Leadless pacemaker with tripolar electrode
AssigneeCardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
InventorsJeffrey E. Stahmann, William J. Linder, Keith R. Maile
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Abstract
A leadless implantable medical device comprises a first electrode configured to deliver electrical pacing energy, a second electrode configured to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity, and a third electrode configurable to both deliver electrical pacing energy and sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity. The first and third electrodes are used for delivering electrical pacing energy and the second and third electrodes are used to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity. None of the first, second and third electrodes are incorporated into a lead.
Claims19
A leadless implantable medical device comprising:
- a first electrode sized and configured to deliver electrical pacing energy as a pacing cathode electrode;
- a second electrode sized and configured to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity;
- and
- a third electrode sized and configured to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity in combination with the second electrode;
- wherein the leadless implantable medical device is configured to use the second electrode and the third electrode as pacing anode electrodes in combination with the first electrode as pacing cathode electrodes for delivering electrical pacing energy.
A method comprising:
- incorporating at least three electrodes into a leadless medical device;
- configuring a first electrode to deliver electrical pacing energy as a pacing cathode electrode;
- configuring a second electrode to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity;
- and
- configuring a third electrode to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity;
- selecting the first electrode as a pacing cathode electrode and selecting the second and third electrodes as pacing anode electrodes;
- and
- delivering electrical pacing energy using the first electrode as the pacing cathode electrode and the second and third electrodes as pacing anode electrodes.
A leadless implantable medical device comprising:
- a first electrode configured as a pacing cathode electrode having a first electrode surface area;
- a second electrode configured as a pace/sense electrode having a second electrode surface area;
- a third electrode configured as a pace/sense electrode having a third electrode surface area;
- and
- a control circuit configured to select the first electrode as the pacing cathode electrode and both the second electrode and the third electrode as pacing anode electrodes for delivering electrical pacing energy;
- the control circuit further configured to select the second electrode and the third electrode as an electrode pair for sensing intrinsic electrical cardiac activity;
- wherein the third electrode surface area is at least ten times the first electrode surface area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.