Patent ID: 11950833
Assignee: ST. JUDE MEDICAL, CARDIOLOGY DIVISION, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 13:
14. A contact assessment system for determining a contact state of an electrode included as part of an electrode pair located at a distal end of a medical instrument, the system comprising:
input configured to receive signals collected in response to a source signal applied across the electrode pair; and
a processor configured to, upon execution of specific program instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium:
calculate a bipolar electrode complex impedance (BECI) values based on the received input signals during a collection period;
determine a baseline BECI value representing a minimum value measured during the collection period; and
determine a contact status by subsequently applying drive signals between the electrode pair over a given interval, measuring a BECI value generated in response to the applied drive signals over the given interval, measuring a peak-to-peak value associated with the measured BECI values over the given interval, and utilizing a combination of the baseline BECI value, the measured BECI value, and the peak-to-peak value associated with the measured BECI values to determine the contact status of the electrode.