Automatic capture recognition of pacemaker pulses

An automatic capture control and threshold tracking system would be an important safety feature for the patient being thrown onto pacemaker therapy. In this connection the aim of this study is to investigate suitability of the VER as signal for such an application. Following this an algorithm was developed and checked on its reliability. These investigations performed by an external pacemaker system during 10 implantations show, that the VER is a preferable signal for automatic capture control and that the developed algorithm works reliably, The results of these investigations have been lead to the development of a new implantable pacemaker providing the capture control algorithm. First Investigations using this pacemaker in 8 patients show a safe detection of effective and not effective stimulation.