Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
An implantable atrial defibrillator (30) adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a patient for cardioverting the atria (16, 18) of a patient's heart (10) when the atria are in need of cardioversion, the atrial defibrillator characterized by: a first sensor 52 for sensing atrial activity of the heart; an atrial fibrillation detector (70) responsive to said first sensor for determining when the atria of the heart are in fibrillation and in need of cardioversion and when the atria of the heart are not in fibrillation; and an applying stage (76) for applying electrical energy to the atria of the patient's heart, said applying stage being selectively operable and responsive to said atrial fibrillation detector for applying first electrical energy to the atria for inducing fibrillation of the atria of the patient's heart when the atria of the heart are not in fibrillation and selectively operable and responsive to said atrial fibrillation detector for applying second electrical energy to the atria for cardioverting the atria of the patient's heart when the atria are in fibrillation and in need of cardioversion.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
28 words
The atrial defibrillator of claim 1 further characterized by the applying stage applying the first electrical energy during a predetermined portion of a cardiac cycle of the heart.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The atrial defibrillator of claim 2 further characterized by a second sensor (54) for sensing electrical activations of the heart and wherein the applying stage is responsive to the second sensor for applying the first electrical energy during an electrical activation of the heart.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The atrial defibrillator of claims 1, 2, or 3 wherein the first electrical energy is of lesser quantity than the second electrical energy.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
The atrial defibrillator of claims 1, 2, 3, or 4 further characterized by the applying stage applying the second electrical energy having an initial quantity of energy and thereafter repeatedly applying the second electrical energy having incrementally increased quantities of energy until the atria are cardioverted.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The atrial defibrillator of claim 5 further characterized by the atrial fibrillation detector determining if the atria are in fibrillation after each repeated application of the second electrical energy and the applying stage being responsive to the atrial fibrillation detector for terminating the repeated application of the second electrical energy.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The atrial defibrillator of claim 6 further characterized by a store (68) for storing a value indicative of the last quantity of the second electrical energy applied to the atria of the heart.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The atrial defibrillator of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 further characterized by enable stage (64) for selectively enabling the applying stage to apply the first electrical energy to the atria.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The atrial defibrillator of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 further characterized by the applying stage including a lead (36) for applying the first and second electrical energies to the atria of the heart.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
57 words
The atrial defibrillator of claim 3 further characterized by a receiver (102) for receiving an enable command from external to the skin of the patient, and the applying stage being responsive to the enable command and the second sensor for delivering the first electrical energy to atria in synchrony with a sensed electrical activation of the heart.