IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,517,242
Granted Patent B2
US 11,517,242 · App. 16/700,087 · Granted Dec 6, 2022

Method and apparatus for atrial arrhythmia episode detection

Inventors: Shantanu Sarkar (Roseville, MN); Daniel L. Hansen (Castle Rock, CO); Grant A. Neitzell (Plymouth, MN); Jerry D. Reiland (Coon Rapids, MN); Ryan Wyszynski (Oak Grove, MN)
Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
A61B5/361A61B5/24A61B5/316A61B5/349A61B5/352A61B5/686A61N1/3624A61N1/36507A61N1/36592A61N1/395A61N1/3987A61B5/363
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,517,242
App. No.
16/700,087
Granted
Dec 6, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Techniques and devices for implementing the techniques for adjusting atrial arrhythmia detection based on analysis of one or more P-wave sensing windows associated with one or more R-waves. An implantable medical device may determine signal characteristics of the cardiac signal within the P-wave sensing window, determine whether the cardiac signal within the sensing window corresponds to a P-wave based on the determined signal characteristics, determine a signal to noise ratio of the cardiac signal within the sensing window, update the arrhythmia score when the P-wave is identified in the sensing window and the determined signal to noise ratio satisfies a signal to noise threshold.

Claims (93)

1. A medical device comprising:

a plurality of electrodes configured to sense a cardiac signal; and

processing circuitry configured to:

identify one or more pairs of consecutive R-waves within the sensed cardiac signal;

determine, for each pair of consecutive R-waves of the one or more pairs of consecutive R-waves, whether an RR-interval corresponding to the respective pair of consecutive R-waves is greater than an RR-interval threshold;

identify, for each pair of consecutive of R-waves having an RR-interval greater than the RR-interval threshold, a P-wave window corresponding to the respective pair of consecutive R-waves;

determine a characteristic P-wave signal based on the cardiac signal within the one or more identified P-wave windows, wherein the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to a characteristic P-wave window;

determine one or more signal characteristics for one or both of a baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window and a P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window; and

determine, based on the determined one or more signal characteristics, whether the characteristic P-wave signal is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave.

2. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

determine the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein the baseline portion is prior to the P-wave portion.

3. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein to determine the characteristic P-wave signal, the processing circuitry is configured to determine an average of the cardiac signal within the one or more identified P-wave windows.

4. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window extends from a start of the characteristic P-wave window to a midpoint of the characteristic P-wave window, and wherein the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window extends from the midpoint of the characteristic P-wave window to an endpoint of the characteristic P-wave window.

5. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein to determine whether the characteristic P-wave is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave, the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine a second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

identify one or more maximum amplitudes in the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

compare each maximum amplitude of the one or more maximum amplitudes to a first threshold;

identify one or more minimum amplitudes in the second derivative of the signal corresponding to the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

compare each minimum amplitude of the one or more minimum amplitudes to a second threshold; and

determine that the characteristic P-wave signal is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave when:

a number of the one or more maximum amplitudes greater than or equal to the first threshold is equal to one; or

a number of the one or more minimum amplitudes less than or equal to the second threshold is equal to one.

6. The medical device of claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the characteristic P-wave signal is not confirmed as including a P-wave when:

the number of the one or more maximum amplitudes greater than or equal to the first threshold is not equal to one; and

the number of the one or more minimum amplitudes less than or equal to the second threshold is not equal to one.

7. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the characteristic P-wave window;

determine a second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the characteristic P-wave window; and

determine, based on the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal and the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal, whether the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to an atrial flutter event.

8. The medical device of claim 7 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

determine the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein the baseline portion is prior to the P-wave portion;

identify one or more maximum amplitudes of the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal within the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein each maximum amplitude of the one or more maximum amplitudes is associated with a respective positive going zero crossing of the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal;

determine whether each maximum amplitude of the one or more maximum amplitudes within the baseline portion is greater than a first threshold amplitude;

identify one or more minimum amplitudes of the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal within the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein each minimum amplitude of the one or more minimum amplitudes is associated with a respective negative going zero crossing of the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal;

determine whether each minimum amplitude of the one or more minimum amplitudes within the baseline portion is less than a second threshold amplitude;

identify one or more maximum amplitudes of the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal within the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein each maximum amplitude of the one or more maximum amplitudes is associated with a respective positive going zero crossing of the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal;

determine whether each maximum amplitude of the one or more maximum amplitudes within the baseline portion is greater than the first threshold amplitude;

identify one or more minimum amplitudes of the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal within the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein each minimum amplitude of the one or more minimum amplitudes is associated with a respective negative going zero crossing of the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal; and

determine whether each minimum amplitude of the one or more minimum amplitudes within the P-wave portion is less than the second threshold amplitude,

wherein to determine whether the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to an atrial flutter event, the processing circuitry is configured to:

calculate a first sum of a number of the one or more maximum amplitudes within the baseline portion greater than the first threshold amplitude and a number of the one or more maximum amplitudes within the baseline portion greater than the second threshold amplitude;

calculate a second sum of a number of the one or more maximum amplitudes within the P-wave portion greater than the first threshold amplitude and a number of the one or more maximum amplitudes within the P-wave portion greater than the second threshold amplitude;

determine whether the first sum is equal to a first target number of amplitudes; and

determine whether an absolute value of a difference between the first sum and the second sum is less than or equal to a second target number of amplitudes.

9. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the characteristic P-wave window;

determine a second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the characteristic P-wave window; and

determine, based on the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal and the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal, whether the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to a noise event.

10. The medical device of claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

determine the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein the baseline portion is prior to the P-wave portion;

identify a maximum value of the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal within the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window; and

identify a minimum value of the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal within the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window,

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine, based on the maximum value and the minimum value, whether the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to a noise event.

11. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine, based on the characteristic P-wave signal confirmed as including a genuine P-wave, whether an atrial arrhythmia is detected.

12. A method comprising:

identifying, by processing circuitry of a medical device, one or more pairs of consecutive R-waves within a cardiac signal sensed via a plurality of electrodes of the medical device;

determining, by the processing circuitry for each pair of consecutive R-waves of the one or more pairs of consecutive R-waves, whether an RR-interval corresponding to the respective pair of consecutive R-waves is greater than an RR-interval threshold;

identifying, by the processing circuitry for each pair of consecutive of R-waves having an RR-interval greater than the RR-interval threshold, a P-wave window corresponding to the respective pair of consecutive R-waves;

determining, by the processing circuitry, a characteristic P-wave signal based on the cardiac signal within the one or more identified P-wave windows, wherein the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to a characteristic P-wave window;

determining, by the processing circuitry, one or more signal characteristics for one or both of a baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window and a P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window; and

determining, by the processing circuitry based on the determined one or more signal characteristics, whether the characteristic P-wave signal is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

determining the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window, wherein the baseline portion is prior to the P-wave portion.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein determining the characteristic P-wave signal comprises determining an average of the cardiac signal within the one or more identified P-wave windows.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window extends from a start of the characteristic P-wave window to a midpoint of the characteristic P-wave window, and wherein the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window extends from the midpoint of the characteristic P-wave window to an endpoint of the characteristic P-wave window.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein determining whether the characteristic P-wave is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave comprises:

determining a second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

identifying one or more maximum amplitudes in the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window;

comparing each maximum amplitude of the one or more maximum amplitudes to a first threshold;

identifying one or more minimum amplitudes in the second derivative of the signal corresponding to the P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window; and

comparing each minimum amplitude of the one or more minimum amplitudes to a second threshold; and

determining that the characteristic P-wave signal is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave when:

a number of the one or more maximum amplitudes greater than or equal to the first threshold is equal to one; or

a number of the one or more minimum amplitudes less than or equal to the second threshold is equal to one.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the method comprises determining that the characteristic P-wave signal is not confirmed as including a P-wave when:

the number of the one or more maximum amplitudes greater than or equal to the first threshold is not equal to one; and

the number of the one or more minimum amplitudes less than or equal to the second threshold is not equal to one.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining a first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the characteristic P-wave window;

determining a second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal corresponding to the characteristic P-wave window; and

determining, based on the first derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal and the second derivative of the characteristic P-wave signal, whether the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to an atrial flutter event.

19. The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining, based on the characteristic P-wave signal confirmed as including a genuine P-wave, whether an atrial arrhythmia is detected.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing one or more processors to:

identify one or more pairs of consecutive R-waves within a cardiac signal sensed via a plurality of electrodes of a medical device;

determine, for each pair of consecutive R-waves of the one or more pairs of consecutive R-waves, whether an RR-interval corresponding to the respective pair of consecutive R-waves is greater than an RR-interval threshold;

identify, for each pair of consecutive of R-waves having an RR-interval greater than the RR-interval threshold, a P-wave window corresponding to the respective pair of consecutive R-waves;

determine a characteristic P-wave signal based on the cardiac signal within the one or more identified P-wave windows, wherein the characteristic P-wave signal corresponds to a characteristic P-wave window;

determine one or more signal characteristics for one or both of a baseline portion of the characteristic P-wave window and a P-wave portion of the characteristic P-wave window; and

determine, based on the determined one or more signal characteristics, whether the characteristic P-wave signal is confirmed as including a genuine P-wave.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 2, 2019
From: SARKAR, SHANTANU; HANSEN, DANIEL L.; NEITZELL, GRANT A.; REILAND, JERRY D.; WYSZYNSKI, RYAN
To: MEDTRONIC, INC. (CVG)
Reel/Frame 051149/0848 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 15551924
Continuation 14695111 · Apr 24, 2015
Provisional Application 62117785 · Feb 18, 2015
Related Publication 20200100694A1 · Apr 2, 2020
Cited By (1)
US 12,251,231