Patents Assigned to Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
  • Patent number: 5748439
    Abstract: Crosslinked elastomeric electrolytes and compatible separator materials are provided for use in electrical energy storage devices such as aluminum electrolytic capacitors and batteries. The separator material is impregnated with the electrolyte, and as a result, the electrolyte acts to strengthen the separator material, allowing a storage device to be constructed with separator materials of reduced thickness and thereby achieving an improvement in the energy density of the storage device. Methods of making such electrolytes and storage devices are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas Robert MacFarlane, Alice Voelkel
  • Patent number: 5660183
    Abstract: A diagnostic device for providing a prognosis of patient with an implanted cardiac device includes a data bank for storing statistical data relating various symptoms characterizing cardiac problems and associated complications. The device further includes an input device so that a clinician can enter patient specific data including his symptoms. A set of rules stored in a memory are used to provide a diagnosis for the patient based on the statistical data. Preferably the diagnostic device is incorporated in a programmer for a pacemaker or other implantable cardiac device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 26, 1997
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Chih-Ming J. Chiang, Alan D. Bernstein, Victor Parsonnet, Tibor Nappholz
  • Patent number: 5632716
    Abstract: A pacemaker or similar cardiac and cardiomyoplasty muscle stimulator is provided which during a training period of said muscle, defining alternating training and augmentation phases. During training phases training pulses are provided for the muscle until the muscle is capable of performing cardiac assistance for relatively extended time periods. During the augmentation phases, augmentation pulses are applied to the muscle to provide cardiac assistance even with a muscle with no, or limited training.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 27, 1997
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Tuan Bui, Gordon Jacobs, Stuart McConchie, Thomas Fitzgerald, Valerie Chekanov
  • Patent number: 5626622
    Abstract: An electronic pacemaker generating pacing signals includes both a metabolic rate responsive sensor monitoring a physiological parameter and an activity rate responsive sensor monitoring movement of a patient's body during exercise. The measurements from each of the sensors are used to develop a corresponding rate signal and the two signals are combined to generate a dual sensor rate used to determine the timing of the pacing signals. The physiological parameter may be for example minute volume variation while the body movement may be monitored for example by using an accelerometer. The activity rate responsive sensor output is preferably used as an indication of a transition of a level of exercise, when a faster change in the pacing rate is desirable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1997
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Cooper
  • Patent number: 5609610
    Abstract: In an implanted pacemaker three basic pacing intervals are established: an A-V delay, a PVARP and an alert interval. These three intervals together define an atrial-to atrial interval which is preferably a function of a metabolic indicated rate. The PVARP and alert interval are adaptively adjusted to optimize the PVARP for the patient without affecting the atrial-to-atrial interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 11, 1997
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tibor Nappholz
  • Patent number: 5591214
    Abstract: The blanking periods for an implantable cardiac device, such as a pacemaker, is determined by providing an excitation in a cardiac chamber and monitoring the corresponding cardiac activity. For in-channel blanking periods, the response from the same chamber is monitored while for cross-channel blanking period, the other cardiac chamber is monitored. The optimal blanking period is then determined based on the cardiac activity. This period is programmed directly into the device, or transmitted to an external programmer where it is used to provide guidance to a health care professional. The optimal blanking period duration may also be determined using other signals sensed by the programmer, using ECG's or MTE's.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 7, 1997
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard Lu
  • Patent number: 5591215
    Abstract: A cardiac implant device is provided in which the ventricular rate is monitored to differentiate between atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia or other cardiac conditions. For this purpose, the ventricular rate stability is monitored by, for example, measuring the R-R intervals of successive ventricular beats. If the ventricular rate is found to be unstable, the ventricle is paced at a test rate to try to stabilize the ventricle. If the attempt is unsuccessful, atrial fibrillation is assumed and, if necessary, corresponding therapy is applied. If the attempt is unsuccessful, atrial fibrillation is eliminated as a cause of the ventricular rate instability and other types of classifying and treating the cardiac condition may be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 7, 1997
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Saul E. Greenhut, Anthony Murphy
  • Patent number: 5554176
    Abstract: A transvenous cardioversion lead system capable of delivering electrical energy to cardiac tissue is provided. Lead system comprises an inner conductor surrounded by an insulative layer which, in turn, is surrounded by a second conductor mounted coaxially with the inner conductor. At least a portion of the second conductor is surrounded by an outer conductive sheath formed from a suitable material having an non-abrasive affect. This prevents damage to cardiac tissue during normal transvenous operating position while at the same time preventing thrombogenesis on the lead surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: David S. Maddison, Michael Skalsky, Gerhard Gotthardt, Neil Anderson
  • Patent number: 5542430
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method are provided for coupling to a patient's heart for discriminating between tachycardias of physiological origin, and those of pathological origin having similar rates; and also for discriminating amongst those of pathological origin having similar rates. The apparatus includes transducers and/or sensing electrodes in either or both the atrium and/or ventricle. Also included are signal processing elements for determining the times of atrial and ventricular events and for extracting morphological features from the waveforms, and a neural network for classifying the heart rhythm. The method includes a step of discriminating between different types of heart rhythms having overlapping rates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Farrugia, Hansen Yee, Peter Nickolls
  • Patent number: 5500004
    Abstract: A pacemaker system for a heart having an external muscle is used to control pacing of the heart during normal or even arrhythmic modes. In these modes, the muscle is stimulated synchronously with the heart to augment the heart's cardiac functions. When the heart undergoes ventricular fibrillation, the muscle is provided with a signal to cause the muscle to contract and expel blood from the heart chambers. Defibrillation shock is then applied to the heart to halt the fibrillation. The system is rendered more effective, safer and uses less power because the defibrillating energy is efficiently transferred to the heart muscles and not to the blood contained in its chambers. The system includes a microprocessor, muscle stimulating circuitry, defibrillation circuitry and an interface for exchanging signals between the microprocessor and the remaining components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Megeurditch N. Ansourian, Peter M. Nickolls
  • Patent number: 5496350
    Abstract: A pacemaker for automatically confirming the presence of, and terminating, pacemaker mediated tachycardia (PMT). A number of V-pace to A-sense intervals are measured. If the measured intervals are consistent, it is possible that there is retrograde conduction giving rise to PMT. To confirm that the A-senses were not due to noise, atrial premature beats, etc., several ventricular pacing pulses are generated in a manner that eliminates the possibility of atrial beats being due to retrograde conduction; a series of simultaneous atrial and ventricular pacing pulses are generated. If A-senses consistent with the previously measured intervals are not sensed, retrograde conduction is confirmed. The PMT should have been terminated by the simultaneous atrial and ventricular pacing, but in any event the PVARP may be lengthened to exceed the longest measured V-pace to A-sense interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard Lu
  • Patent number: 5492128
    Abstract: An implantable cardioverter/defibrillator device having an improved sensing system for automatically and rapidly adjusting to changing amplitudes of intracardiac electrogram "ICEG" signals during transitions between normal sinus rhythm and ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation of a patient's heart is disclosed. ICEG signals are sensed, amplified and filtered to remove high frequency and low frequency noise and artifacts therefrom. Crossings of positive and negative threshold levels by the filtered signals are detected and corresponding positive and negative output signals representative thereof are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: John Wickham
  • Patent number: 5488410
    Abstract: A system for allowing software publishers to control which video standard(s) can be recovered from an optical disk containing video source material. The disk may be digitally encoded so that any of NTSC, PAL and other video signal standards can be generated upon proper decoding. But the disk also includes a code which can lock out one or more standards. Players for such disks may be capable of generating video signals according to all popular standards, in which case the user selects a desired standard. However, the player will generate a video signal of the selected standard only if there is an appropriate authorization code on the disk. The system allows manufacture of "universal" players without necessarily impacting the contractual and marketing plans of motion picture companies, for example, which release films in different territories at different times. The control technique can be extended to lock out specific territories. Each player has a built-in territory code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 30, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Warren N. Lieberfarb, Christopher J. Cookson, Lewis S. Ostrover
  • Patent number: 5487753
    Abstract: A rate responsive pacemaker measures a metabolic demand parameter of a patient. The metabolic demand parameter is converted to a corresponding metabolic indicated rate which determines the pulse rate of the pacer. The converting is based on a profile dependent on the predicted anaerobic threshold level of the patient, as well as his or her age and physical fitness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 30, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Dean J. MacCarter, Don Hopper, Daniel Cooper, Roger Hassell
  • Patent number: 5480413
    Abstract: A pacemaker is provided in which ventricular rate instability is detected and automatically corrected by gradually increasing the ventricular pacing rate. Once the ventricle is stabilized, its pacing rate is gradually decreased as much as possible without losing ventricular stability. Ventricular instability can be a result of an atrial tachyrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. Therefore, if the pacemaker is a dual chamber pacemaker, its operation is switched to a single chamber pacing mode thereby decoupling the ventricular pacing signals from the atrial pacing signals and atrial triggered ventricular pacing is inhibited until the atrial fibrillation terminates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Saul Greenhut, Bruce Steinhaus, Albert Dawson, Tibor Nappholz
  • Patent number: 5476486
    Abstract: A clinical programming system is disclosed for use with an implanted cardiac pacemaker to automatically determine the minimum pacing energy which is necessary to evoke an atrial depolarization. The system utilizes a series of pacing pulses of progressively decreasing energies to stimulate the atrium and detects following R-waves. The absence of an R-wave indicates the loss of atrial capture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 19, 1995
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard M. T. Lu, Bruce M. Steinhaus, Peter A. Crosby
  • Patent number: 5476482
    Abstract: A method for automatically determining the existence of retrograde conduction in a pacemaker patient. At a selected ventricular pacing rate, A-senses are detected, and V-pace to A-sense intervals are measured. If the measured intervals are consistent, it is possible that there is retrograde conduction. To confirm that the A-senses were not due to noise, atrial premature beats, etc., subsequent ventricular pacing pulses are generated in a manner that eliminates the possibility of atrial beats being due to retrograde conduction; a series of simultaneous atrial and ventricular pacing pulses are generated. If A-senses consistent with the previously measured intervals are not sensed, retrograde conduction is confirmed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 19, 1995
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard Lu
  • Patent number: 5458623
    Abstract: A clinical programming system for use with an implanted cardiac pacemaker to automatically determine the minimum pacing energy which is necessary to evoke an atrial depolarization. The system utilizes a series of pacing pulses of progressively decreasing energies to stimulate the atrium, and detects an evoked response during the AV delay interval that follows each pulse. Initial P-wave intervals are subjected to morphological analysis to generate a P-wave template. Subsequent intervals are similarly analyzed and the results compared with the template. The absence of similarity with the template indicates the loss of atrial capture and that the minimum pacing energy has been reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1995
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard M. T. Lu, Bruce M. Steinhaus, Peter A. Crosby
  • Patent number: 5441523
    Abstract: A dual chamber cardiac pacemaker is adapted to operate in a forced synchrony pacing mode. The pacemaker senses atrial heartbeats and determines whether the rate of sensed atrial heartbeats is pathological or physiological. For physiological atrial heartbeat rates, the pacemaker functions in an AV synchronous pacing mode. For pathological atrial rates, atrial heartbeats occur too frequently for safe AV synchronous pacing so the heart is paced in the forced synchrony mode. In the forced synchrony mode, the pacemaker, upon sensing a natural atrial heartbeat, waits a predetermined atrial protection interval, paces the atria with an atrial stimulation pulse, waits a physiologically appropriate AV delay interval, and then delivers a ventricular pacing pulse at a time which maintains a stable ventricular rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 15, 1995
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tibor A. Nappholz
  • Patent number: 5431692
    Abstract: A cardiac stimulation device includes a system for testing lead polarity and determining whether the programmed polarity configuration is compatible with an attached pacing and sensing lead. The lead polarity test is based on a measurement of lead impedance performed during the delivery of a pacing pulse. Since the polarity test consists of lead impedance measurements for all polarity configurations, including incompatible configurations, the system provides for backup pacing pulses in a safe configuration to assure pacing support of a patient during all cardiac cycles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1995
    Assignee: Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel L. Hansen, Anthony J. Ujhazy