Patent ID: 8543206

Claim:
A method for testing a lead condition in an implantable medical device, said method comprising: continuously sampling, over a predetermined period of time, impedance values of a lead associated with said implantable medical device; generating an impedance histogram using said sampled impedance values; determining, using a microprocessor, said lead condition of said lead based on one or more characteristics of said impedance histogram, wherein said determining comprises: examining a spread of impedance values of said impedance histogram; determining if the spread of impedance values is either within a minimum threshold value or exceeds said minimum threshold value; determining that said lead condition comprises a stable lead if said spread of impedance values is within a minimum threshold value; and determining that said lead condition comprises an unstable lead if said spread of impedance values exceeds said minimum threshold value; and following a determination that the lead condition comprises an unstable lead; if the implantable medical device is in a lead maturation period, maintaining the implantable medical device in the lead maturation period; and if the implantable medical device is in a post-lead maturation period, at least one of: restricting functionality of the implantable medical device, disabling functionality of the implantable medical device, notifying a user of an anomaly in the lead, marking the lead as needing attention, notifying a medical professional of the existence of an unstable lead, and storing data regarding the lead condition, uploading the data to an external monitoring device, and displaying data regarding the lead condition to a user.