Method and apparatus for generating and displaying location-specific diagnostic information using an implantable cardiac stimulation device and an external programmer

In an implantable cardiac stimulation device for implant into a patient wherein the stimulation device has a plurality of leads adapted to be positioned at different locations within the heart of the patient with at least two leads adapted to be positioned within the atria or with at least two leads adapted to be positioned within the ventricles, a system for processing signals received from the leads comprising:

• a set of sensors operative to receive signals from the leads representative of electrical events detected at the respective locations of the leads;
• a set of pulse generators operative to generate stimulation pulses for delivery to the heart using selected leads;
• a location-specific data processing unit operative to generate location-specific event codes representative of events occurring at the leads, with at least two distinct location-specific event codes being associated the atria or with at least two distinct location-specific event codes being associated with the ventricles;
• and
• a telemetry circuit operative to transmit the location-specific event codes to an external programmer device.

In an implantable cardiac stimulation device for implant into a patient, the stimulation device having a controller, a telemetry unit, and a set of sensors and pulse generators connected to a plurality of leads positioned at different locations within the heart of the patient, with at least two leads positioned within the atria or with at least two leads positioned within the ventricles, a method for comprising the steps of:

• receiving sensor signals from the sensors representative of electrical events detected at the respective locations of the leads;
• generating stimulation pulses using the pulse generators for delivery to the heart using selected leads;
• generating location-specific event codes using the controller, the event codes being based on the sensor signals and stimulation pulses, with at least two distinct location-specific event codes being associated the atria or with at least two distinct location-specific event codes being associated with the ventricles;
• and
• transmitting the location-specific event codes to an external programmer using the telemetry unit.

In an implantable cardiac stimulation device for implant into a patient wherein the stimulation device has a plurality of leads adapted to be positioned at different locations within the heart of the patient with at least one lead adapted to be positioned within each chamber of the heart, a system comprising:

• means for receiving signals representative of electrical events detected at the respective locations of the leads;
• means for generating location-specific intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs) based on the signals received from the leads;
• means for generating stimulation signals using selected leads;
• means for generating location-specific event codes representative of events occurring at the respective locations of the leads, with at least one distinct location-specific event code being associated with each chamber of the heart;
• means for recording the location-specific event codes and IEGMs;
• and
• means for transmitting the location-specific event codes and IEGMs to an external programmer.

An implantable cardiac stimulation device and external programmer system comprising:

• an implantable cardiac stimulation device for implant into a patient wherein the stimulation device has a plurality of leads adapted to be positioned at different locations within the heart of the patient with at least one lead adapted to be within each chamber of the heart;
• the stimulation device having a set of sensors operative to receive signals from the leads representative of electrical events detected at the respective locations of the leads, a set of pulse generators operative to generate stimulation pulses for delivery to the heart using selected leads, a location-specific data processing unit operative to generate location-specific event codes representative of events occurring at the leads, with at least one distinct location-specific event code being associated with each chamber of the heart, and a telemetry circuit;
• and
• an external programmer for receiving and displaying information transmitted from the implantable cardiac stimulation;
• with
• the external programmer having a telemetry subsystem means operative to receive the location-specific event codes transmitted from the implantable cardiac stimulation device and a processor operative to generate graphic displays of location-specific event marker icons representative of the location-specific event codes, with the event marker icons being representative of the locations of the respective leads at which the events associated with the event codes occurred.

In an implantable cardiac stimulation device for implant into a patient, the stimulation device having a controller, a telemetry unit, and a set of sensors and pulse generators connected to a plurality of leads positioned at different locations within the heart of the patient, with at least one lead within each chamber of the heart, a method for comprising the steps of:

• receiving signals representative of electrical events detected at the respective locations of the leads;
• generating location-specific intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs) based on the signals received from the leads;
• generating stimulation signals using selected leads;
• generating location-specific event codes representative of events occurring at the respective locations of the leads, with at least one distinct location-specific event code being associated with each chamber of the heart;
• and
• transmitting the location-specific event codes and IEGMs to an external programmer.