Abstract: There is provided an implantable device system such as a battery-powered pacemaker system, with an improved capability of measuring battery internal impedance, thereby providing the means to determine anticipated device End of Life. Within one pacemaker cycle following a sensed beat or a delivered stimulus, and before delivery of a next stimulus, three battery measurements are taken at equally spaced time intervals. Due to the RC nature of the battery internal impedance, the first two battery voltage measurements can be used to calculate what the voltage would be at the third time, assuming no change in current load. At the third time, a predetermined incremental current load is added, and the battery voltage at the time of the added current load is measured. The voltage differential between the calculated battery voltage and the measured battery voltage at the third time, together with the predetermined incremental current load, is used to calculate the battery impedance.

Abstract: An implantable pacemaker system is provided with a conditional hysteresis feature, whereby a hysteresis value is added to the pacing escape interval only when the prior spontaneous rate corresponded to a rate below the top of a predetermined hysteresis band. This feature limits the lengthening of the escape interval when there are sudden drops in the natural rate thereby avoiding excessive changes in rate. In a preferred embodiment, the pacemaker defines a hysteresis band around a given pacing rate, e.g., lower rate limit, the band having an upper hysteresis limit and a lower hysteresis limit. No hysteresis lengthening of the escape interval is utilized for spontaneous heartbeats having rates above the upper hysteresis limit; for spontaneous heartbeats having rates between the lower rate limit and the upper hysteresis limit, an escape interval is set to have a value corresponding to a rate between the pacing limit and the lower rate limit of the hysteresis band which is, e.g.