Implantable cardioverter/defibrillator with housing electrode and lead detection and switching circuitry

摘要

An implantable cardioverter/defibrillator includes an active can electrode and a high-voltage lead that can be electrically isolated from one another by opening a switch between them. The performance of the high-voltage lead and the can electrode can then be independently monitored, thus indicating which lead is inoperable, should one become inoperable. If a lead becomes inoperable, the implantable device can then reconfigure an electrical pathway such as a cardioversion and/or a defibrillation pathway by excluding the inoperable lead. By separating the high-voltage lead from the can electrode, pseudo ECG measurements can also be taken and utilized by the implantable device.