Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120035616 | STEERING AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEAD VIA A ROTATIONAL COUPLING TO A STYLET - An implantable medical lead has a torsional stiffness and is rotationally coupled to a stylet. Applying rotation directly to the lead in turn causes rotation of the stylet. Where the stylet has a bent tip for purposes of steering the lead, the rotation applied to the lead rotates the bent tip so that the lead can be steered by rotating the lead rather than rotating a hub of the stylet. The rotational coupling may be achieved through one or more features provided for the lead and/or the stylet, such as a feature within a lumen of the lead that mates to a feature along the stylet or a feature of the stylet hub that engages the proximal end of the lead. The torsional stiffness of the lead may be provided by adding a feature within the lead body, such as a braided metal wire or an overlapping foil. | 02-09-2012 |
20120035694 | GROUNDING OF A SHIELD WITHIN AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEAD - Grounding of a shield that is located in an implantable medical lead may be done in many ways. The shield may be grounded directly to tissue from the lead body at one or more points along the lead body. The pathway for grounding may be a direct current pathway or be capacitively coupled. The pathway for grounding may utilize an exposed or nearly exposed shield at one or more points along the lead body. A jacket forming the lead body may have an outer layer removed at these points to provide the RF pathway to ground. Alternatively, the jacket may be doped with conductive particles at these points. Metal conductors such as ring electrodes and/or lead anchors may be attached to the lead at one or more points to provide the RF pathway to ground. | 02-09-2012 |
20120035695 | GROUNDING OF A SHIELD WITHIN AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEAD - Grounding of a shield that is located in an implantable medical lead may be done in many ways. The ground pathway may couple to the shield at a point that is outside of a header of an implantable medical device to which the implantable medical lead is attached. The ground pathway may couple to the shield at a point that is within the header of the implantable medical device. The ground pathway may terminate at the metal can of the implantable medical device. As another option, the ground pathway may terminate at a ground plate that is mounted to the header. The ground pathway may be direct current coupled from the shield to the can or ground plate. Alternatively, the ground pathway may include one or more capacitive couplings that provide a pathway for induced radio frequency current. | 02-09-2012 |
20120035696 | TERMINATION OF A SHIELD WITHIN AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEAD - A shield located within an implantable medical lead may be terminated in various ways. The shield may be terminated by butt, scarf, lap, or other joints between insulation layers surrounding the lead and an insulation extension. For lap joints, a portion of an outer insulation layer may be removed and a replacement outer insulation layer is positioned in place of the removed outer insulation layer, where the replacement layer extends beyond an inner insulation layer and the shield. The replacement layer may also lap onto a portion of the insulation extension. Barbs may be located between the replacement layer and the inner insulation layer or the insulation extension. The shield wires have ends at the termination point that may be folded over individually or may be capped with a ring located within one of the insulation layers of the jacket. | 02-09-2012 |
20120041528 | TERMINATION OF A SHIELD WITHIN AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEAD - A shield located within an implantable medical lead may be terminated in various ways at a metal connector. The shield may be terminated by various joints including butt, scarf, lap, or other joints between insulation layers surrounding the lead and an insulation extension. The shield may terminate with a physical and electrical connection to a single metal connector. The shield may terminate with a physical and electrical connection by passing between an overlapping pair of inner and outer metal connectors. The metal connectors may include features such as teeth or threads that penetrate the insulation layers of the lead. The shield may terminate with a physical and electrical connection by exiting a jacket of a lead adjacent to a metal connector and lapping onto the metal connector. | 02-16-2012 |
20120130461 | RADIOPAQUE MARKERS FOR IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEADS, DEVICES, AND SYSTEMS - Radiopaque markers represent that a lead is suitable for a particular medical procedure such as a magnetic resonance image scan and are added to the lead or related device. The markers may be added after implantation of the lead in various ways including suturing, gluing, crimping, or clamping a radiopaque tag to the lead or to the device. The markers may be added by placing a radiopaque coil about the lead, and the radiopaque coil may radially contract against the lead to obtain a fixed position. The markers may be added by placing a polymer structure onto the lead where the polymer structure includes a radiopaque marker within it. The polymer structure may include a cylindrical aperture that contracts against the lead to fix the position of the structure. The polymer structure may form a lead anchor that includes suture wings that can be sutured to the lead. | 05-24-2012 |
20130109254 | Lead End Having Inner Support | 05-02-2013 |
20140276928 | SUBCUTANEOUS DELIVERY TOOL - Subcutaneous implantation tools and methods of implanting a subcutaneous device using the same. The tool may include a tool body having a longitudinally extending recess having a distal opening and having a tunneler at a distal end of the tool body extending from the distal opening of the recess. The tool may include a plunger slidably fitting within at least a portion of the tool body recess. The recess may be configured to receive an implantable device and the tunneler preferably extends distally from the recess at a position laterally displaced from the device when the device is so located in the recess. Movement of the plunger distally within the recess advances the device distally out of the recess and alongside of and exterior to the tunneler. | 09-18-2014 |