Patent ID: 7623909

Claim:
A method of directing operation of an implantable cardiac stimulus system, the system comprising an implantable device having operational circuitry coupled to a plurality of sensing electrodes disposed within a patient and defining a plurality of sensing vectors for performing cardiac event detection, the system further comprising a programmer adapted for communication with the implantable device, the method comprising: the programmer directing data capture by the implantable device using at least one of the plurality of sensing vectors; and the programmer analyzing at least one of the plurality of sensing vectors to determine suitability for cardiac event detection by use of the following method: the programmer receiving captured signal data from the implanted device; the programmer defining a fixed detection floor and a refractory period, the fixed detection floor being established as a fraction of an estimated maximum detection floor that the signals captured using a given sensing vector do not cross; the programmer identifying a series of detected events that cross the fixed detection floor outside of refractory periods, wherein a refractory period starts each time a detected event is identified; the programmer observing whether intervals between consecutive detected events are greater than a predetermined interval threshold and, if so, identifying a peak during a refractory period following a detection as a QRS Peak, and a peak during a fixed time period following the refractory period as a Noise Peak; else the programmer performing analysis to determine whether individual detected events are likely QRS or Noise events; and either: a) determining that a sensing vector is suitable for cardiac event detection; or b) determining that operator input is needed to complete a sensing vector selection process based on an inability of the programmer to parse individual detected events into likely QRS or Noise events; and following a determination that a sensing vector is suitable or following operator input to complete a sensing vector selection process, the programmer directing communication to the implantable device instructing the implantable device to perform cardiac signal analysis using a selected sensing vector as a default vector.