Patent ID: 7177688
Filing Date: 2007-02-13
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
1. A method of optimizing the inter-site delay and pacing mode configuration of a dual chamber pacemaker of the type having means for sensing atrial depolarization events, means for sensing ventricular depolarization events and means for applying cardiac stimulating pulses selectively to a plurality of sites including at least one chamber with a plurality of sites within said chamber, said sites at locations selected from the right, left or both ventricular chambers at predetermined intersite delay intervals following detection of atrial depolarization events, comprising the steps of: (a) tracking a patient's intrinsic ventricular depolarization events; (b) measuring the patient's ventricular cycle length (VCL) between successive ventricular depolarization events over a first predetermined number of heart beats, N (c) changing at least one delay interval and pacing mode configuration by changing, for a second predetermined number of heart beats, N (d) measuring the patient's VCLs between successive ventricular depolarization events over the second predetermined number of heart beats and storing the measured VCLs in the array in said memory; (e) calculating and storing a VOL feature value obtained from the patient's ventricular cycle length measured in steps (b) and Cd); (f) repeating steps (a)–(e) in iterative cycles over a range of inter-site delay intervals and ventricular chamber(s) selected for receiving the cardiac stimulating pulses; (g) after step (f) for each pacing mode intersite delay configuration calculating the average of the VCL features over all of the occurrences of the configuration; (h) determining the optimal configuration from among the averages determined in step (g); and (i) setting the inter-site delay and pacing mode configuration of the pacemaker to the optimal inter-site delay and pacing mode configuration established in step (h).