RELIABILITY OF AN AUTOMATIC SENSING TEST WITH BEAT-TO-BEAT DISPLAY OFTHE SIGNAL AMPLITUDE

In contrast to testing of the capture threshold, the reliability of se nsing tests has been little studied. This study was performed to test the automatic sensing algorithm included in the Biotronik pacing syste ms. The automatic measurements made by the devices were compared with the direct manual measurements made of 271 atrial (72%) or ventricular (28%) electrograms recorded in ten patients. A high correlation (r = 0.995, P < 0.0001) was found between the two types of measurements. Th e use of this function should facilitate the verification of accurate sensing during the long-term follow-up of pacemaker patients, and offe rs a tool to analyze the variations in amplitude of intracardiac signa ls.