# Feasibility Study of Innovative Fiber Optic Technology to Suppress Inappropriate Discharges from Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators

> **NIH NIH R41** · CHELAK MEDICAL SOLUTION INC. · 2021 · $251,923

## Abstract

Project Summary
Implantable Cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs) have been proven to the most effective therapy to
reduce mortality from sudden cardiac death. Today’s ICD technology exclusively relies on
sophisticated algorithmic analysis of cardiac electric signals (electrograms, EGM) sensed by the
ICD to detect fatal cardiac arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular
fibrillation (VF), that trigger discharge of electrical energy (ICD shock) to restore normal rhythm.
Despite decades of continuing effort and incremental technological advances, inappropriate
shock (IAS), erroneously triggered by nonfatal events, remains a significant problem and
represents an unmet clinical need. IAS often occurs during nonfatal events that are associated
with stable hemodynamic status and most commonly include (1) electrical noises, from
electromagnetic interference (external noise) or ICD lead fracture (internal noise), and (2)
nonfatal tachyarrhythmias (TA) such as hemodynamically stable atrial fibrillation (AF) with rapid
ventricular response
. The objective of the project is to test the feasibility and eventual
commercialization of an innovative technology with fiber optic sensors in the existing ICD
system that assess the hemodynamic stability during arrhythmias and thereby reduce IAS. The
proposed research in Phase I is to evaluate the feasibility of this novel technology in a swine
model to determine hemodynamic stability during tachyarrhythmia, thereby separating
hemodynamically stable TAs from those that are unstable, and will specifically focus on testing
the feasibility of optical sensors embedded in the existing ICD system in assessing
hemodynamics through detecting changes in cardiac strain parameters (Aim 1), the feasibility of
such optical sensors in identifying electrical noises based on unchanged hemodynamics (Aim
2),
and the feasibility of such optical sensors in differentiating hemodynamically stable AF with
rapid ventricular response from unstable AF and from ventricular fibrillation (Aim 3).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10254608
- **Project number:** 1R41HL156482-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** CHELAK MEDICAL SOLUTION INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Jie Cheng
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $251,923
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10254608

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10254608, Feasibility Study of Innovative Fiber Optic Technology to Suppress Inappropriate Discharges from Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators (1R41HL156482-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10254608. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*