Richard Lewis Sanders
Engineering at Territory Ln, Houston, TX

6370427, Apr 9, 2002

Jul 23, 1998

09/121523

Eckhard Alt - Ottobrunn, DE
Lawrence J. Stotts - Lake Jackson TX
Richard Sanders - Houston TX

Intermedics, Inc. - St. Paul MN

A61N 139

607 4, 607 5, 607 9, 607121, 607120

Device and method are disclosed in which leads with pacing and defibrillating electrodes are implanted into both the right and left ventricles of a patients heart to enable simultaneous pacing of both ventricles to reduce the width of the QRS complex of the patients cardiac activity to a more normal duration, and, when appropriate, to apply electrical shock waveforms to both ventricles simultaneously for lower energy defibrillation of the ventricles. In applying the defibrillation therapy, the defibrillating electrode in the left ventricle may be used as the anode and the defibrillating electrode in the right ventricle may be used as the cathode, or both ventricular defibrillating electrodes may be the anode and the metal case in which the shock waveform generator is implanted may be the cathode. Implanting a lead with pacing and defibrillating electrodes in the right atrium enables selective pacing and defibrillation of the atria, in which atrial fibrillation is treated by applying the shock waveform across the right atrial and left ventricular defibrillation electrodes.

4884575, Dec 5, 1989

Dec 8, 1987

7/130182

Richard S. Sanders - Houston TX

Intermedics, Inc. - Angleton TX

A61N 136

128419PG

A cardiac pacemaker pulse generator is adapted to. generate electrical stimuli at a first pacing rate, and to selectively increase the rate to a second higher pacing rate. A timer triggers the rate increase to establish the higher rate as an exercise rate folloing the passage of a preset period of time after the timer is enabled. An external magnet controlled by the patient activates a reed switch to enable the timer to commence timing. The pulse generator is further adapted to respond to a second pass of the magnet over the reed switch after enabling of the timer to thereupon disable the timer before the preset period of time has expired. If the second pass of the magnet occurs after the exercise rate has begun, the element for increasing the rate is disabled to return the pulse generator to the lower pacing rate. The change in pacing rates is made in steps.

5609615, Mar 11, 1997

Sep 22, 1995

8/532929

Richard S. Sanders - Houston TX
Patrick J. Paul - Lake Jackson TX
David Prutchi - Lake Jackson TX

Intermedics, Inc. - Angleton TX

A61N 137

607 36

A cardiac simulator including a patient warning apparatus, having an electrically conductive suture point in electrical communication with the patient warning apparatus. An electrically conductive suture passed through the suture point connects said stimulator mechanically and electrically to excitable tissue such as skeletal tissue. Inside the suture point is a connection for assuring a reliable electrical contact between the suture point and the suture. The cardiac stimulator automatically alters the peak voltage of its output stimulus whenever a condition exists requiring patient notification or warning. A specialized shunt circuit mounted within the stimulator or in the header of the stimulator re-directs electrical current from the standard stimulation electrode to the electrically conductive suture point. A controlled switch may be mounted within a hermetically sealed can of the stimulator to re-direct a stimulation pulse to the suture point. The controlled switch could also be mounted in the header.

4624260, Nov 25, 1986

May 7, 1985

6/731581

Ross G. Baker - Houston TX
Richard V. Calfee - Houston TX
Richard S. Sanders - Houston TX
Joe Vandegriff - Freeport TX
Jay Warren - Placerville CA

Intermedics, Inc. - Angleton TX

A61N 136

128419PG

An implantable microprocessor-controlled dual chamber heart pacemaker is programmed to control the timing of the pacing of the ventricle in response to high rate atrial signals. The microprocessor operates in conjunction with an atrial timer to detect atrial signals which occur at a rate in excess of a predefined atrial rate limit. The microprocessor paces the ventricle at a predefined desirable demand rate and inhibits pacing of the atrium in response to the high rate atrial activity. The microprocessor also controls the timing of an atrial refractory interval which includes an absolute refractory portion during which atrial signals are not detected and a relative refractory portion during which atrial signals are detected but are not tracked. The combined absolute and relative atrial refractory portions insure that relatively high rate atrial signals are detected and spurious signals conducted from the ventricle are ignored.