| US 7,570,990 B2 | ||
| Detector for atrial fibrillation and flutter | ||
| Thomas S. Faber, Freiburg (Germany); Michael Lippert, Ansbach (Germany); and Marc Oliver Schweika-Kresimon, Herne (Germany) | ||
| Assigned to Biotronik CRM Patent AG, Baar (Switzerland) | ||
| Filed on Sep. 29, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/541,054. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 10 2005 047 320 (DE), filed on Sep. 30, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0078356 A1, Apr. 05, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. A61B 5/04 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 600—518 [600/509; 600/515; 607/14] | 14 Claims |
| 1. A detector for atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF) comprising:
an impedance measuring unit comprising a measuring input, to which an atrial electrode line having an electrode for a unipolar
measurement of an impedance in an atrium is connected and is implemented to generate an atrial impedance signal, obtained
in a unipolar manner, in such a way that an impedance signal for each atrial cycle, comprising an atrial contraction and a
following relaxation of said atrium, comprises multiple impedance values detected by said impedance measuring unit at different
instants within a particular atrial cycle;
said impedance measuring unit comprising a signal input, via which a ventricle signal is to be supplied to said detector,
which reflects instants of ventricular contractions in chronological assignment to said impedance signal;
an analysis unit configured to average multiple sequential impedance signal sections of a unipolar atrial impedance signal,
in which each impedance signal section is delimited by two sequential ventricular contractions, with one another, and to determine
a maximum amplitude of an averaged unipolar atrial impedance signal section; and
said analysis unit configured to compare said maximum amplitude to a comparison value, and if said maximum amplitude of said
averaged unipolar atrial impedance signal is less than said comparison value, generate an AF suspicion signal.
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