Device interrogation?

interrogation

by AgentX86 - 2018-08-14 10:36:35

Well, the third law of thermodynamics states that there is no free lunch but the energy for interrogation and settings changes is quite small and infrequent. Given that these functions are essential to the operation of the pacemaker and, BTW. it's host, the energy for this is budgeted in the battery and pulse generator design.

One day

by marylandpm - 2018-08-14 11:30:46

   A Medtronic rep said one day of battery life for each transmission. 

Well...

by AgentX86 - 2018-08-14 22:18:35

I am an electrical engineer and can't be bothered to figure out this stuff.  The interrogations are figured into the life of the device and are required for it's function so figuring out how long the battery would last if it didn't have a critical function seems to be a waste of energy. Kinda like discussing who would win a fight, Superman or The Hulk?

I did figure out how much energy the pacemaker uses in normal operation and it's a rather remarkable device.

Shorter working life.

by DampDog - 2018-08-15 05:21:08

Well I had a little "google" last evening and managed to find some information from the Medtronic site. (This is for my particular device, but there are many listed)

http://wwwp.medtronic.com/productperformance/model/DTBA2QQ-viva-quad-xt.html

If I've interpreted the information correctly. For a device that pacing 100%.  the difference between having your device read twice a year vs monthly is 5.2 years vs 3.6 years. So around 18 months worth of pacing energy difference, that's not an insignificant figure. That's quite a difference, and would infer that each read cost around a weeks pacing.

Now I doubt that there are many of us who have their devices read monthly, but it's easy to get up to 4-6 reads a year.

Obviously they don't monitor the devices for no reason, it's an important part of keeping your device optimised. But as they say "you don't get owt for nowt."

No Worries

by Grateful Heart - 2018-08-15 11:44:42

Try not to worry about it.  I have a CRT-D and I pace 100% in my ventricles and 85-95% in my atria. 

I just had my first replacement last month and my first device lasted just short of 10 years.  I was seen every 3 months for interrogation.  My new device comes with a Latitude home monitoring system so my nurse told me I don't need to come back in for a device check for a year.  I've had different problems with my first device so this should be interesting.  

Grateful Heart

Greatful Heart

by DampDog - 2018-08-17 08:31:46

I had my "in-clinic" device check yesterday. I too have my device interrogated every 3 months. They are alternated from "data transmission-only" to "in-clinic".

This was my 30 month interrogation, with a total of 17 reads. That's probably above average as I needed some adjustments to try and control my VT. Also I've just had an ablation so the device needed to be turned off for the procedure. Estimated longevity is another 48 months. So around 6.5 years total. 

I'm actually part of a trial so I will continue to have my device read every 3 months, had I not been my interrgation frequency may have been reduced to twice a year.