Cochlear Limited

Jane Rapsey

Peter Schuller

Fysh Dadd

Edmond D Capcelea

Peter Gibson

Grant Hill

Carrie Newbold

Kostas Tsampazis

Martin Svehla

Mirela Pufulescu

Wilson Fung

Mile Brkljaca

Christopher Robert Miller

Stuart Tyler

Presented herein are implantable medical devices that include an insulator extending through a hermetically-sealed biocompatible housing. A plurality of feedthrough pins, which include at least a first feedthrough pin, a second feedthrough pin, and at least one ground feedthrough pin extend through the insulator. An electrically shielding member is disposed at the outer surface of the insulator so as to provide a grounding barrier between the first and second feedthrough pins.

Electrical shielding in implantable medical devices

Implantable drug-doped component, e.g., a cochlear implant, including host material, a host-embedded drug, a sacrificial material integrated with the host. Sacrificial material facilitates release of drug from the component. Sacrificial material facilitates release through creation of voids in the host upon dissolution of sacrificial material upon contact with a solvent, e.g., perilymph fluid upon implant. Host can be polysiloxane, or silicone rubber. Drug can be anti-inflammatory, growth factor, antibody, anti-oxidant, antibiotic, corticosteroid. Sacrificial material can be: glucose monomer, sugar, cyclodextrin, dissolvable or resorbable at implant site, a salt, bioresorbable material, hyaluronic acid, polyurethane, polyester, polyamide, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylic acid. Sacrificial material can be the host, and can facilitate release of drug through changing a property of sacrificial material, e.g., by exposing component to ethanol wash. For a cochlear implant, drug doped material can be applied to a non-stimulating surface of the electrode array, and can be a physical feature of stimulating medical device, e.g., soft tip, ridge, spine. For a cochlear implant the drug-doped material can excluded from the basal side of the most basal electrode contact.

Drug delivery using a sacrificial host

An implantable drug-delivery sleeve for an elongate component of an implantable medical device. The sleeve includes a tubular substrate having a lumen configured to receive the elongate component so as to allow relative displacement of the substrate and the elongate component, wherein the substrate is shaped so as to be retained stationary at a desired position along the elongate component, and a drug releasably carried by the substrate.

Drug-delivery accessory for an implantable medical device

Coating an elongate, uncoated conductive element with a substantially continuous barrier layer. The substantially continuous barrier layer is formed through relative movement of the conductive element to a frame between sequential coatings of a barrier material.

Insulated conductive element having a substantially continuous barrier layer formed through multiple coatings

Coating an elongate, uncoated conductive element with a barrier layer to form an insulated conductive element. The insulated conductive element comprises substantially continuously coated elongate sections separated by uncoated gaps which are substantially small relative to the lengths of the coated sections.

Method of forming insulated conductive element having substantially continuously coated sections separated by uncoated gaps

Manufacturing an electrode assembly comprising forming an intermediate assembly comprising a carrier member having one or more electrode contacts embedded therein, the surface of the electrode contacts having a layer of carrier member material thereon; removing the layer of carrier member from the surface of the one or more electrode contacts, wherein a residual amount of the carrier member material remains on the surface of at least one of the electrode contacts; and substantially removing the residual carrier member material from the surface of the at least one electrode contact so as to increase the effective surface area of the at least one electrode contact.

Electrode contact contaminate removal

Coating an elongate, uncoated conductive element with a substantially continuous barrier layer. An uncoated conductive element is around a frame comprising spaced supports. During deposition, the relative position of the conductive element to the frame is adjusted so that all sections of the conductive element are physically separated from the supports for a time that is sufficient to form a desired coating of barrier material on all sections of the conductive element.

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Berowra, Australia

Jane Rapsey