US5314448A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Process for defibrillation pretreatment of a heart
Assignee: Sorin CRM SAS
•
Filing: 1991-10-28
•
Granted: 1994-05-24
•
Expires: 2011-10-28
Abstract
Abstract The present invention is a process to apply an electrical pretreatment to a fibrillating heart that begins the process of organizing the action of the chaotically contracting myocardial cells, so that the defibrillating waveform applied after the pretreatment can accomplish its task with less energy than would otherwise be required. The same electrodes are employed for both pretreatment and defibrillation. In one preferred embodiment a long-duration, low-voltage pretreatment pulse is generated directly by battery and voltage-conversion circuitry, and is followed by the defibrillation pulse delivered from the previously charged capacitor. In variations on this embodiment, the capacitor is charged during the pretreatment pulse, or between the pretreatment and defibrillation pulses. In other preferred embodiments, pretreatment consists of a train of pulses of appreciably lower energy than the defibrillation pulse, and with inter-pulse time adjusted so that necessary capacitor recharging can be accomplished, so that the same capacitor (a component of dominant size) can be used for all pretreatment pulses and for the defibrillation pulse as well. Wide-ranging variations of pulse duration, height spacing and waveform are included, as well as selected polarity inversions.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark W. Kroll
- 👤 Theodore P. Adams
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 01:30
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61N; A61N1/00; A61N1/18; A61N1/32; A61N1/38; A61N1/39; A61N1/3956; A61N1/3906
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 32
Claim 1
Independent Claim
81 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart; b. at least one of said pretreatment pulses having a duration that is long compared to that of said defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is low compared to that of said defibrillation pulse; and c. said pretreatment pulses being spaced away from said defibrillation pulse by a time interval.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
81 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart; b. at least one of said pretreatment pulses having a duration that is long compared to that of said defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is low compared to that of said defibrillation pulse; and c. said pretreatment pulses being spaced away from said defibrillation pulse by a time interval.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
61 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart; and, b. wherein said pretreatment pulse is spaced away from said defibrillation pulse by a time interval of at least 100 milliseconds and said defibrillation pulse is a biphasic pulse.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
61 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart; and, b. wherein said pretreatment pulse is spaced away from said defibrillation pulse by a time interval of at least 100 milliseconds and said defibrillation pulse is a biphasic pulse.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. low-energy pretreatment pulses applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart; and, b. wherein the electrical pretreatment comprises a train of said low-energy pulses with zero-voltage intervals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. low-energy pretreatment pulses applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart; and, b. wherein the electrical pretreatment comprises a train of said low-energy pulses with zero-voltage intervals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the substantially zero-voltage interval between the pulses in the train is between 100 milliseconds and 400 milliseconds.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The process of claim 3 wherein all substantially zero-voltage intervals between the pulses in the train are equal.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the substantially zero-voltage intervals between the pulses in the train are variable.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the substantially zero-voltage intervals between the pulses in the train increase monotonically in duration as the train progresses.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the substantially zero-voltage intervals between the pulses in the train decrease monotonically in duration as the train progresses.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the substantially zero-voltage intervals between the pulses in the train vary nonmonotonically in duration as the train progresses.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
The process of claim 3 wherein a capacitor is utilized for generating the pretreatment and defibrillation waveforms.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
40 words
The process of claim 3 wherein each pulse of the train has a duration that is short compared to that of a conventional monophasic defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is comparable to that of a conventional monophasic defibrillation pulse.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
41 words
The process of claim 3 wherein each pulse of the train has a duration that is one-tenth to one-half that of a conventional monophasic defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is one-tenth to one-half that of a conventional monophasic defibrillation pulse.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the pretreatment increases the temporal organization of the myocardial cells.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 3 comprising a monophasic defibrillation pulse.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 3 comprising a biphasic defibrillation pulse.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
17 words
The process of claim 3 wherein a capacitor is utilized for generating the pretreatment and defibrillation waveforms.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
14 words
The process of claim 3 comprising pulses grouped in clusters of at least two.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
12 words
The process of claim 3 comprising short pulses intermixed with longer pulses.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
17 words
The process of claim 3 comprising a pulse train combined with one or more long-duration, low-voltage pulses.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
The process of claim 3 wherein at least one of these pulse-train attributes is varied within the duration of the train: pulse length, pulse height, pulse spacing, or pulse waveforms.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 20 wherein the variation is stepwise.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 20 wherein the variation is smooth.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 20 wherein the variation is monotonic.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 20 wherein the variation is nonmonotonic.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
12 words
The process of claim 20 with the added variation of pulse polarity.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
88 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart, wherein said pretreatment pulse is spaced away from the defibrillation pulse by a time interval of sufficient length to permit recharging of a defibrillation capacitor; and b. at least one pulse having a duration that is long compared to that of said defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is low compared to that of said defibrillation pulse.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
88 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart, wherein said pretreatment pulse is spaced away from the defibrillation pulse by a time interval of sufficient length to permit recharging of a defibrillation capacitor; and b. at least one pulse having a duration that is long compared to that of said defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is low compared to that of said defibrillation pulse.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
78 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart, wherein said pretreatment pulse is spaced away from the defibrillation pulse by a time interval; and b. at least one pulse having a duration that is long compared to that of said defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is low compared to that of said defibrillation pulse.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
78 words
A process for the electrical pretreatment of a fibrillating heart comprising: a. at least one low-energy pretreatment pulse applied to the heart before application of a defibrillation pulse to the heart, wherein said pretreatment pulse is spaced away from the defibrillation pulse by a time interval; and b. at least one pulse having a duration that is long compared to that of said defibrillation pulse and a voltage that is low compared to that of said defibrillation pulse.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4637397A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-05-23 | 1997-11-22 | 1998-05-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-05-23 | 2001-11-22 | 2002-05-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-05-23 | 2005-11-22 | 2006-05-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |