title: Clinical advantage of neutral anode positioning feature in recent pacemaker generator.
abstract: Recent advances in pacemaker technology such as a thinner lead body, smaller size of pacemaker generators and pacemaker pulse generators with the neutral anode positioning (NAP) feature, have made pacemaker implantation easier. To date, however, the clinical disadvantages of this NAP feature have not been investigated. We investigated whether there are any clinically disadvantages in pacing and sensing thresholds, myopotential tracking thresholds and myopotential inhibition thresholds in 62 pacemaker patients with the NAP feature. All measured data from the NAP devices when the pacemaker was set to the bipolar system were acceptable and normal. In the unipolar system with NAP feature, no differences were observed in the numerous parameters measured compared to previously reported measured data in the unipolar system without the NAP feature. We concluded that the physician can also benefit from this feature since any pulse generator with the NAP feature is suitable for implant on either side of the body, without any disadvantages. Therefore, left- or right-sided pacers need no longer be ordered, stocked, or specified at the time of implant.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oginosawa
authors.forename: Kazunobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Toshihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagatomo
authors.forename: Yasuhide
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakashima
mesh_terms: D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted / Q000592:standards*; D006325:Heart Atria; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000592:standards*