Implantable medical device voltage divider circuit for mitigating electromagnetic interference

Abstract

An RF protection circuit mitigates potentially adverse effects that may otherwise result from electromagnetic interference (e.g., due to MRI scanning of a patient having an implanted medical device). The RF protection circuit may comprise a voltage divider that is deployed across a pair of cardiac electrodes that are coupled to internal circuitry of the implantable medical device. Each leg of the voltage divider may be referenced to a ground of the internal circuit, whereby the different legs are deployed in parallel across different circuits of the internal circuitry. In this way, when an EMI-induced (e.g., MRI-induced) signal appears across the cardiac electrodes, the voltages appearing across these circuits and the currents flowing through these circuits may be reduced. The RF protection circuit may be used in an implantable medical device that employs a relatively low capacitance feedthrough to reduce EMI-induced (e.g., MRI-induced) current flow in a cardiac lead.