Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Multidirectional Ecg Coherent Optimal Timing Of Defibrillation Shocks, Abhijit R. Patwardhan, Fabio M. Leonelli

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Patents

A method for of delivering a defibrillation shock to a heart at an optimal time to stop ventricular fibrillation which involves obtaining an electrocardiogram of a heart in at least two directions, determining a time-coherency of the electrocardiogram based upon each of the at least two directions, and computing a tracking function from the time-coherency. An optimal time to apply a defibrillation shock to the heart is determined by locating a local maximum on the tracking function. The method utilizes spacia characteristics of the ventricular fibrillation. The method can be incorporated into implantable cardioverter defibrillators utilizing existing hardware technology.