Medtronic, Inc.

Adams, Paulus G.

Fredric W Lindemans

Marc Hendriks

Koen J Michels

Nathalie Virag

Ursula Gebhardt

Laurent Uldry

Lukas J Kappenberger

Jean-Luc Jansens

Paulus Cornelis Van Venrooij

Victor P Duysens

Paulus G Adams

Markus J C Lazeroms

Markus JC Lazeroms

This disclosure is directed to techniques for treating tachyarrhythmias, such as atrial or ventricular fibrillation, in which a number of electrodes are employed to deliver electrical stimulation to a patient's heart in a manner designed to terminate the tachyarrhythmia episode.

Terminating tachyarrhythmias

Certain aspects of the disclosure pertain to methods and apparatus for providing positive fixation of medical components to a portion of incised pericardial tissue. Accordingly, a resilient member protrudes through an incision in the pericardium and produces a positive biasing force to adjacent pericardial tissue against a side surface of an attached body structure. The resilient member can optionally be compressed during implantation and then relaxed to thereafter provide the positive biasing force. Diverse medical components can thus be safely and reliably chronically deployed into the pericardial space, including without limitation, cardiac sensing/pacing, defibrillation and/or cardioversion electrodes, mechanical and/or metabolic sensors and the like. More than one body structure can be linked to a single medical electrical lead and the medical components can couple within and/or upon a portion of the body structure, the resilient member, and the lead in myriad configurations.

Pericardium fixation concepts of epicardium pacing leads and tools

A method and apparatus for providing positive fixation of medical components to a portion of pericardial tissue via both vacuum- and/or mechanically-assisted means. A source of vacuum couples via a lumen to a recessed portion of a body structure deployed into the pericardial space. The recessed portion is adapted to form a seal around its periphery with adjacent pericardial tissue so that when the recessed portion is evacuated, the tissue is drawn into the recessed portion. Then, a sharpened instrument, such as a stylet, is deployed through the lumen and pierces the tissue, thus anchoring the body structure. A source of fluid may also be included for delivery to the pericardial space (e.g., contrast media; saline solution; biological, genetic and pharmaceutical substances and the like).

Apparatus and methods for vacuum- and mechanically-assisted fixation of medical electrical leads

A method of making a temporary medical electrical lead for pacing or defibrillating a heart of a patient. The method comprises providing at least one electrical conductor having proximal and distal ends; providing an insulating sheath formed of biocompatible material extending over and covering at least portions of the at least one electrical conductor, attaching an electrical connector assembly to the proximal end of the at least one electrical conductor for attachment to a device capable of providing pacing or defibrillation pulses; providing an electrode mounting pad in the form of a cast matrix structure made of a biodegradable, biocompatible material soluble in human body fluids and having an outer heart non-contacting surface and an inner heart contacting surface, the outer surface being less permeable to passage of body fluids than the inner surface and wherein the inner surface of the pad has larger interstices and is less dense than the outer surface; providing a drug for treating for treating a medical condition of the patient's heart; loading the drug into the matrix of the pad; and attaching at least portions of the distal end of the at least one electrical conductor or of the electrode member to the electrode mounting pad.

Method of making a temporary medical lead having biodegradable electrode mounting pad loaded with therapeutic drug

A temporary cardiac electrical stimulating lead comprises a stimulating electrode mounted in or on a biodegradable electrode mounting pad disposed at a distal end of the lead. The electrode mounting pad is capable of biodegradably dissolving over time in human body fluids and is loaded with a drug for therapeutically treating a medical condition of a patient's heart. The electrode mounting pad may be loaded with any of a variety of different drugs, such anti-arrhythmia or anti-inflammatory drugs. When the lead body is pulled away from the electrode mounting pad and removed from the patient, any portion of the electrode mounting pad remaining within the patient dissolves over time and disappears.

Temporary medical electrical lead having biodegradable electrode mounting pad loaded with therapeutic drug

A method and apparatus for minimizing the potential for injury due to operation of a body-implantable device during explant manipulation thereof. In one embodiment of the invention, a body-implantable device is provided with a temperature sensor and associated monitor circuit which issues a deactivation signal when the sensed temperature falls below a predetermined threshold level. Provision is made for subsequent reactivation of the device if it is determined, for example, that sensor failure has led to spurious deactivation of the device.

Automatic postmortem deactivation of implantable device

Passive sensing reference electrode positioned on an implantable pulse generator where the electrode electrically contacts with tissue or body fluid. The electrode configuration reduces stimulation afterpotentials due to electrode polarization and output capacitor recharge by using the passive sensing reference electrode for sensing. The passive sensing reference electrode may be located adjacent the conductor sleeve, on a surface of a hermetically sealed metallic pacemaker can, or one of the surfaces of the pacemaker can may be insulated from another surface of the pacemaker can where one half of the pacemaker can may be the passive sensing reference electrode.

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Sittard, Netherlands

Fredric W Lindemans