Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090082682 | Methods and apparatus for detecting cardiac events based on heart rate sensitive parameters - A system for the detection of cardiac events occurring in a human patient is provided. At least two electrodes are included in the system for obtaining an electrical signal from a patient's heart. An electrical signal processor is electrically coupled to the electrodes for processing the electrical signal and applying tests to determine whether a cardiac event has occurred. When the processor detects some types of changes in heart rate, event detection is altered or suspended for a period of time. | 03-26-2009 |
20090105807 | Stent having a multiplicity of undulating longitudinals - A method for implanting a balloon expandable stent at a site within a passageway of a curved coronary article. The stent includes at least two longitudinally spaced apart circumferential rings. At least one longitudinally extending connector extends between adjacent rings. The connector has at least one turn back portion that can expand or contract in length while being passed through a curved passageway. The stent is disposed on a stent delivery catheter having an inflatable balloon. The stent delivery catheter and the stent is delivered through the passageway to the site of implementation with the connector member expanding or contracting in length to facilitate delivery and placement of the stent. The stent is expanded at the site of implantation by inflating the balloon to force the stent radially outward against the wall of the coronary artery. | 04-23-2009 |
20090171228 | BASELINE PROCESSING FOR THE DETECTION OF CARDIAC EVENTS - A system for the detection of cardiac events occurring in a human patient is provided. At least two electrodes are included in the system for obtaining an electrical signal from a patient's heart. An electrical signal processor is electrically coupled to the electrodes for processing the electrical signal and a patient alarm means is further provided and electrically coupled to the electrical signal processor. The electrical signal is acquired in the form of electrogram segments, which are categorized according to heart rate, ST segment shift and type heart rhythm (normal or abnormal). Baseline electrogram segments are tracked over time. | 07-02-2009 |
20090192397 | Cardiac event detection over varying time scale - Disclosed is a “tracker system” that includes implanted electrical leads which are part of an implanted cardiotracker plus external equipment that includes external alarm means and a physician's programmer. The tracker system is designed to monitor the degradation of a patient's cardiovascular condition from one or more causes. These causes include the rejection of a transplanted heart and/or the progression of a stenosis in a coronary artery. As one or more stenoses in a coronary artery become progressively more narrow thereby causing reduced blood flow to the heart muscle coronary circulation, the tracker system can alert the patient by either or both internal and/or external alarm means to take the appropriate medical action. The physician's programmer can be used to display histograms of key heart signal parameters that are indicative of the patient's cardiovascular condition. | 07-30-2009 |
20090216141 | Cardiac event detection over varying time scale - Disclosed is a “tracker system” that includes implanted electrical leads which are part of an implanted cardiotracker plus external equipment that includes external alarm means and a physician's programmer. The tracker system is designed to monitor the degradation of a patient's cardiovascular condition from one or more causes. These causes include the rejection of a transplanted heart and/or the progression of a stenosis in a coronary artery. As one or more stenoses in a coronary artery become progressively more narrow thereby causing reduced blood flow to the heart muscle coronary circulation, the tracker system can alert the patient by either or both internal and/or external alarm means to take the appropriate medical action. The physician's programmer can be used to display histograms of key heart signal parameters that are indicative of the patient's cardiovascular condition. | 08-27-2009 |
20090240156 | HIEARCHICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR A CHRONICALLY IMPLANTED MEDICAL DEVICE - A system for providing alerts with regard to a patient's heart. An implanted medical device includes a sensor as well as a processor configured to detect a cardiac event. An internal alarm is configured for producing an alarm signal. An internal transceiver acting in cooperation with an external transceiver within an external device is provided. The processor is configured to determine whether the external and internal transceivers are able to communicate with each other and send a command to the internal alarm if there is no communication. | 09-24-2009 |
20090318747 | Low Frequency Neurostimulator for the Treatment of Neurological Disorders - A system for treating neurological conditions by low-frequency time varying electrical stimulation includes an electrical device for applying such low-frequency energy, in a range below approximately 10 Hz, to the patient's brain tissue. An implantable embodiment applies direct electrical stimulation to electrodes implanted in or on the patient's brain, while a non-invasive embodiment causes a magnetic field to induce electrical currents in the patient's brain. | 12-24-2009 |
20090326610 | Systems and methods for interacting with an implantable medical device - An interactive implantable medical device system includes an implantable medical device and a network-enabled external device capable of bi-directional communication and interaction with the implantable medical device. The external device is programmed to interact with other similarly-enabled devices. The system facilitates improved patient care by eliminating unnecessary geographic limitations on implantable medical device interrogation and programming, and by allowing patients, physicians, and other users to access medical records, history, and information and to receive status and care-related alerts and messages anywhere there is access to a communications network. | 12-31-2009 |
20100087745 | Baseline processing for a cardiac event detection system - A system for the detection of cardiac events occurring in a human patient is provided. At least two electrodes are included in the system for obtaining an electrical signal from a patient's heart. An electrical signal processor is electrically coupled to the electrodes for processing the electrical signal and a patient alarm means is further provided and electrically coupled to the electrical signal processor. The electrical signal is acquired in the form of electrogram segments, which are categorized according to heart rate, ST segment shift and type heart rhythm (normal or abnormal). Baseline electrogram segments are tracked over time. | 04-08-2010 |
20100092942 | Method and apparatus for detection of biological organisms using Raman scattering - A system for the detection of compounds, including a target biological organism or component from a sample, using one or more reactant that will bind to the biological organism or compound forming a Raman active product, concentrating the Raman active product, and detecting the Raman active product using Raman light scattering. | 04-15-2010 |
20100222688 | Means and method for the detection of cardiac events - Disclosed is a system for the detection of cardiac events that includes an implanted device called a cardiosaver, a physician's programmer and an external alarm system. The system is designed to provide early detection of cardiac events such as acute myocardial infarction or exercise induced myocardial ischemia caused by an increased heart rate or exertion. The system can also alert the patient with a less urgent alarm if a heart arrhythmia is detected. Using different algorithms, the cardiosaver can detect a change in the patient's electrogram that is indicative of a cardiac event within five minutes after it occurs and then automatically warn the patient that the event is occurring. To provide this warning, the system includes an internal alarm sub-system (internal alarm means) within the cardiosaver and/or an external alarm system (external alarm means) which are activated after the ST segment of the electrogram exceeds a preset threshold. | 09-02-2010 |
20110054264 | Systems and methods of alarm validation and backup in implanted medical devices - Alarm tests are disclosed which use alarm test signals to assess alarms provided by medical devices. Especially relevant are implanted devices that monitor cardiac activity and provide notification in response to medically relevant events. Alarm tests can occur periodically, or in response to a patient, doctor, or remote party initiating the alarm test. Alarm tests can also occur during the actual alarms issued to detected medical events. Alarm tests lead to pass or fail results, which in turn may cause operations to contingently occur. Alarm test failure in the auditory, visual, or tactile modality, may cause an alternatively defined alarm signal to be used as back-up. Alarm test logs can store alarm test results, including quantification of the measured alarm signal. Rapid alarm tests are described, as are various methods of accurately measuring characteristics of the test signal in ambulatory patients, which are especially relevant to a vibration alarm. | 03-03-2011 |
20110054334 | Alarm testing and backup for implanted medical devices with vibration alerts - Alarm tests are disclosed which use alarm test signals to assess alarms provided by medical devices. Especially relevant are implanted devices that monitor cardiac activity and provide notification in response to medically relevant events. Alarm tests can occur periodically, or in response to a patient, doctor, or remote party initiating the alarm test. Alarm tests can also occur during the actual alarms issued to detected medical events. Alarm tests lead to pass or fail results, which in turn may cause operations to contingently occur. Alarm test failure in the auditory, visual, or tactile modality, may cause an alternatively defined alarm signal to be used as back-up. Alarm test logs can store alarm test results, including quantification of the measured alarm signal. Rapid alarm tests are described, as are various methods of accurately measuring characteristics of the test signal in ambulatory patients, which are especially relevant to a vibration alarm. | 03-03-2011 |
20110093059 | HYBRID STENT WITH HELICAL CONNECTORS - The present invention is a hybrid stent design using half-slot circumferential sets of strut members with short (<1.5 mm) slot length that has minimal fish scaling and excellent stent retention and flexibility. These half-slot circumferential sets of strut members are connected one to the other with helical connectors similar to those of the Palmaz stent. One important difference in the design of the stent of the present invention is that the helical connectors are attached to every other crown (rather than connected to every crown) to further improve stent flexibility. By appropriately varying the strut width of both the connected and unconnected curved crowns to be greater at the center than at their ends, an increased radial strength can be provided for a given maximum strain that is imparted to the stent when it is expanded to its maximum diameter. | 04-21-2011 |
20110125041 | ISCHEMIA MONITORING SYSTEM FOR PATIENTS HAVING PERIODS OF LEFT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK - A device for detecting cardiac ischemia is disclosed. The device includes a processor that is configured to distinguish between two different heart beats types such as left bundle branch block beats and normal sinus beats. The processor applies different ischemia tests to the two different beat types, and generates alert when it detects ischemia. | 05-26-2011 |
20110137194 | RR INTERVAL BASED BEAT REJECTION FOR A CARDIAC MONITOR - Disclosed is a system for the detection of cardiac events (a guardian system) that includes an implanted device called a cardiosaver, a physician's programmer and an external alarm system. The system is designed to provide early detection of cardiac events such as acute myocardial infarction or exercise induced myocardial ischemia caused by an increased heart rate or exertion. The system can also alert the patient with a less urgent alarm if a heart arrhythmia is detected. Using one or more detection algorithms, the cardiosaver can detect a change in the patient's electrogram that is indicative of a cardiac event within five minutes after it occurs and then automatically warn the patient that the event is occurring. To provide this warning, the guardian system includes an internal alarm sub-system (internal alarm means) within the cardiosaver and/or an external alarm system (external alarm means). If the guardian system is put into a pacemaker, the algorithm can utilize a different analysis of the electrogram depending on whether or not the pacemaker is actually pacing the heart. | 06-09-2011 |
20110208287 | Stent Delivery Catheter With Balloon Control Bands - A stent delivery catheter including a catheter tubing defining a lumen therethrough, a balloon disposed near a distal end of the catheter tubing and moving between deflated and inflated states, and proximal and distal balloon control bands concentrically arranged around respective proximal and distal end portions of the balloon. The proximal balloon control band has a proximal end located proximally of a proximal end of the balloon and a distal end located adjacent a proximal end of a received unexpanded stent. The distal balloon control band has a proximal end located adjacent a distal end of the received unexpanded stent and a distal end located distally of a distal end of the balloon. The balloon control bands each have a diametric cross-section larger than the balloon in an uninflated state and the unexpanded stent received over the balloon to impede axial movement of the unexpanded stent off of the balloon. | 08-25-2011 |
20110260855 | MANAGEMENT OF CARDIAC DATA TRANSMISSIONS - A medical alarm communications system comprises a pager like device to be kept near a patient. The pager like device communicates medical alerts regarding the patient to a remote central station, which can provide therapeutic and/or diagnostic assistance by communicating to the pager like device. When the pager like device determines that an alert should be sent to the central station, it attempts to establish communication with the central station according to a primary communication protocol. If this attempt is unsuccessful according to some predetermined criteria (e.g. too much time has elapsed before communication is established), then the pager like device generates a message to the patient indicative of the failure, and The attempts to establish communication with the central station according to a secondary communication protocol. | 10-27-2011 |
20110270101 | IMPLANTABLE CARDIAC EVENT DETECTION DEVICE WITH AN ADAPTIVE SLEEP STATE - Disclosed is a system for the detection of cardiac events (a guardian system) that includes an implanted device called a cardiosaver, a physician's programmer and an external alarm system. The system is designed to provide early detection of cardiac events such as acute myocardial infarction or exercise induced myocardial ischemia caused by an increased heart rate or exertion. The system can also alert the patient with a less urgent alarm if a heart arrhythmia is detected. Using one or more detection algorithms, the cardiosaver can detect a change in the patient's electrogram that is indicative of a cardiac event within five minutes after it occurs and then automatically warn the patient that the event is occurring. To provide this warning, the guardian system includes an internal alarm sub-system (internal alarm means) within the cardiosaver and/or an external alarm system (external alarm means). If the guardian system is put into a pacemaker, the algorithm can utilize a different analysis of the electrogram depending on whether or not the pacemaker is actually pacing the heart. | 11-03-2011 |
20110301684 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING ANGIOGRAPHY AND STENTING - An integrated catheter system for performing angiography on a human patient, the integrated catheter system consisting of an angiographic catheter onto which a thin-walled sheath is co-axially mounted. The angiographic catheter having an essentially straight and elongated proximal section in the form of a cylindrical shaft that is surrounded for less than one-half of its length by the thin-walled sheath that has an outer diameter that is less than 0.25 mm greater than the outside diameter of the angiography catheter. The strength to prevent buckling of the thin-walled sheath being provided by the shaft of the angiographic catheter. The integrated catheter system also being ideal for the placement of stents using small diameter stent delivery systems such as the stent-on-a-wire system. | 12-08-2011 |
20120041469 | REVASCULARIZATION DEVICE WITH INTEGRATED DISTAL EMBOLI PROTECTION - A percutaneous system to open a stenosed vessel has a catheter for insertion into a vessel. An expandable filter mechanism is within a deployable sheath for expansion against a vessel wall when the sheath is displaced by a first displacement distance. A stenosis opening mechanism is within the deployable sheath and is radially expandable near the expandable filter mechanism with the stenosis opening mechanism being expandable against the stenosis when the stenosis opening mechanism is located within the vessel in longitudinal alignment with the stenosis following displacement of the sheath by a second displacement distance. Radiopaque markers align the stenosis opening mechanism with the stenosis. | 02-16-2012 |
20120065222 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR REDUCING SCAR TISSUE FORMATION - Disclosed is a cytostatic drug attached to a sterile sheet that is designed to be placed between internal body tissues to prevent the formation of post-operative adhesions, which adhesions are really scar tissue formation. This sheet onto or into which the drug is placed may be either a permanent implant or it may be biodegradable. By impregnating an existing product such as the Johnson & Johnson SURGICEL™ absorbable hemostat gauze-like sheet with an anti-proliferative drug such as sirolimus, the biodegradable, drug impregnated mesh would act as a barrier to cell proliferation and hence be a deterrent to the formation of adhesions or scar tissue. Another embodiment of this invention is a cytostatic drug attached to a sheet that is placed at the site of an anastomosis to decrease scar tissue formation from within the vessel at the site of the anastomosis. | 03-15-2012 |
20120150271 | BUDDY WIRE FOR THE CORONARY ARTERIES - A buddy wire guide wire has a wire section for guiding a catheter to a particular site in the human body. The buddy wire guide wire has a distal section with a distal end and an opposing proximal end. The wire section is attached to the proximal end of the distal section with the distal section being placed coaxially around the shaft of some existing medical device which has been inserted into the human body. The distal section permits the buddy wire to be advanced into the human body over the medical device by using the medical device as a guide. | 06-14-2012 |
20120158116 | Means and Method for Preventing Embolization of Drug Eluting Stents - A balloon disposed near a distal end of the catheter tubing and moving between deflated and inflated states, and proximal and distal stent retention bands concentrically arranged around respective proximal and distal end portions of the balloon. The proximal stent retention band has a distal end located within 2 mm of the proximal end of a stent coaxially received by the balloon and the distal stent retention band has a largest diameter within 2 mm of the distal end of the stent received by the balloon. | 06-21-2012 |
20120215089 | PHYSICIAN'S PROGRAMMER WITH ST-SEGMENT HISTOGRAM DISPLAY CAPABILITY - A physician's programmer for an implantable device is disclosed. The programmer includes a receiver for receiving wireless transmission data from the implantable heart monitor. A processor is configured to extract from the wireless transmission data ST-deviation histogram data as a function of heart rate. The histogram data for a particular heart rate range is shown on a display in the form of a bar chart. The histogram data for a plurality of heart rate ranges is shown in the form of a chart with multiple line plots. | 08-23-2012 |
20120215174 | INTRODUCER SHEATH WITH THIN-WALLED SHAFT AND IMPROVED MEANS FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE SKIN - An introducer sheath for placement into the vascular system of a human subject. The introducer sheath has a tubular shaft, a side arm, and a hemostasis valve with an integrated attachment mechanism for attaching and detaching a proximal end of the introducer sheath to and from the skin of the human subject. | 08-23-2012 |
20120271277 | EXPANDABLE CATHETER SYSTEM FOR PERI-OSTIAL INJECTION AND MUSCLE AND NERVE FIBER ABLATION - At the present time, physicians often treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using radiofrequency (RF) catheter systems to ablate conducting tissue in the wall of the Left Atrium of the heart around the ostium of the pulmonary veins. These systems are expensive and take time consuming to use. The present invention circular ablation system CAS includes a multiplicity of expandable needles that can be expanded around a central axis and positioned to inject a fluid like ethanol to ablate conductive tissue in a ring around the ostium of a pulmonary vein quickly and without the need for expensive capital equipment. The expansion of the needles is accomplished by self-expanding or balloon expandable structures. The invention includes centering means so that the needles will be situated in a pattern surrounding the outside of the ostium of a vein. Also included are members that limit the distance of penetration of the needles into the wall of the left atrium, or the aortic wall. The present invention also has an important application to ablate tissue around the ostium of one or both renal arteries, for the ablation of the sympathetic nerve fibers and/or other afferent or efferent nerves going to or from each kidney in order to treat hypertension. | 10-25-2012 |
20120271301 | EXPANDABLE CATHETER SYSTEM FOR PERI-OSTIAL INJECTION AND MUSCLE AND NERVE FIBER ABLATION - At the present time, physicians often treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using radiofrequency (RF) catheter systems to ablate conducting tissue in the wall of the Left Atrium of the heart around the ostium of the pulmonary veins. These systems are expensive and take time consuming to use. The present invention circular ablation system CAS includes a multiplicity of expandable needles that can be expanded around a central axis and positioned to inject a fluid like ethanol to ablate conductive tissue in a ring around the ostium of a pulmonary vein quickly and without the need for expensive capital equipment. The expansion of the needles is accomplished by self-expanding or balloon expandable structures. The invention includes centering means so that the needles will be situated in a pattern surrounding the outside of the ostium of a vein. Also included are members that limit the distance of penetration of the needles into the wall of the left atrium. The present invention also has application to ablating tissue around the ostium of a renal artery for the treatment of hypertension. | 10-25-2012 |
20130053792 | EXPANDABLE CATHETER SYSTEM FOR VESSEL WALL INJECTION AND MUSCLE AND NERVE FIBER ABLATION - A catheter-based/intravascular ablation (denervation) system includes a multiplicity of needles which expand open around a central axis to engage the wall of a blood vessel, or the wall of the left atrium, allowing the injection of a cytotoxic or/or neurotoxic solution for ablating conducting tissue, or nerve fibers around the ostium of the pulmonary vein, or circumferentially in or just beyond the outer layer of the renal artery. The expandable needle delivery system is formed with self-expanding materials and include structures, near the end portion of the needles, or using separate guide tubes. The system also includes means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into the tissue of the wall of the targeted blood vessel. | 02-28-2013 |
20130053821 | EXPANDABLE CATHETER SYSTEM FOR VESSEL WALL INJECTION AND MUSCLE AND NERVE FIBER ABLATION - A vascular nerve ablation (denervation) system includes a multiplicity of expandable needles which open around a central axis to engage the wall of a blood vessel allowing the injection of a cytotoxic or neurotoxic solution for ablating conducting tissue in and near the vessel wall of a renal artery or pulmonary vein. The expandable needles are formed of self-expanding materials and include structures which limit the distance of penetration of the injection needles into the tissue of the wall of the blood vessel. | 02-28-2013 |
20130053822 | EXPANDABLE CATHETER SYSTEM FOR FLUID INJECTION INTO AND DEEP TO THE WALL OF A BLOOD VESSEL - A catheter-based/intravascular fluid injection system with application to renal denervation includes a multiplicity of needles which expand open around a central axis to engage the wall of a blood vessel, or the wall of the left atrium, allowing the injection of a cytotoxic and/or neurotoxic solution for ablating conducting tissue, or nerve fibers around the ostium of the pulmonary vein, or circumferentially in or just beyond the outer layer of the renal artery. The expandable delivery system includes expandable components that facilitate positioning of a multiplicity of injection needles against the inside wall of a blood vessel from where they can be advanced. The system also includes means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into the tissue of the wall of the targeted blood vessel. | 02-28-2013 |
20130184604 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTING WITH AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE - An interactive implantable medical device system includes an implantable medical device and a network-enabled external device capable of bi-directional communication and interaction with the implantable medical device. The external device is programmed to interact with other similarly-enabled devices. The system facilitates improved patient care by eliminating unnecessary geographic limitations on implantable medical device interrogation and programming, and by allowing patients, physicians, and other users to access medical records, history, and information and to receive status and care-related alerts and messages anywhere there is access to a communications network. | 07-18-2013 |
20130237869 | MANAGEMENT OF CARDIAC DATA TRANSMISSIONS - A medical alarm communications system comprises a pager like device to be kept near a patient. The pager like device communicates medical alerts regarding the patient to a remote central station, which can provide therapeutic and/or diagnostic assistance by communicating to the pager like device. When the pager like device determines that an alert should be sent to the central station, it attempts to establish communication with the central station according to a primary communication protocol. If this attempt is unsuccessful according to some predetermined criteria (e.g. too much time has elapsed before communication is established), then the pager like device generates a message to the patient indicative of the failure, and The attempts to establish communication with the central station according to a secondary communication protocol. | 09-12-2013 |
20130274673 | INTRAVASCULAR ABLATION CATHETER WITH ENHANCED FLUOROSCOPIC VISIBILITY - A catheter-based/intravascular ablation system includes needles which expand around a central axis to engage a blood vessel or left atrium wall, allowing the injection of an ablative solution for ablating conducting tissue, or nerve fibers around the ostium of the pulmonary vein or around the renal artery. The system includes means to adjust the depth of penetration into the tissue of the targeted blood vessel wall. The catheter can include expandable guide tubes that engage the blood vessel wall. Injection needles having injection egress at or near their sharpened distal end are then advanced through the guide tubes to penetrate the blood vessel wall to a prescribed depth. The ability to provide PeriVascular injection only affecting the outer layer(s) of a blood vessel without affecting the media has particular application for PeriVascular Renal Denervation (PVRD) of the sympathetic nerves which lie in or outside the adventitia of the renal artery. | 10-17-2013 |
20130274674 | INTRAVASCULAR ABLATION CATHETER WITH PRECISION DEPTH OF PENETRATION CALIBRATION - A catheter-based/intravascular ablation system includes needles which expand around a central axis to engage a blood vessel or left atrium wall, allowing the injection of an ablative solution for ablating conducting tissue, or nerve fibers around the ostium of the pulmonary vein or around the renal artery. The system includes means to adjust the depth of penetration into the tissue of the targeted blood vessel wall. The catheter can include expandable guide tubes that engage the blood vessel wall. Injection needles having injection egress at or near their sharpened distal end are then advanced through the guide tubes to penetrate the blood vessel wall to a prescribed depth. The ability to provide PeriVascular injection only affecting the outer layer(s) of a blood vessel without affecting the media has particular application for PeriVascular Renal Denervation (PVRD) of the sympathetic nerves which lie in or outside the adventitia of the renal artery. | 10-17-2013 |
20140046298 | METHODS OF TREATING ATRIAL FIBRILLATION - At the present time, physicians often treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using radiofrequency (RF) catheter systems to ablate conducting tissue in the wall of the Left Atrium of the heart around the ostium of the pulmonary veins. These systems are expensive and take time consuming to use. The present invention circular ablation system CAS includes a multiplicity of expandable needles that can be expanded around a central axis and positioned to inject a fluid like ethanol to ablate conductive tissue in a ring around the ostium of a pulmonary vein quickly and without the need for expensive capital equipment. The expansion of the needles is accomplished by self-expanding or balloon expandable structures. The invention includes centering means so that the needles will be situated in a pattern surrounding the outside of the ostium of a vein. Also included are members that limit the distance of penetration of the needles into the wall of the left atrium. The present invention also has application to ablating tissue around the ostium of a renal artery for the treatment of hypertension. | 02-13-2014 |
20140081348 | LOW-FREQUENCY STIMULATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Described here are devices and methods for delivering a low-frequency stimulation signal to tissue. In some variations, the low-frequency stimulation signal is delivered using one or more stimulation sequences, in which the low-frequency stimulation is sequentially delivered to a plurality of stimulation pathways. The stimulation pathways may comprise one or more monopolar stimulation pathways and/or one or more bipolar stimulation pathways. | 03-20-2014 |
20140107454 | MEANS AND METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF CARDIAC EVENTS - Disclosed is a system for the detection of cardiac events that includes an implanted device called a cardiosaver, a physician's programmer and an external alarm system. The system is designed to provide early detection of cardiac events such as acute myocardial infarction or exercise induced myocardial ischemia caused by an increased heart rate or exertion. The system can also alert the patient with a less urgent alarm if a heart arrhythmia is detected. Using different algorithms, the cardiosaver can detect a change in the patient's electrogram that is indicative of a cardiac event within five minutes after it occurs and then automatically warn the patient that the event is occurring. To provide this warning, the system includes an internal alarm sub-system (internal alarm means) within the cardiosaver and/or an external alarm system (external alarm means) which are activated after the ST segment of the electrogram exceeds a preset threshold. | 04-17-2014 |
20140107514 | PHYSICIAN'S PROGRAMMER WITH ST-SEGMENT HISTOGRAM DISPLAY CAPABILITY - A physician's programmer for an implantable device is disclosed. The programmer includes a receiver for receiving wireless transmission data from the implantable heart monitor. A processor is configured to extract from the wireless transmission data ST-deviation histogram data as a function of heart rate. The histogram data for a particular heart rate range is shown on a display in the form of a bar chart. The histogram data for a plurality of heart rate ranges is shown in the form of a chart with multiple line plots. | 04-17-2014 |
20140121641 | TRANSVASCULAR CATHETER FOR EXTRAVASCULAR DELIVERY - An intravascular catheter for peri-vascular and/or peri-urethral tissue ablation includes multiple needles advanced through guide tubes which may be supported by an expandable balloon. The guide tubes expand with open ends around a central axis to engage the interior surface of the wall of the renal artery or other vessel of a human body allowing the injection an ablative fluid for ablating tissue, and/or nerve fibers in the outer layer or deep to the outer layer of the vessel, or in prostatic tissue. The diameter of the inflated balloon is less than the inside diameter of the vessel, allowing perfusion across the inflated balloon and guide tubes. | 05-01-2014 |
20140121644 | TRANSVASCULAR METHODS OF TREATING EXTRAVASCULAR TISSUE - An intravascular catheter for peri-vascular and/or peri-urethral tissue ablation includes multiple needles advanced through supported guide tubes which expand with open ends around a central axis to engage the interior surface of the wall of the renal artery or other vessel of a human body allowing the injection an ablative fluid for ablating tissue, and/or nerve fibers in the outer layer or deep to the outer layer of the vessel, or in prostatic tissue. The system also includes means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into and beyond the tissue of the vessel wall. The preferred embodiment of the catheter includes structures which provide radial and lateral support to the guide tubes so that the guide tubes open uniformly and maintain their position against the interior surface of the vessel wall as the sharpened injection needles are advanced to penetrate into the vessel wall. | 05-01-2014 |
20140236103 | PERI-VASCULAR TISSUE ABLATION CATHETER WITH SUPPORT STRUCTURES - An intravascular catheter for peri-vascular and/or peri-urethral tissue ablation includes multiple needles advanced through supported guide tubes which expand around a central axis to engage the interior surface of the wall of the renal artery or other vessel of a human body allowing the injection an ablative fluid for ablating tissue, and/or nerve fibers in the outer layer or deep to the outer layer of the vessel, or in prostatic tissue. The system may also include a means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into and beyond the tissue of the vessel wall. The catheter may also include structures which provide radial and/or lateral support to the guide tubes so that the guide tubes expand uniformly and maintain their position against the interior surface of the vessel wall as the sharpened injection needles are advanced to penetrate into the vessel wall. | 08-21-2014 |
20140316351 | PERI-VASCULAR TISSUE ABLATION CATHETER WITH UNIQUE INJECTION FITTING - An intravascular catheter for peri-vascular and/or peri-urethral tissue ablation includes multiple needles advanced through supported guide tubes which expand around a central axis to engage the interior surface of the wall of the renal artery or other vessel of a human body allowing the injection an ablative fluid for ablating tissue, and/or nerve fibers in the outer layer or deep to the outer layer of the vessel, or in prostatic tissue. The system may also include a means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into and beyond the tissue of the vessel wall. The catheter may also include structures which provide radial and/or lateral support to the guide tubes so that the guide tubes expand uniformly and maintain their position against the interior surface of the vessel wall as the sharpened injection needles are advanced to penetrate into the vessel wall. | 10-23-2014 |
20140358079 | INTRAVASCULAR FLUID CATHETER WITH MINIMAL INTERNAL FLUID VOLUME - A catheter-based/intravascular ablation (denervation) system includes a multiplicity of needles which expand open around a central axis to engage the wall of a blood vessel, or the wall of the left atrium, allowing the injection of a cytotoxic or/or neurotoxic solution for ablating conducting tissue, or nerve fibers around the ostium of the pulmonary vein, or circumferentially in or just beyond the outer layer of the renal artery. The expandable needle delivery system is formed with self-expanding materials and include structures, near the end portion of the needles, or using separate guide tubes. The system also includes means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into the tissue of the wall of the targeted blood vessel. The preferred embodiment of the catheter delivered through the vascular system of a patient includes a multiplicity of expandable guide tubes that engage the wall of a blood vessel. Injection needles having injection egress at or near their sharpened distal end are then advanced through the guide tubes to penetrate the wall of the blood vessel to a prescribed depth. The ability to provide PeriVascular injection so as to only affect the outer layer(s) of a blood vessel without affecting the media has particular application for PeriVascular Renal Denervation (PVRD) of the sympathetic nerves which lie in the adventitia or outside the adventitia of the renal artery. | 12-04-2014 |
20140378906 | PERI-VASCULAR TISSUE ABLATION CATHETER WITH MECHANICAL SUPPORT STRUCTURES - An intravascular catheter for peri-vascular and/or peri-urethral tissue ablation includes multiple needles advanced through supported guide tubes which expand around a central axis to engage the interior surface of the wall of the renal artery or other vessel of a human body allowing the injection an ablative fluid for ablating tissue, and/or nerve fibers in the outer layer or deep to the outer layer of the vessel, or in prostatic tissue. The system may also include a means to limit and/or adjust the depth of penetration of the ablative fluid into and beyond the tissue of the vessel wall. The catheter may also include structures which provide radial and/or lateral support to the guide tubes so that the guide tubes expand uniformly and maintain their position against the interior surface of the vessel wall as the sharpened injection needles are advanced to penetrate into the vessel wall. | 12-25-2014 |
20150018658 | MEANS AND METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF CARDIAC EVENTS - Disclosed is a system for the detection of cardiac events that includes an implanted device called a cardiosaver, a physician's programmer and an external alarm system. The system is designed to provide early detection of cardiac events such as acute myocardial infarction or exercise induced myocardial ischemia caused by an increased heart rate or exertion. The system can also alert the patient with a less urgent alarm if a heart arrhythmia is detected. Using different algorithms, the cardiosaver can detect a change in the patient's electrogram that is indicative of a cardiac event within five minutes after it occurs and then automatically warn the patient that the event is occurring. To provide this warning, the system includes an internal alarm sub-system (internal alarm means) within the cardiosaver and/or an external alarm system (external alarm means) which are activated after the ST segment of the electrogram exceeds a preset threshold. | 01-15-2015 |