-frequency currents for ablation purposes.

Abstract: A medical device having a sensor for sampling a biological signal, the biological signal representing a signal waveform and forming a waveform vector composed of the biological signal samples, and a memory for storing a least two threshold vectors composed of boundary samples representing at least two boundaries related to the biological signal defining subspaces for the biological signal samples. One threshold vector is an upper threshold vector composed of upper boundary samples and the other threshold vector is a lower threshold vector composed of lower boundary samples. An evaluation unit connected to the sensor determines a similarity index (ASCI) by comparing each of the biological signal samples of the waveform vector to corresponding boundary samples of the threshold vectors, thus determining to which subspace each biological signal sample belongs to and creating a trichotomized signal vector, and calculating the signed correlation product of two trichotomized signal vectors.

Abstract: A system (10) for managing data transmission for a medical device (20) has several data transmission protocols (15, 15?, 15?), each having a differentiating designation (30). Each of several medical devices (20) have an identification (45) which identifies the medical device (20), and a data transmission interface (35) for data transmission from and to the medical device (20). A management unit (25) has a query unit (45) for the designation (30) of the data transmission protocol (15, 15?, 15?) of a medical device (20) on the basis of its identification (30), and a storage unit (50) for storing data transmission protocols (15, 15?, 15?). The management unit (25) provides, on the basis of the designation query of an external device (55), a data transmission protocol (15, 15?, 15?) from the storage unit (50) which is compatible with the data transmission protocol (15, 15?, 15?) of the medical device (20).

Abstract: A method for detecting the myocardial state of a heart with a measuring apparatus which includes inserting a bipolar cardiological measuring electrode (4) into a heart division (8) at an acute attachment angle (9) on the myocardium (6) of less than 90°, measuring a cardiological stimulation signal such as an IEGM in sequential cardiac cycles, and in addition, determining the positive and negative maximum amplitudes Vp and Vn of the IEGM, ascertaining an asymmetry factor ? of the stimulation signal (IEGM) of sequential cardiac cycles according to the equation ?=(Vp?|Vn|)/(Vp+|Vn|) and storing the asymmetry factor ? of sequential cardiac cycles for analysis.

Abstract: Heart monitoring system includes implantable medical device and service center.