• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.269-273
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• 2001

Proper determination of pacing threshold is important for patient safety and pacemaker longevity. In general, cardiac muscle contractions caused by pacing pulses are verified by observing the morphology of surface ECG displayed on a monitor. In this study, a method of automatic pacing threshold determination based on morphological difference between intrinsic and paced ECGs was developed. First, characteristics of intrinsic ECG and paced ECG were analyzed in time and frequency domain and a proper discrimination parameter was extracted. Then, the automatic capture verification method based on the parameter was developed and applied to 23 pacemaker patients. The selected parameter was the area of ventricular depolarization wave during 80ms after pacing stimulus. It was found that the method was reliable and effective in identifying paced ECG and, thereby, determing a proper pacing threshold.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.115-120
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• 1983

We implanted pacemakers using screw-in sutureless myocardial electrode in 40 patients between February, 1980 and November, 1982 at Seoul Nation University Hospital. Mean age of total patient who received the pacemaker implantation was 39.9 years, but excluding the patient who received the open heart surgery, mean age was 49.3 years. Cause of pacemaker implantation was complete A-V block in 13 patients, symptomatic sick sinus syndrome in 12 patients, complete A-V block after open heart surgery in 12 patients, second degree A-V block with dizziness in one patient, and atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular response in two patients. In thirty nine cases, electrodes were implanted by subxiphoid approach, on the diaphragmatic surface of right ventricle. I n one case, electrode was implanted through the left anterior thoracotomy. Acute stimulation threshold, measured in 35 patients, varied from 0.1 to 2.5 mA [mean 0.85 mA.], and R-wave amplitude [sensitivity], measured in 19 patients, varied from 2.9 mV to 11.5 mV [mean 7.6 mV]. There was no hospital death. The postoperative complications included wound seroma in two patients [5%], wound hematoma in three patients [7.5%], and pacing failure in one patient [2.5%]. The subxiphoid implantation of the pacemaker using sutureless myocardial lead was valuable in obtaining safe, reliable and long-term impulse generation.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.5 no.2 s.9
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• pp.182-189
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• 2001

Single-pass VDD pacemakers have been used as a result of simple implantation procedures and generally reliable atrial tracking that ensures an A-V sequence pacing. However, there is a controversy over their reliabilities of atrial tracking. As a new sensing method for reliable atrial tracking, a simple automatic pacemaker sensing algorithm was implemented and evaluated to validate its benefits in sensing depolarization waves of Single-pass VDD atrial electrograms. The automatic sensing algorithm had a predetermined sensing dynamic range and the sensitivity level was controlled as 50% of the average of two most recently sensed intrinsic amplitudes. The behavior of the automatic sensing algorithm in the Single-pass VDD atrial electrograms was analyzed and characterized. It was observed that the automatic sensing algorithm was more effective than a conventional fixed threshold method to accurately detect and track p-waves in Single-pass VDD electrograms.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.499-503
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• 2004

Background: We investigated the longevity, thresholds of epicardial pacemaker and causes of reoperation in the pediatric patients who underwent epicardial pacemaker implantation performed during the last 13 years Material and Method: 121 operations were performed in 83 patients from January 1989 to July 2002. We analyzed the stimulation threshold, resistance, R-wave and P-wave, and sensitivity of pacemaker lead at initial implantation. Longevity and causes of reoperations were investigated. Result At implantation, epicardial ventricular mean stimula-tion threshold was 1.2$\pm$0.1 (0.1∼5) mV, mean resistance was 519.1$\pm$18.1 (319∼778) Ohm, and mean R-wave sensitivity was 8.9$\pm$0.7 (4∼20) mV, and mean P wave sensivity was 2.5$\pm$0.7 (0.4∼12) mV. The mean longe-vity of pacemaker generator was 64.7$\pm$3.7 (2∼196) months. The reoperation free rate was 94.6% for 1 year, 93.6% for 2 years, 80.8% for 5years, 63.7% for 7 years, and 45.5% for 10 years. The causes of reoperation were battery waste in 26 cases and lead malfunction in 9 cases. There was no postoperative death related to pacemaker malfunction. Conclusion: in the childrens, average longevity of epicardial pacemaker was within accep-table range. 19.1% of the patients required pacemaker related reoperation. However, recent developments, including steroid eluting lead, 6.7% of the patients required pacemaker related reoperation, look promising in expansion of pacemaker life span.