Uni- and bipolar pacing threshold measurements with capturecontrol, a new automatic pacemaker function for capture verification. Comparison of the automatic and the manual pacing threshold measurement

It is mandatory in pacemaker patients to determine the pacing threshold at each follow-up visit. To facilitate the pacing threshold measurements, complete automatic pacemaker tests are being developed. A new pacemaker algorithm for automatic capture verification (Capturecontrol) detects the presence of the evoked response signal 70-100 ms after the pacing pulse. The aim of this study was to determine the uni- and bipolar pacing thresholds using this automatic pacemaker function and compare them with the manually determined threshold. The study included 14 patients with the DDD pacemaker Logos (Biotronik) connected to the high-ohmic ventricular pacing lead Synox SX 60-BP (Biotronik). At predischarge and 8, 14, 20 and 26 weeks after implantation the uni- and bipolar pacing thresholds were assessed manually and with the automatic pacemaker function at 0.4 ms duration. Mean pacing thresholds determined with the automatic pacemaker function were not different from the manually measured values. This applied to uni- and bipolar pacing. Seventy percent of all unipolar and 67% of all bipolar measurements had no deviation. A deviation of 0.1 V between manual and automatic threshold measurement was observed in 25% (unipolar) and 28% (bipolar), respectively. A 0.2-volt difference occurred in 3% in the unipolar measurements. Deviations >/=0.3 V were found in 2% of all unipolar and in 5% of all bipolar measurements. In conclusion, automatic pacing threshold measurements using the Capturecontrol algorithm were similar compared to the manually determined thresholds. The excellent agreement between the two methods was observed for bipolar as well as unipolar pacing and on condition that all patients had a high-ohmic ventricular pacing lead. Therefore, fewer requirements are necessary for Capturecontrol than for presently available systems. Such pacemaker functions can help to speed up the measurements during follow-up visits.