| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080294220 | FEEDTHROUGH FILTER TERMINAL ASSEMBLIES WITH BREATHABLE COMPONENTS TO FACILITATE LEAK TESTING - A feedthrough terminal assembly for an active implantable medical device (AIMD) includes a conductive terminal pin or lead wire which extends through a conductive ground plane of the AIMD in non-conductive relation. A feedthrough capacitor associated with the terminal pin or lead wire has first and second sets of electrode plates coupled, respectively, to the conductive pin or lead wire and to the ground plane. A breathable electromechanical connection material conductively couples the capacitor's electrode plates to respective components of the AIMD, which allows helium gas to pass freely therethrough during a standard pressurized or vacuum pull helium leak detection test. A breathable washer may be disposed between an alumina insulator and a surface of the capacitor. An additional further breathable coating or conformal coating may be placed over a surface of the feedthrough capacitor disposed toward the interior of the AIMD. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20090116167 | PASSIVE ELECTRONIC NETWORK COMPONENTS DESIGNED FOR DIRECT BODY FLUID EXPOSURE - An EMI filter capacitor assembly and implantable passive electronic network components utilize biocompatible and non-migratable materials to adapt the electronic components for direct body fluid exposure. The assembly includes a capacitor having first and second sets of electrode plates which are constructed of non-migratable biocompatible material. A conductive hermetic terminal of non-migratable and biocompatible material adjacent to the capacitor is conductively coupled to the second set of electrode plates. One or more conductive terminal pins having at least an outer surface of non-migratable and biocompatible material are conductively coupled to the first set of electrode plates, while extending through the hermetic terminal in non-conductive relation. The terminal pins may be in direct contact with the first set of electrode plates, or in contact with a termination surface of conductive connection material. The termination surface is also constructed of non-migratable and biocompatible materials. | 05-07-2009 |
| 20090243756 | SHIELDED THREE-TERMINAL FLAT-THROUGH EMI/ENERGY DISSIPATING FILTER - A shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter includes an active electrode plate through which a circuit current passes between a first terminal and a second terminal, a first shield plate on a first side of the active electrode plate, and a second shield plate on a second side of the active electrode plate opposite the first shield plate. The first and second shield plates are conductively coupled to a grounded third terminal. In preferred embodiments, the active electrode plate and the shield plates are at least partially disposed with a hybrid flat-through substrate that may include a flex cable section, a rigid cable section, or both. | 10-01-2009 |
| 20090259265 | ELECTRONIC NETWORK COMPONENTS UTILIZING BIOCOMPATIBLE CONDUCTIVE ADHESIVES FOR DIRECT BODY FLUID EXPOSURE - An implantable passive or active electronic network component or component network is provided which is suitable for prolonged direct body fluid exposure and is attachable to a conductive surface, circuit trace, lead or electrode. The electronic network component or component network includes (1) a non-conductive body of biocompatible and non-migratable material, (2) a conductive termination surface of biocompatible and non-migratable material, associated with the body, and (3) a connection material of biocompatible and non-migratable material, for conductively coupling the termination surface to the conductive surface, circuit trace, lead or electrode. The electronic network component may include a capacitor, a resistor, an inductor, a diode, a transistor, an electronic switch, a MEMs device, or a microchip. A biocompatible and non-migratable adhesive is utilized to conductively couple components of the individual components of the electronic network, such as the conductive surface, circuit trace, lead or electrode. | 10-15-2009 |
| 20100016936 | FREQUENCY SELECTIVE PASSIVE COMPONENT NETWORKS FOR IMPLANTABLE LEADS OF ACTIVE IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES UTILIZING AN ENERGY DISSIPATING SURFACE - Decoupling circuits are provided which transfer energy induced from an MRI pulsed RF field to an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished through broadband filtering or by resonant filtering. In a passive component network for an implantable leadwire of an active implantable medical device, a frequency selective energy diversion circuit is provided for diverting high-frequency energy away from a leadwire electrode to a point or an area spaced from the electrode, for dissipation of high-frequency energy. | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100023000 | FREQUENCY SELECTIVE PASSIVE COMPONENT NETWORKS FOR IMPLANTABLE LEADS OF ACTIVE IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES UTILIZING AN ENERGY DISSIPATING SURFACE - Decoupling circuits are provided which transfer energy induced from an MRI pulsed RF field to an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished through broadband filtering or by resonant filtering. In a passive component network for an implantable leadwire of an active implantable medical device, a frequency selective energy diversion circuit is provided for diverting high-frequency energy away from a leadwire electrode to a point or an area spaced from the electrode, for dissipation of high-frequency energy. | 01-28-2010 |
| 20100042204 | Stent Coating For Eluting Medication - A vascular stent comprising a drug-eluting outer layer of a porous sputtered columnar metal having each column capped with a biocompatible carbon-containing material is described. This is done by placing the stent over a close-fitting mandrel and rotating the assembly in a sputter flux. The result is a coating that is evenly distributed over the outward-facing side of the stent's wire mesh while preventing the sputtered columnar coating from reaching the inward facing side where a smooth hemocompatible surface is required. The stent is then removed from the mandrel, exposing all surfaces, and finally coated with a layer of carbon such as amorphous carbon or diamond-like carbon. The carbonaceous coating enhances biocompatibility without preventing elutriation of a therapeutic drug provided in the porosity formed between the columnar structures. The result is a stent that is adapted to both the hemodynamic and the immune response requirements of its vascular environment. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100060431 | MINIATURE HERMETICALLY SEALED RFID MICROELECTRONIC CHIP CONNECTED TO A BIOCOMPATIBLE RFID ANTENNA FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN AIMD - A non-hermetically sealed and biocompatible multi-turn RFID loop antenna is electrically connected to a RFID chip which is enclosed within its own hermetically sealed miniature container. The hermetic seal can be very small and the loop antenna can be relatively large, wherein the entire package is both highly reliable, resistant to body fluids and completely biocompatible. The RFID structure can be implanted in a patient and later communicate with an RFID interrogator to provide information relating to the patient and/or implantable medical devices. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100100172 | Stent Coating For Eluting Medication - A vascular stent comprising a drug-eluting outer layer of a porous sputtered columnar metal having each column capped with a biocompatible carbon-containing material is described. This is done by placing the stent over a close-fitting mandrel and rotating the assembly in a sputter flux. The result is a coating that is evenly distributed over the outward-facing side of the stent's wire mesh while preventing the sputtered columnar coating from reaching the inward facing side where a smooth hemocompatible surface is required. The stent is then removed from the mandrel, exposing all surfaces, and finally coated with a layer of carbon such as amorphous carbon or diamond-like carbon. The carbonaceous coating enhances biocompatibility without preventing elutriation of a therapeutic drug provided in the porosity formed between the columnar structures. The result is a stent that is adapted to both the hemodynamic and the immune response requirements of its vascular environment. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100123547 | RFID DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM INCLUDING AN RFID READER HAVING A LIMITED TRANSMIT TIME AND A TIME-OUT PERIOD TO PROTECT A MEDICAL DEVICE AGAINST RFID-ASSOCIATED ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE - A system is provided for identifying implanted medical devices, leads and systems, as well as objects in close proximity to a patient having an implanted active medical device, using a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag having retrievable information relating to the AIMD, lead system and/or patient. An RFID tag communicator includes a circuit for limiting the total continuous transmit time of an interrogation signal, and a time-out circuit for delaying a second and any subsequent interrogation of the RFID tag. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100125312 | SATELLITE THERAPY DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR BRAIN NEUROMODULATION - Deep brain electrodes are remotely sensed and activated by means of a remote active implantable medical device (AIMD). In a preferred form, a pulse generator is implanted in the pectoral region and includes a hermetic seal through which protrudes a conductive leadwire which provides an external antenna for transmission and reception of radio frequency (RF) pulses. One or more deep brain electrode modules are constructed and placed which can transmit and receive RF energy from the pulse generator. An RF telemetry link is established between the implanted pulse generator and the deep brain electrode assemblies. The satellite modules are configured for generating pacing pulses for a variety of disease conditions, including epileptic seizures, Turrets Syndrome, Parkinson's Tremor, and a variety of other neurological or brain disorders. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100174349 | SYSTEM FOR TERMINATING ABANDONED IMPLANTED LEADS TO MINIMIZE HEATING IN HIGH POWER ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD ENVIRONMENTS - An energy management system facilitates the transfer of high frequency energy coupled into an implanted abandoned lead at a selected RF frequency or frequency band, to an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished by conductively coupling the implanted abandoned lead to the energy dissipating surface of an abandoned lead cap through an energy diversion circuit including one or more passive electronic network components whose impedance characteristics are at least partially tuned to the implanted abandoned lead's impedance characteristics. | 07-08-2010 |
| 20100185263 | RF ACTIVATED AIMD TELEMETRY TRANSCEIVER - A telemetry wake-up circuit is electrically disposed between a telemetry transceiver associated with an AIMD, and an RF tag. The RF tag may be remotely interrogated to generate a signal to which the telemetry wake-up circuit is responsive to switch the telemetry transceiver from a sleep mode to an active telemetry mode. In the sleep mode, the telemetry transceiver draws less than 25,000 nanoamperes from the AIMD, and preferably less than 500 nanoamperes. | 07-22-2010 |
| 20100191306 | TRANSIENT VOLTAGE SUPPRESSION CIRCUIT FOR AN IMPLANTED RFID CHIP - A transient voltage suppressing (TVS) circuit includes an implantable RFID chip, an antenna associated with the RFID chip, and a transient voltage suppressor electrically connected in parallel to both the RFID chip and the antenna. The transient voltage suppressor may be formed of an array of diodes, such as back-to-back diodes, at least one Zener diode, or back-to-back or series opposing Zener diodes. In preferred embodiments, the antenna is formed of a biocompatible material suitable for long-term exposure to body tissue and body fluids, and the RFID chip and the transient voltage suppressor are disposed within a hermetically sealed biocompatible container. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100194541 | HERMETICALLY SEALED RFID MICROELECTRONIC CHIP CONNECTED TO A BIOCOMPATIBLE RFID ANTENNA - An implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes a hermetically sealed biocompatible housing for an active implantable medical device (AIMD), an RFID microelectronics chip is disposed within the housing, and a biocompatible antenna extends from the RFID microelectronic chip and exteriorly of the housing. In a preferred form of the invention, the antenna is disposed within a header block of the AIMD, and the RFID chip is disposed within the AIMD housing. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100198335 | Stent Coating For Eluting Medication - A vascular stent comprising a drug-eluting outer layer of a porous sputtered columnar metal having each column capped with a biocompatible carbon-containing material is described. This is done by placing the stent over a close-fitting mandrel and rotating the assembly in a sputter flux. The result is a coating that is evenly distributed over the outward-facing side of the stent's wire mesh while preventing the sputtered columnar coating from reaching the inward facing side where a smooth hemocompatible surface is required. The stent is then removed from the mandrel, exposing all surfaces, and finally coated with a layer of carbon such as amorphous carbon or diamond-like carbon. The carbonaceous coating enhances biocompatibility without preventing elutriation of a therapeutic drug provided in the porosity formed between the columnar structures. The result is a stent that is adapted to both the hemodynamic and the immune response requirements of its vascular environment. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100217262 | FREQUENCY SELECTIVE PASSIVE COMPONENT NETWORKS FOR ACTIVE IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES UTILIZING AN ENERGY DISSIPATING SURFACE - Decoupling circuits are provided which transfer energy induced from an MRI pulsed RF field to the housing for an active implantable medical device (AIMD) which serves as an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished through broadband filtering or by resonant filtering. In a passive component network for an AIMD, a frequency selective energy diversion circuit is provided for diverting high-frequency energy away from an AIMD lead to the AIMD housing for dissipation of said high-frequency energy. | 08-26-2010 |
| 20100324639 | METHODOLOGY AND APPARATUS TO TERMINATE ABANDONED ACTIVE IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE LEADS - An energy management system facilitates the transfer of high frequency energy coupled into an implanted abandoned lead at a selected RF frequency or frequency band, to an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished by conductively coupling the implanted abandoned lead to the energy dissipating surface of an abandoned lead cap through an energy diversion circuit including one or more passive electronic network components whose impedance characteristics are at least partially tuned to the implanted abandoned lead's impedance characteristics. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20100328049 | AIMD EXTERNAL PROGRAMMER INCORPORATING A MULTIFUNCTION RFID READER HAVING A LIMITED TRANSMIT TIME AND A TIME-OUT PERIOD - A system is provided for identifying implanted medical devices, leads and systems, as well as objects in close proximity to a patient having an implanted medical device (IMD), using a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag having retrievable information relating to the IMD, lead system and/or patient. An RFID tag communicator includes a circuit for limiting the total continuous transmit time of an interrogation signal, and a time-out circuit for delaying a second and any subsequent interrogation of the RFID tag. An external IMD programmer incorporating a multi-functional RFID reader is capable of identifying and communicating with various types of implanted medical devices, even if such devices are made by different manufacturers. | 12-30-2010 |
| 20100331932 | IMPLANTED LEAD SLEEVE HAVING RFID TAG - An identification device for an implantable lead includes an associated implantable sleeve and a radio frequency identification device (RFID) tag associated with the sleeve. The RFID tag includes information relating to the implantable lead, its associated lead system, or an associated implantable medical device. The RFID tag may be hermetically sealed within the sleeve and the sleeve selectively fixed along a length of the lead. The sleeve may comprise a loop forming an aperture, a crimped clamp device, a clamp device including a ratchet, clip, or rivet mechanism, or a clamp device including two separate clamshells, all of which allow for secure attachment to the lead. Alternatively, the sleeve may integrally be formed as part of the lead between a lead conductor and an insulated lumen. An external interrogator may be used for identifying information contained within the RFID tag. | 12-30-2010 |
| 20110001610 | MINIATURE HERMETICALLY SEALED RFID MICROELECTRONIC CHIP CONNECTED TO A BIOCOMPATIBLE RFID ANTENNA FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN AIMD - An implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes a hermetically sealed biocompatible container, an RFID microelectronics chip is disposed within the container, and a biocompatible antenna extends from the RFID microelectronic chip and exteriorly of the container. In an exemplary embodiment the container comprises a housing for an active implantable medical device (AIMD). In another exemplary embodiment the RFID tag is associated with an AIMD. The AIMD may comprise a lead system. The RFID tag may be disposed within a non-hermetically sealed portion of the AIMD, such a header block, and may include information pertaining to the AIMD. Another exemplary embodiment may include a sensor conductively coupled to the RFID microelectronics chip. The sensor may be disposed exterior of or within the container. The sensor measures properties and activities of the human body and the RFID tag is capable of transmitting said measured properties in real time. | 01-06-2011 |
| 20110004283 | SHIELDED THREE-TERMINAL FLAT-THROUGH EMI/ENERGY DISSIPATING FILTER - A shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter includes an active electrode plate through which a circuit current passes between a first terminal and a second terminal, a first shield plate on a first side of the active electrode plate, and a second shield plate on a second side of the active electrode plate opposite the first shield plate. The first and second shield plates are conductively coupled to a grounded third terminal. In preferred embodiments, the active electrode plate and the shield plates are at least partially disposed with a hybrid flat-through substrate that may include a flex cable section, a rigid cable section, or both. | 01-06-2011 |
| 20110022140 | METHODOLOGY AND APPARATUS TO TERMINATE ABANDONED ACTIVE IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE LEADS - An energy management system facilitates the transfer of high frequency energy coupled into an implanted abandoned lead at a selected RF frequency or frequency band, to an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished by conductively coupling the implanted abandoned lead to the energy dissipating surface of an abandoned lead cap through an energy diversion circuit including one or more passive electronic network components whose impedance characteristics are at least partially tuned to the implanted abandoned lead's impedance characteristics. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110029043 | RFID-ENABLED AIMD PROGRAMMER SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING MRI COMPATIBILITY OF IMPLANTED LEADS - An RFID tag is associated with an implantable lead, its sensing or therapy delivery electrode, or a patient, for identifying the MRI compatibility of the implantable lead and/or the presence of a bandstop filter and its attendant characteristics. An RFID-enabled AIMD external telemetry programmer transmits an electromagnetic signal to establish a communication link with the RFID tag. | 02-03-2011 |
| 20110057037 | PROCESS FOR TRANSFERRING PRODUCT INFORMATION UTILIZING BARCODE READER INTO PERMANENT MEMORY FOR AN IMPLANTED MEDICAL DEVICE - A barcode having product information is paired with an implantable medical device or component. The barcode is optically read and at least a portion of the product information is stored into a temporary memory. At least a portion of the product information stored in the temporary memory is electronically written to permanent memory of an RFID chip associated with the implanted medical device or component. | 03-10-2011 |
| 20110066212 | TANK FILTERS PLACED IN SERIES WITH THE LEAD WIRES OR CIRCUITS OF ACTIVE MEDICAL DEVICES TO ENHANCE MRI COMPATABILITY - A TANK filter is provided for a lead wire of an active medical device (AMD). The TANK filter includes a capacitor in parallel with an inductor. The parallel capacitor and inductor are placed in series with the lead wire of the AMD, wherein values of capacitance and inductance are selected such that the TANK filter is resonant at a selected frequency. The Q of the inductor may be relatively maximized and the Q of the capacitor may be relatively minimized to reduce the overall Q of the TANK filter to attenuate current flow through the lead wire along a range of selected frequencies. In a preferred form, the TANK filter is integrated into a TIP and/or RING electrode for an active implantable medical device. | 03-17-2011 |
| 20110144734 | MEDICAL LEAD SYSTEM UTILIZING ELECTROMAGNETIC BANDSTOP FILTERS - Medical lead systems utilizing electromagnetic bandstop filters are provide which can be utilized in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment for patients who have implanted medical devices. The medical lead system includes an implanted lead having at least one bandstop filter associated therewith, for attenuating current flow through the lead over a range of frequencies. The bandstop filter has an overall circuit Q wherein the resultant 3 dB bandwidth is at least 10 kHz. The values of capacitance and inductance of the bandstop filter are selected such that the bandstop filter is resonant at a selected center frequency. Preferably, the bandstop filter has an overall circuit Q wherein the resultant 10 dB bandwidth is at least 10 kHz. Such bandstop filters are backwards compatible with known implantable deployment systems and extraction systems. | 06-16-2011 |
