The electric field of selective transesophageal pacing leads: an in vitro study

Standard esophageal pacing leads generate an axially symmetric electrical field within the thorax which results in stimulation of not only the heart but the adjacent tissue as well. The selective leads, introduced in this study, enable forming of a volume selective electric field, i.e. directing the stimulus volume into the preferred direction. Each electrode of the selective lead consists of three, electrically insulated, conductive cylindrical shells. In vitro measurements showed that electrodes with smaller central angles have smaller directivity angles and gain higher field rejection ratio keeping relatively low sensitivity to angular displacement