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EP0360551A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Method and apparatus for measuring the lead current in a pacemaker

Assignee: Medtronic Inc
•
Filing: 1989-09-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-09-19
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Abstract

Abstract Pacer lead current is assessed by monitoring the current through one of a plurality of output stage transistors. A stimulating pulse is produced by an output circuit consisting of an output capacitor (24) and a plurality of parallel connected metal oxide semiconductor output transistors (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ...Q N ) for connecting said capacitor (24) to a lead system (14, 16). The lead current, represented by the drain to source current of a small number of the output transistors (Q1, Q2) is measured by a current-to-voltage converter, comprising operational amplifier (18) and resistor (25), followed by an analog-to-digital converter (20).

Inventors

  • 👤 David L. Thompson

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 09:36
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61N; A61N1/00; A61N1/18; A61N1/32; A61N1/36; A61N1/362; A61N1/37; A61N1/3706

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim 92 words
A medical stimulator having a lead system coupled to an output circuit for providing stimulation pulses and having means for measuring characteristics of said stimulation pulses, characterized in that: said output circuit comprises an output capacitor and a plurality of parallel connected metal oxide semiconductor output transistors for coupling said output capacitor to said lead system and in that said measurement means comprises current measuring means coupled to at least one of said output transistors for monitoring the drain to source current of said output transistor during generation of said stimulation pulses.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 92 words
A medical stimulator having a lead system coupled to an output circuit for providing stimulation pulses and having means for measuring characteristics of said stimulation pulses, characterized in that: said output circuit comprises an output capacitor and a plurality of parallel connected metal oxide semiconductor output transistors for coupling said output capacitor to said lead system and in that said measurement means comprises current measuring means coupled to at least one of said output transistors for monitoring the drain to source current of said output transistor during generation of said stimulation pulses.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 32 words
A medical stimulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said measuring means comprises a current-to-voltage transducing operational amplifier connected between the source of at least one monitoring transistor and a reference potential.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 42 words
A medical stimulator as claimed in claim 2 wherein said measuring means further comprises an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the voltage output of said current-to-­voltage transducer whereby the current monitored through the at least one output transistor is converted to a number.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 36 words
A medical stimulator as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the voltage output of said current-to-voltage transducer is supplied to the gates of the output transistors thus regulating the output current to the desired level.

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