Patent ID: 6370430
Filing Date: 2002-04-09
Classification: A61B,A61N

Abstract:
A method for controlling the delivery of a non-excitatory cardiac contractility modulating signals to a heart within a cardiac beat cycle, the method comprising the steps of:sensing electrical activity in or about a first cardiac chamber to provide a first electrogram signal; detecting electrical events in said first electrogram signal; providing a first artifact window within the current beat cycle, said first artifact window starts at or after a trigger event representing the beginning of said current cardiac beat cycle, said first artifact window has a first artifact window duration, and detecting events occurring in said first electrogram signal within the duration of said first artifact window; providing an alert window period within said current beat cycle, said alert window period has a first duration and is delayed from said trigger event; enabling the delivery of a cardiac contractility modulating signal to said first chamber of said heart within said current beat cycle in response to a first event detected in said first electrogram signal within the duration of said alert window period, said delivery of said cardiac contractility modulating signal is delayed from the time of detecting of said first event occurring within the duration of said alert window period by a first delay period, said cardiac contractility modulating signal has a cardiac contractility modulating signal duration; providing a refractory period within said current beat cycle, in response to said first event of said step of enabling, said refractory period has a refractory period duration, a beginning time and an ending time, said beginning time is delayed from said first event of said step of enabling by a second delay period, said ending time occurs at or after the termination of said cardiac contractility modulating signal, for preventing the detection of electrical events within the duration of said refractory period; applying said cardiac contractility modulating signal to said heart within said current beat cycle; and inhibiting the performing of said step of providing a refractory period and of said step of applying said cardiac contractility modulating signal, in response to detecting at least one inhibiting event within said first electrogram signal.