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Cardiac stimulation system and method

Cardiac stimulation system and method description/claims

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/426,840 filed on Nov. 16, 2002, which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference thereto.

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is a system and method for stimulating a heart of a patient. More specifically, it is a stimulation device assembly and method using a stimulator coupled with an implantable emitter that is in turn coupled with a conductive agent injected into the region of the heart to be stimulated.

2. Description of the Background Art

Various medical device systems and methods have been disclosed for coupling energy to cardiac tissue in order to influence heart function. A great many of such systems and methods have been disclosed for the particular purpose of treating various types of cardiac arrhythmias, including for example fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia, or other arrhythmias.

Among the many different devices and methods previously disclosed for energy coupling to cardiac tissue, various different types of energy coupling have also been employed.

One type of energy coupling having significant impact over the years in treating cardiac arrhythmias delivers energy into targeted regions of cardiac tissue using energy emitters in or around the heart. Various previously disclosed examples of energy delivery systems and methods of this type include devices using: emitters of electrical energy, e.g. electrodes for delivering direct or alternating current, such as radiofrequency (RF) current; emitters such as crystals or transducers for delivering sonic energy (e.g. ultrasound); emitters such as fiber optics, lenses, or other light discharge elements (e.g. laser diodes) for delivering light (e.g. laser); or energy emitters using microwave coupling (e.g. induction).

Another type of energy coupling that has been investigated for treating certain cardiac arrhythmias includes hypothermia or cryogenic devices intended to reduce tissue temperature to a level. In general, these devices include regions that are cooled to low temperatures (relative to surrounding body temperature) so as to thereby pull heat from and reduce the temperature in surrounding tissue. By achieving this heat transfer at sufficient levels, an intended change in the affected tissue structure or function, either temporarily or permanently. To the extent that such hypothermic coupling relates to pulling thermal energy from the surrounding tissue so as to cool it, such devices are considered energy coupling devices.

The designs and features of the various different energy coupling devices for cardiac treatment also vary in order to adapt such devices to achieve different intended results.

For example, certain such devices and methods generally herein referred to as “ablation devices” are specifically adapted to couple sufficient energy with cardiac tissue so as to ablate the tissue. This may be performed for example in order to terminate a focal origin of arrhythmia, or to form a conduction block to terminate a harmful conduction pathway within the cardiac tissue network causing arrhythmia.

Other ablation devices have also been disclosed for the purpose of forming passageways through tissue or other material located within a patient, such as for recanalization of occluded lumens and vessels.

Other previously disclosed examples of cardiac treatment devices using energy coupling have been specifically adapted to stimulate cardiac tissue, rather than to ablate it. Various types of these cardiac stimulation systems include: devices adapted to couple energy to cardiac tissue in a manner so as to trigger an arrhythmia in order to diagnose cardiac conduction through the heart; pacemaker assemblies and methods adapted to provide artificial pacing of the cardiac cycle in order to cure an arrhythmia; and defibrillator assemblies and methods wherein the heart is “shocked” out of an arrhythmia and back into sinus rhythm.

Because the cardiac conduction cycle is directly and intimately related to electrical conduction through cardiac tissue, the previously disclosed cardiac stimulation devices for triggering, pacing, or defibrillating, are generally electrical coupling devices that deliver electrical energy from electrode leads or catheters secured to or placed against the tissue to be stimulated. Pacemaker and defibrillator assemblies have each been adapted with varied (and in some regards mutually exclusive) designs appropriate to suit one or the other of temporary or permanent use, depending upon a particular need for either acute or chronic rhythm management, respectively.

In general, permanent pacemaker systems include a pacemaker assembly with a pacemaker coupled to an electrical lead generally called a “pacemaker lead”. The implantable or permanent pacemaker typically includes a power source, such as a source of electrical current energy (e.g. a battery). This power source is electrically coupled to one end of the electrical lead. The other end of the electrical lead is in turn coupled to the cardiac tissue to be stimulated, usually by use of an anchor such as a needle, screw, spline, grasper, etc., which anchor may be the electrode current emitter itself.

In recent years, an increasing amount of interest, and research and development, has been directed toward modifying the cellular make-up of cardiac tissue structures in order to enhance cardiac conduction or function in such modified structures.

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