Abstract: An electrical therapy device has a blocking triggering unit and a re-use blocking unit. The re-use blocking unit prevents the functions of the electrical therapy device during implantation in dependence on the condition of the blocking triggering unit. The blocking triggering unit is triggered either upon implantation or explantation of the electrical therapy device. In some aspects, an electrical therapy device has a blocking triggering unit and a re-use blocking unit, wherein the re-use blocking unit prevents the functions of the electrical therapy device in dependence on the condition of the blocking triggering unit. The blocking triggering unit is triggered upon explantation of the electrical therapy device.

Abstract: A medical therapy system has logic and/or signal processing stages between sensors on the input side and therapy applicators on the output side. A signal parameter is determined from the input signals using the logic/processing stages, and/or an indicator signal is determined from the input signals using a logic/processing module consisting of several logic/processing stages. The indicator signal is a measure of the probability of a future event requiring therapy, or a measure of the success of the therapy.

Abstract: A stimulation arrangement having a stimulation unit for the delivery of electrical pulses for the stimulation of body tissue and an evaluation unit which receives electrical signals in conjunction with the delivery of a stimulation pulse and evaluates same for checking a stimulation success, wherein the evaluation unit detects in the received signal such signal features which characterize a lack of stimulation success and delivers a corresponding signal.

Abstract: An electrode line, in particular for an implantable electrostimulation device, which is adapted for insertion into body vessels such as heart chambers or blood vessels, comprising electrodes for the stimulation of body tissue, a longitudinal axis and a distal end, wherein there is provided at least one structural element (2) in the region of the distal end, which has an electrostrictive polymer and which can be connected to a voltage source by way of at least one electrical feed line (3) and which is adapted to change its shape when an electrical voltage is applied.

Abstract: A dual-chamber cardiac pacemaker comprising an atrial detection unit which is adapted to detect electrical signals in the atrium of a heart as atrial sense events, a ventricular detection unit which is adapted to detect electrical signals of a ventricle of the heart as ventricular sense events, a stimulation unit which is adapted at least to trigger the delivery of electrical pulses to the ventricle as ventricular stimulation events, and a control unit which is connected to the atrial and the ventricular detection units and the stimulation unit and adapted to control triggering of the delivery of pulses in dependence on the atrial detection unit and the ventricular detection unit in such a way that pulse delivery to the ventricle is triggered after the expiry of an AV time after detection of an atrial sense or stimulation event if prior to expiry of the AV time no ventricular sense event is detected by the ventricular detection unit, wherein the control unit is further adapted to divide ventricular sense even

Abstract: Apparatus for treating fibrillation of at least one chamber of a heart comprising a fibrillation detector for detecting a fibrillation, a defibrillator for defibrillating the chamber of the heart, wherein the defibrillator is connected to the fibrillation detector and is adapted to effect defibrillation subsequently to a time interval after detection of the fibrillation, a warning device which is connected to the fibrillation detector and which is adapted to delivery a warning signal when a fibrillation has been detected, and a control circuit having a control input actuable by a patient, wherein the control circuit is connected to the defibrillator and is adapted to delay the time of a defibrillation if the control circuit receives a corresponding signal by way of the control input, wherein the apparatus includes a condition detector which is adapted to detect a hemodynamic condition of the heart, and the control circuit is connected to the condition detector and is adapted to prevent a delay in the time of

Abstract: A stimulation apparatus, in particular for a human heart, has a stimulation unit, a signal detector and a control unit. The stimulation unit is adapted to deliver a stimulation pulse having a pulse duration, a pulse strength and a stimulation intensity. The signal detector is adapted to detect stimulation success on the basis of a picked-up signal. The control unit is connected to the stimulation unit and to the signal detector. It is designed such that the stimulation intensity varies depending upon the picked-up signal. A time-determining unit is provided that is at least indirectly connected to the control unit and with which a time difference between the delivery of a stimulation pulse and the pick-up of the picked-up signal or a signal feature of the picked-up signal can be detected.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for data transmission between an electromedical implant having a first transmitter/receiver unit, such as a cardiological implant, and an associated external apparatus having a second transmitter/receiver unit. Data transmission begins with a triggering signal which is sent by the first transmitter/receiver unit in normal operation in predeterminable first intervals. Reception readiness of the first transmitter/receiver unit is maintained after emission of the triggering signal for a second time interval which is shorter than the first time interval.

Abstract: An implant for insertion in a portion of the human or animal blood circulation, in particular a stent, has a main body (2), at least a first material which is connected to the main body (2) and which includes at least one cell proliferation-inhibiting first substance, and a second material which decomposes in the implanted condition and which is of such an arrangement and nature that in a first condition prior to the commencement of its decomposition it prevents contact between the first substance and the surroundings of the main body (2) and in a second condition after the commencement of its decomposition it permits contact between the first substance and the surroundings of the main body (2) wherein the second material is further such that the second condition is achieved only after a first time interval which is sufficient for the formation of a body tissue coating (7) which encloses at least a portion of the surface of the main body (2).

Abstract: In a cardiac pacemaker arrangement comprising an electrode arranged floatingly in the atrium, a circuit for perceiving atrial signals, and a circuit for stimulating the atrial myocardium by means of the electrode, the invention proposes that in addition there is provided a wall-located electrode, and stimulation is effected by means of the wall-located electrode if the circuit, upon perceiving atrial signals, does not detect high-frequency irregularities—such as auricular fibrillation or atrial tachycardias—as on the basis of inadmissibly high signal frequencies—, and stimulation is effected by means of the floating electrode if the circuit, upon perceiving atrial signals, detects irregularities of that kind. This permits early detection and termination of atrial tachycardias and auricular fibrillation.

Abstract: A stent has a surface with an irregular coating formed on that surface. The irregular coating provides coating islands, especially coating islands that are substantially round. In some embodiments, the coating islands are arranged at a greater spacing in regions involving a greater degree of local stretching of the stent surface upon stretching of the stent than in regions involving a lesser degree of local stretching of the stent surface. In other embodiments, the coating islands are smaller in regions involving a greater degree of local stretching of the stent surface upon stretching of the stent than in regions involving a lesser degree of local stretching of the stent surface.

Abstract: An electromedical implant comprising a telemetry device for the exchange of data with an external apparatus is provided. The telemetry device comprising a transmitting device and a receiving device, wherein a separate energy storage means is provided for each of the transmitting device and the receiving device. A method of using an electromedical implant comprising a telemetry device for the exchange of data is also provided.

Abstract: A stent, in particular a coronary stent, for expansion from a first condition into an expanded second condition in which it holds a vessel in an expanded state, comprising a tubular body whose peripheral surface (1) is formed by a number of annular support portions (2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) comprising bar elements (3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3) which are connected in the longitudinal direction of the stent by way of connecting bars (4, 4.1, 4.2), wherein the bar elements (3.1) of at least a first support portion (2.1) and a second support portion (2.2) in adjacent relationship in a first direction (6.1) extend in a meander configuration in the peripheral direction of the stent and the connecting bars (4, 4.1, 4.2) to the second support portion (2.2) engage in the region of the turning points (5, 5.2, 5.3) of the first support portion (2.1), which turning points face in the first direction (6.1), wherein at least two adjacent connecting bars (4.1, 4.2) engage respectively in the region of a turning point (5.

Abstract: A polymer material, in particular for a medical instrument such as a balloon catheter, is provided. The polymer material comprising a combination at least of a first constituent comprising a partly crystalline polymer and a second constituent for increasing the flexibility of the material, wherein the polymer material is in the form of a polymer alloy, and wherein the first constituent is formed of a polyamide or a polyether block amide and the second constituent is formed at least partly by a thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S). A process for producing the polymer material and a medical device incorporating the polymer material are also provided.

Abstract: The invention concerns an electrode line (12) for an implantable intravascular electrostimulation device (10), wherein the electrode line (12) is electrically conductively connected with its proximal end (16) to the electrostimulation device (10) and with its distal end (18) to one or more functional elements. It is distinguished in that the electrode line (12) comprises an intrinsically conductive polymer in which the individual polymer chains of the polymer are so oriented that there is a high electrical conductivity in the axial direction of the electrode line (12) but not in the radial direction (electrical anisotropy).

Abstract: The invention concerns methods of coating stents and stents produced in accordance therewith. The object of the invention is to provide methods of coating stents with a polysaccharide layer which has improved adhesion capacity on the substrate surface of the implant, and to afford correspondingly functionalized stents. That is achieved inter alia by covalent bonding of a non-crosslinked hyaluronic acid to a substrate surface of the stent with the formation of hyaluronic acid layer and crosslinking of the hyaluronic acid layer.

Abstract: An evaluation method that includes: recording the values of a physiological signal during a certain measuring period; dividing the obtained time series of signal values into individual segments; mapping successive subsets of the individual signal values in a segment on associated symbol series according to the criterion of whether a respective signal value increases or decreases as compared to the preceding signal value; determining the frequencies of the varying symbol series; determining a testing parameter which reflects the frequency ratio, within a segment, of correlated symbol series to anti-correlated symbol series; determining the relative difference of the testing parameters of two adjacent segments; and comparing the relative difference of two testing parameters with a given threshold as a criterion for the stationarity of the time series of the recorded physiological signal.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method and a device for crimping a stent onto a balloon of a balloon catheter. The stent is arranged on the balloon so that an outside surface of the balloon and an inside surface of the stent contact each other to form a combination of balloon and stent. The combination is compressed to crimp the stent onto the balloon. The invention is distinguished in that the combination is compressed to varying degrees along the longitudinal axis of the combination.

Abstract: An arrangement for treating rhythm disturbances of a heart (H), especially tachycardia and fibrillation, has a device (FD) for detecting the heart rhythm and determining when a fibrillation threshold limit is exceeded and a therapy device or stimulator (IG). The therapy device (IG) is connected to the heart rhythm detecting device (FD), to begin to treat the fibrillation when the fibrillation threshold limit is exceeded. The heart rhythm detecting device determines whether a redetection threshold limit is still exceeded after the therapy device has treated the fibrillation, the redetection threshold limit being lower than the fibrillation threshold limit and higher than a tachycardia threshold limit. The therapy device continues to treat the fibrillation as long as the heart rhythm detector determines that the redection threshold limit is exceeded.

Abstract: An arrangement for determining the heart rate (fRR) or the refractory time of the cardiac tissue, particularly for detecting tachycardia or fibrillation, has an electrode (E) for sensing heart action signals (SIG), an input stage, connected to the electrode, for processing the heart action signals, a refractory member for ascertaining a refractory time value of the arrangement, in each case after a predetermined segment of a heart action signal, and a processing device, connected to the output of the input stage or of the refractory member, for determining the rate of the heart action signals, processed with blanking of the component that occurs during the refractory time, or for determining the refractory time value of the cardiac tissue.