Electrocardiogram monitoring

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods are disclosed that identify a type of cable coupled to a receptacle of a defibrillator and that activate one or both of an ECG monitoring module and an energy storage circuit based at least in part on the identified cable type. The cable-type identification may allow a defibrillator to, for example, operate in either or both of an ECG monitoring mode and/or a therapy mode, based on the type of cable that is coupled to the defibrillator. The disclosed devices, systems, and methods can monitor an ECG of a patient and deliver defibrillation therapy to the patient, depending on the type of cable coupled to the defibrillator and/or the type of detected ECG signal of the patient.

1 . A defibrillator, comprising:
 a receptacle configured to receive a connector that is located at an end of a cable, the cable also having an opposing end that is structured to couple the cable to a patient, the cable configured to convey electrical signals between the defibrillator and the patient;   an interface electrically coupled to the receptacle;
 a cable-type identification circuit electrically coupled to the interface and configured to detect a type of the cable based on the connector received in the receptacle; 
 an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring module electrically coupled to the interface and configured to detect an ECG signal in the patient; and 
 an energy storage circuit electrically coupled to the interface and configured to store energy to be delivered to the patient; and 
   a processor electrically coupled to the interface, the cable-type identification circuit, the ECG monitoring module, and the energy storage circuit, the processor configured to identify the type of cable based on the cable type detected by the cable-type identification circuit and further configured to transmit an instruction to the interface to activate at least one of the ECG monitoring module and the energy storage circuit based at least in part on the identified cable type.   
     
     
         2 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the connector has a cable-type identification conductor that, when the connector is received by the receptacle, is coupled to the cable-type identification circuit and creates a short in the cable-type identification circuit that corresponds to the cable type. 
     
     
         3 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the opposing end of the cable is coupled to the patient via at least one or more of a lead and an electrode. 
     
     
         4 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the instruction to the interface to activate the energy storage circuit based at least in part on the identified cable type, and wherein the interface includes a switch that is configured to couple the energy storage circuit to the cable in response to the received instruction to activate the energy storage circuit. 
     
     
         5 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the instruction to the interface to activate both of the ECG monitoring module and the energy storage circuit based at least in part on the identified cable type. 
     
     
         6 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to transmit the instruction to the interface to activate either the ECG monitoring module or the energy storage circuit based at least in part on the identified cable type. 
     
     
         7 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the instruction to the interface to activate the at least one of the ECG monitoring module and the energy storage circuit based at least in part on the identified cable type and the ECG signal of the patient. 
     
     
         8 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the opposing end of the cable has at least one of a lead and an electrode structured to couple the cable to the patient, and wherein the ECG monitoring module is further configured to detect if one or more of the at least one of the lead and the electrode are not adequately coupled to the patient. 
     
     
         9 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit an instruction to the energy storage circuit to deliver the stored energy to the patient based at least in part on one or both of the identified cable type and the detected ECG signal in the patient. 
     
     
         10 . The defibrillator of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to evaluate an efficacy of the delivered stored energy based on a further ECG signal detected in the patient by the ECG monitoring module after the stored energy is delivered to the patient by the energy storage circuit. 
     
     
         11 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the defibrillator to operate in a selected one of a plurality of operational modes based at least in part on the identified cable type. 
     
     
         12 . The defibrillator of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of operational modes includes an ECG monitoring mode, a therapy mode, and a combined therapy-monitoring mode. 
     
     
         13 . The defibrillator of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit an instruction to the interface to activate the ECG monitoring module when the processor causes the defibrillator to operate in the ECG monitoring mode. 
     
     
         14 . The defibrillator of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit an instruction to the interface to activate the energy storage circuit when the processor causes the defibrillator to operate in the therapy mode. 
     
     
         15 . The defibrillator of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit an instruction to the interface to activate both the ECG monitoring module and the energy storage circuit when the processor causes the defibrillator to operate in the combined therapy-monitoring mode. 
     
     
         16 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface that is configured to receive data from a user about at least one of the identified cable type and the instruction to the interface to activate at least one of the ECG monitoring module and the energy storage circuit. 
     
     
         17 . The defibrillator of  claim 1 , wherein the type of cable detected by the cable-type identification circuit includes a configuration of the cable. 
     
     
         18 . The defibrillator of  claim 17 , wherein the configuration of the cable includes identifying a number of leads and electrodes that are coupled to the opposing end of the cable.