Patent ID: 8140165

Claim:
An electrostimulation system for delivering an electrostimulation treatment program to a patient with a reduced risk of inducing cardiac fibrillation, the electrostimulation system comprising: an electrical pulse generator operable to generate electrical pulses according to an electrostimulation treatment program; at least one electrode assembly electrically coupled to the pulse generator by at least one stimulation channel; a command module coupled to the at least one stimulation channel and communicatively coupled to the pulse generator to control delivery of the electrostimulation treatment program to a patient via the electrode assembly; and a protection system microprocessor circuit communicatively coupled to the at least one stimulation channel and the command module and configured to: monitor at least one current applied during the delivery of the electrostimulation treatment program; apply a plurality of characteristic detection criteria to the monitored at least one current, the plurality of characteristic detection criteria identifying characteristics of an electrostimulation current that are indicative of a risk of inducing cardiac fibrillation when electrostimulation is applied to muscle groups proximate the cardiac region of the patient; identify at least one characteristic of the monitored current that meets at least one of the characteristic detection criteria; and in response to identifying the at least one characteristic in the monitored current, alter an operating state of the electrostimulation system to reduce the risk of inducing cardiac fibrillation when electrostimulation is applied to muscle groups proximate the cardiac region of the patient.