Patent ID: 9446247
Filing Date: 2016-09-20
CPC Classification: A61N

Claim Text:
1. An apparatus for stimulating a patient's heart, comprising: a multiphase cardiac stimulus generator; one or more sensors configured to sense parameters of a human heart; one or more electrodes configured to be implanted on, in, or proximate to at least one of an atrial chamber and a ventricular chamber of the heart; and a rules engine, including a processor and a memory configured to store rules and receive data from the one or more sensors, wherein the processor is configured to: poll the one or more sensors to obtain sensor data regarding the parameters of the human heart; apply the rules to the sensor data to determine whether to deliver a sub-threshold electrical waveform to at least one of the one or more electrodes when the data indicates a weakening contraction of the human; instruct the multiphase cardiac stimulus generator to generate a biphasic waveform as the sub-threshold electrical waveform when delivery of the electrical waveform to at least one of the one or more electrodes is determined; deliver the sub-threshold electrical waveform at a timing determined from the sensor data; update the sensor data; determine whether to continue delivery of the sub-threshold electrical waveform based on the updated sensor data; and increase a level of a cathodal part of the sub-threshold electrical waveform for a next heartbeat when delivery of the sub-threshold electrical waveform is to be continued and the updated sensor data indicates that no depolarization has occurred in at least one chamber of the heart.