Patent ID: 8498702
Filing Date: 2013-07-30
Classification: A61B,A61N

Abstract:
1. An implantable medical device for monitoring ventricular synchrony of a heart of patient including a pace pulse generator adapted to produce cardiac stimulating pacing pulses and being connectable to at least one medical lead for delivering bi-ventricular pulses to cardiac tissue of said heart, comprising: an impedance measuring unit that during impedance measuring sessions, measures an impedance signal using an electrode configuration, said configuration being connectable to said impedance measuring unit and interacting with said patient; a notch detecting unit that detects an occurrence of a notch in the impedance signal coincident with a period including a change from rapid to slow filling of a ventricle, said notch being indicated by a first positive slope change in a negative slope in a predetermined time window during a diastolic phase of a cardiac cycle, wherein a portion of the impedance signal within a time window surrounding said notch being a notch impedance curve; a notch feature determining unit that determines a notch feature using said notch impedance curve; a synchronicity determining unit that determines a degree of synchronicity based on said notch feature, wherein a decreasing notch feature indicates an increased degree of synchronicity in the filling phase of the ventricles; and a VV delay determining unit adapted to perform an optimization procedure, and wherein said pace pulse generator is controlled to, based on said notch feature, iteratively adjust a VV-interval so as to minimize said notch feature to obtain substantially synchronized ventricle contractions.