Medtronic, Inc.

Keith A Ufford

Richard D Sandstrom

James R Svensk

James E Upton

Phong D Doan

Wayne R Bass

Timothy Patrick

Keith Alan Miesel

Douglas N Hess

Anthony J Varrichio

Timothy W Holleman

Robert G Dutcher

Edward G O'Neill

Louis E Halperin

Beth A Hassler

Douglas H Hess

A medical electrical lead implant tool includes a gripping assembly, terminating a distal end of an elongate shaft, adapted to alternately grasp the lead and release the lead and to rotate the lead, and a user control terminating a proximal end of the shaft. An internal drive cable extends within the shaft coupling the gripping assembly to the user control. The user control facilitates single-handed manipulation of a slidable dial, which may be grasped by fingers of a hand for longitudinal and rotational manipulation when a stationary handle is held in a palm of the hand; the longitudinal manipulation causing the gripping assembly, via the drive cable, to alternately grasp the lead and release the lead and the rotational manipulation causing the gripping assembly, via the drive cable, to rotate the lead.

Medical electrical lead implant tool

A tool for implanting a pacing lead of the type having a fixation helix. The tool is provided a curved, elongated shaft with rotatable tongs mounted at its distal end. The tongs extend distally from the shaft and angle radially outward and slide against a bearing located in a distal portion of the shaft. A cable, rotatable and longitudinally movable relative to the shaft, extends through the shaft and is coupled to the tongs. A handle is mounted at a proximal end of the shaft and includes a mechanism for rotating the cable mechanism relative to the shaft and for moving the cable longitudinally relative to the shaft, so that the tons may grip rotate and release the tongs.

Epicardial lead implant tool and method of use

An endocardial lead for implantation in a right heart chamber for responding to blood pressure and temperature and providing modulated pressure and temperature related signals to an implanted or external hemodynamic monitor and/or cardiac pacemaker or pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillator. The lead has a sensor module formed in its distal end and is coupled to a monitor that powers a sensor circuit in the sensor module. The sensor module is formed with a pickoff capacitor that changes capacitance with pressure changes and a reference capacitor that is relatively insensitive to pressure changes. The sensor circuit provides charge current that changes with temperature variation at the implant site, alternately charges and discharges the two capacitors, and provides timing pulses having distinguishable parameters at the end of each charge cycle that are transmitted to the demodulator. The demodulator detects and synchronizes the timing pulses and derives pressure and temperature analog voltage values representative of the intervals between the timing pulses which are digitized and stored in the monitor. The monitor may also be coupled with other sensors for measuring and storing related patient body parameters, e.g. blood gas, EGM, and patient activity.

Implantable capacitive absolute pressure and temperature sensor

A cross-over adaptor for reversing the electrical connection of outer and inner coaxial coiled wire conductors is provided in the body of a pacing lead having a physiologic sensor incorporated therein so that the lead may be employed advantageously for conventional pacing functions with or without physiologic sensor function. In a specific embodiment, the adaptor is placed adjacent to a physiologic pressure sensor positioned in line in the lead body between the connector end thereof and the distal pace/sense electrode end thereof. The physiologic pressure sensor possesses an elongated cylindrical outer housing and an axially oriented electrical feed-through to the active components thereof. The cross-over adaptor is coupled at one end thereof to the sensor housing and electrical feed-through and at the other end thereof to the inner and outer coaxial coiled wire lead conductors which extend back to the proximal end of the lead body and are electrically connected to proximal pin and ring connector elements. At the distal end of the lead, the distal tip electrode is electrically coupled to the outer housing of the physiologic sensor. The electrical cross-over adaptor electrically connects the inner coiled wire conductor to the cylindrical housing of the physiologic sensor and the outer coiled wire conductor to the electrical feed-through of the physiologic sensor so that the proximal pin connector element is electrically connected to the distal tip electrode and the proximal ring connector element is electrically connected to the electrical feed-through of the physiological sensor. Thus, the electrical interconnection allows the lead to be employed as a conventional unipolar pacing lead in those situations where the physiological sensor is not employed in the pacing system.

Implantable medical lead with electrical cross-over adaptor

A cardiac pacing lead having a plurality of individually insulated conductors arranged as a multifilar coil. The lead includes a connector assembly and a ring electrode assembly, each of which are optimized for use in conjunction with conductors arranged in the form of a multifilar coil. The connector assembly takes the form of an in-line connector having a plurality of linearly arranged connecting surfaces, each coupled to one of the conductors in the multifilar coil. The ring electrode assembly is constructed such that it displays the same outer diameter as the pacing lead. In both assemblies, conductors are coupled by means of welds, rather than by crimping or swaging.

Connector for multiconductor pacing leads

A connector for use in conjunction with implantable, medical electrical leads, such as cardiac pacing leads. The connector is of the type known in the pacing industry as 'in-line', and includes an elongated connector pin and a cylindrical connector ring, spaced longitudinally from one another, and separated by an insulative segment. The connector pin is adapted to rotate within the connector, in order to transmit torque down the body of the electrical lead to activate a fixation device or other apparatus. Surrounding the connector pin is an elongated bearing sleeve which engages an elongated, reduced diameter segment of the connector pin. The connector pin is provided with circumferential shoulders at the proximal and distal ends of the reduced diameter portion of the pin, which in turn engage the bearing sleeve.

Medical electrical lead connector

Method of fabrication an in-line, multipolar electrical connector

A structure for use as an electrode on a pacing lead to be located some distance proximal to the distal end of the pacing lead. Two short lengths of wire having high electrical conductivity are cut to size. The coils of the outer conductor are welded together at the desired location of the ring electrode of the lead. The two short lengths of wire are welded to the outer conductor of the lead at the desired location of the ring electrode. An insulating sheath having an inside diameter close to the outside diameter of the outer conductor is slid over the outer conductor. The flexibility of the insulating sheath is sufficient to permit encasing of the two short lengths of wire, though the insulating sheath is caused to protrude at the two places directly over and corresponding to the two short lengths of wire. A conductive ring having an inside diameter sufficient to permit sliding over the insulating sheath and two points of protrusion is placed around the insulating sheath at the desired location of the ring electrode. The conductive ring is swaged to an outside diameter approximating that of the insulating sheath. The forces produced cause the two short lengths of wire to pierce the insulating sheath and come in contact with the conductive ring which thereby creates an electrically conductive path between the outer conductor and the conductive ring.

Ring electrode for pacing lead and method of making same

Ring electrode for a bipolar pacing lead where the ring electrode is secured to an outer coiled conductor by swaging the outer coiled conductor between the ring electrode and a swaging core where the distal end of the outer coiled conductor positions over the swaging core and into the ring electrode. The outer coiled conductor is mechanically swaged between the ring electrode and the swaging core resulting in a mechanical and electrical joint. Insulation extends over the outer ends of the ring electrode and yields a bond to the ring electrode having substantially the same outer diameter as the ring electrode.

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Chisago City, MN, United States of America

Keith A Ufford