US 4,364,397 AGranted

Apparatus for monitoring the rhythm of a patient's heartbeat

AssigneeMedtronic, Inc.

InventorsPaul Citron, Dennis G. Hepp, Thomas L. Jirak

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Abstract

Apparatus is disclosed for monitoring and storing electrical signals in a manner to detect the intervals between heartbeats and to provide a manifestation of whether the corresponding heart signals have a regular heart rhythm or not. Such apparatus comprises a memory having at least first and second areas, a circuit for receiving and sampling the heart signals, and a circuit for temporarily storing the heart sample signals in the first area. Further, there is included a circuit for processing or evaluating the heart signals stored in the first area to determine the occurrences of the patient's heartbeat and for determining the intervals between adjacent heartbeats. The determined intervals are stored in the second area and are evaluated to determine whether the patient's heart activity occurs with a regular rhythm. The monitoring and storing apparatus is operative over a monitoring period comprised of a plurality of trend sample intervals. If the heart activity signals occur with a regular rhythm, various characteristics of the heart activity signals including the average rate, and the minimum and maximum rate of the heartbeat as occur within an interval may be stored within a corresponding location of said area of the memory.

Claims22

Dependent claims

Apparatus for monitoring and storing electrical signals indicative of heart activity of a patient, said apparatus comprising:

(a) memory means including at least first and second areas;
(b) means coupled to receive analog heart signals from the patient for sampling and digitizing said analog signals to provide digital heart signal samples;
(c) first means for temporarily storing the digital heart signal samples in said first area, the earliest heart signal samples stored being cleared as the most recent heart signal samples are stored;
(d) signal samples processing means including:
(i) first means for evaluating the digital heart signal samples stored in said first area to determine the existence of unique heart signal features corresponding to a heartbeat;
and
(ii) means for determining the interval between adjacent valid heartbeats and for providing a series of discrete signals indicative of the interval therebetween;
(e) second means for receiving the discrete interval signals and for storing a continuously updated set of the discrete interval signals in said second area, the earliest determined interval being cleared as the most recent interval is being stored;
and
(f) second means for evaluating at least one of said set of discrete interval signals with respect to another interval signal of said set to determine whether a defined relationship therebetween exists indicative of a regular heart rhythm and if so, for providing a first manifestation indicative of heart activity with a regular rhythm.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.