Patent ID: 8095207
Filing Date: 2012-01-10
Classification: A61B,A61N

Abstract:
1. A system for monitoring disease status of a patient, comprising: a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode, each of the electrodes adapted for implantation in a human being, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode comprise a first pair of electrodes, and wherein the second electrode and the third electrode comprise a second pair of electrodes; a voltage measurement circuit configured to measure a first voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode, and to measure a second voltage between the second electrode and the third electrode; a memory unit that stores directional information comprising an angle between a first orientation defined by the first pair of electrodes and a second orientation defined by the second pair of electrodes; and a processing unit configured to: 1) calculate, using the stored directional information and the measured first and second voltages, a first resultant vector comprising a magnitude and a direction; 2) calculate a vectorial difference between the first resultant vector and a second resultant vector, the second resultant vector having been previously calculated by the processing unit using the stored directional information and a previously measured third voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode and a previously measured fourth voltage between the second electrode and the third electrode; and 3) determine a disease status for the patient based on the calculated vectorial difference, and generate an alarm if the calculated vectorial difference satisfies a predetermined criterion.