Display signal to assess autonomic response to vagus nerve stimulation treatment

A titration assessment system for vagus nerve stimulation therapy treatment in a subject, the titration assessment system comprising:

• an ECG cable assembly configured to acquire an ECG signal response in the subject;
• a VNS titration assembly configured to deliver a periodic stimulation signal having ON-periods and OFF-periods;
• a data acquisition system coupled to the ECG cable assembly and configured to capture the ECG signal response and detect delivery of the stimulation signal;
• and
• a processor and a non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the titration assessment system to:
• segregate the ECG signal response to the stimulation signal into portions that correspond to at least one ON-period of the ON-periods and at least one OFF-period of the OFF-periods based on the data acquisition system detecting the delivery of the stimulation signal;
• process the ECG signal response to determine R-R intervals in the ECG signal response corresponding to the ON-periods and the OFF-periods;
• determine and display real-time heart rate dynamics for each of the at least one ON-period and the at least one OFF-period;
• and
• digitally reproduce the ECG signal response for display.

A method of assessing a vagus nerve stimulation treatment for a subject comprising:

• segregating an ECG signal response to the vagus nerve stimulation treatment into portions that correspond to at least one ON-period of a stimulation signal and at least one OFF-period of the stimulation signal based on a communication between a first interface and a device that delivers the stimulation signal;
• determining and displaying real-time heart rate dynamics in the ECG signal response for a plurality of cycles of stimulation signal delivery, each cycle defined by an ON-period and an OFF-period of the stimulation signal;
• digitally displaying the ECG signal response in real-time;
• and
• providing an indication of autonomic engagement of the subject within 20 cycles, the indication of autonomic engagement being based on the real-time heart rate dynamics for the at least one ON-period and the at least one OFF-period.