System and method for classifying sensed atrial events in a cardiac pacing system

A method of classifying signals sensed by an electrode of a medical electrical lead adapted to be positioned within an atrium of a heart of a patient, the lead forming a portion of a cardiac pacing system further comprising an implantable pulse generator for generating pacing pulses, the method comprising:

• generating an interim form factor histogram which includes collected data points in the form of atrial event signal consisting of P-wave signals and far field R-wave signals;
• adding the interim form factor histogram to a previously generated form factor histogram, the previously generated form factor histogram including previous collected data points, to create a representative form factor histogram;
• and
• classifying sensed signals as P-wave signals or far field R-wave signals based upon the representative form factor histogram.

A cardiac pacing system for classifying signals sensed from within an atrium of a heart of a patient, the cardiac pacing system comprising;

• a pulse generator for generating pacing pulses;
• a medical electrical lead comprising an electrode, the lead being adapted to be positioned within the atrium of the heart of the patient and operably connected to the pulse generator for delivering pacing pulses to the heart;
• a sense electrode adapted to be positioned within the atrium of the heart of the patient for sensing P-waves and far field R-waves;
• and
• a controller for generating a representative form factor histogram of the sensed P-waves and far field R-waves, for classifying sensed signals as P-wave signals or far field R-wave signals based up on the representative form factor histogram, and for controlling operation of the pulse generator based upon the representative form factor histogram.

A signal classification system for classifying signals sensed by an electrode of a medical electrical lead adapted to be positioned within an atrium of a heart of a patient, the lead forming a portion of a cardiac pacing system further comprising a pulse generator for generating pacing pulses, the signal classification system comprising:

• collecting means for collecting atrial event signals comprising P-wave signals and far field R-wave signals;
• rejecting means for rejecting atrial event signals according to predetermined criteria;
• generating means for generating an interim form factor histogram based upon a form of collected atrial event signals, the interim form factor histogram including an interim P-wave form factor histogram and an interim far field R-wave form factor histogram, each having bins of atrial event signals;
• discarding means for discarding bins of atrial event signals within the interim form factor histogram which do not meet a discard level;
• weighting means for weighting a previously generated form factor histogram including a previously generated P-wave form factor histogram and a previously generated far field R-wave form factor histogram;
• generating means for combining the weighted previously generated form factor histogram with the interim form factor histogram to create a representative form factor histogram;
• determining means for determining if a minimal safety margin is located between a representative P-wave form factor histogram and a representative far field R-wave form factor histogram within the representative form factor histogram;
• and
• classifying means for classifying atrial event signals as either P-wave signals or far field R-wave signals based upon the representative form factor histogram.

A cardiac pacing system for classifying signals sensed from within an atrium of a heart of a patient, the system comprising:

• pulse generator means for generating pacing pulses;
• stimulation electrode means adapted to be positioned within the atrium of the heart of the patient and in communication with the pulse generator for delivering pacing pulses to the heart;
• sense electrode means adapted to be positioned within the atrium of the heart of the patient for sensing P-waves and far field R-waves;
• and
• controller means for generating a representative form factor histogram of the sensed P-waves and far field R-waves, for classifying sensed signals as P-wave signals or far field R-wave signals based upon the representative form factor histogram, and for controlling operation of the pulse generator based upon a form of the representative form factor histogram.