US 6,714,806 B2 · System and method for determining tissue contact of an implantable medical device within a body

Abstract

An improved system for monitoring the status of an IMD such as a medical electrical lead during an implant procedure is provided. The system includes a signal generator for supplying a first signal such as a constant current or voltage to the IMD. A resulting voltage or current signal is generated, respectively, and may be sensed as an indication of the impedance of a portion of the body that is proximal to one or more electrodes carried by the lead. This impedance indication is converted to an audible signal having a frequency that is proportional to the amplitude of the impedance indication. The pitch of the audible signal therefore rises when measured impedance increases, and drops as the impedance decreases. These pitch changes allow a user to determine positional information associated with the IMD, including the degree of lead tissue contact and extent of fixation of a device to tissue.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for use in monitoring an implantable medical device (IMD) within a body, comprising:

a first circuit to couple to the IMD to measure an indication of impedance of a portion of the body proximate a predetermined portion of the IMD;
an audio circuit coupled to the first circuit to generate an audible signal representative of the measured impedance;
a display monitor coupled to the first circuit to provide an indication of the measured impedance;
and
a processing circuit coupled to receive a signal indicative of the impedance of the portion of the body, and to provide status indicative of the IMD based on the received signal to the display monitor to create a virtual image of the IMD in the body, wherein the IMD is a lead that includes a fixation mechanism, and wherein the processing circuit includes means for generating status indicative of the extent of contact between a predetermined portion of the lead and the body and further includes means for generating status descriptive of the fixation mechanism.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

System and method for determining tissue contact of an implantable medical device within a body

Life of this patent

System and method for determining tissue contact of an implantable medical device within a body

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20