Method of manufacturing a flexible conductive track arrangement, flexible conductive track arrangement and neurostimulation system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10357651-B2
Application number	US-201515311663-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 18, 2015
Priority date	May 28, 2014
Publication date	Jul 23, 2019
Grant date	Jul 23, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a flexible conductive track arrangement for a neurostimulation system such as a cochlear implant device. The method allows for the arrangement to be manufactured without the need for a transfer substrate by embedding the metal structures of the arrangement in a ceramic dielectric material formed in an atomic layer deposition process, which can be performed at a temperature that is compatible with the polymer processing steps of such an arrangement. A flexible conductive track arrangement and a neurostimulation system are also disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flexible conductive track arrangement, comprising:
a distal portion comprising a plurality of electrodes;
a proximal portion comprising a plurality of contacts;
a strip between the distal portion and the proximal portion, the strip comprising a plurality of conductive tracks, each track connecting an electrode to a contact, wherein the conductive tracks are embedded in an dielectric layer, said dielectric layer being embedded in a biocompatible polymer layer, wherein the biocompatible polymer layer has at least one outer polymer surface that is substantially flat and wherein the dielectric layer has a thickness of less than 500 nm; and
a central rod, wherein the flexible conductive track is wound around the central rod in a spiralling fashion with the substantially flat surface facing the central rod.

2. The flexible conductive track arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer has a thickness of less than 300 nm.

3. The flexible conductive track arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer comprises at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, and other inorganic oxide.

4. A neurostimulation device, comprising:
a flexible conductive track arrangement comprising:
a distal portion including a plurality of electrodes;
a proximal portion comprising a plurality of contacts;
a strip between the distal portion and the proximal portion, the strip comprising a plurality of conductive tracks, each track connecting an electrode to a contact, wherein the conductive tracks are embedded in an dielectric layer, the dielectric layer being embedded in a biocompatible polymer layer, wherein the biocompatible polymer layer has at least one outer polymer surface that is substantially flat and wherein the dielectric layer has a thickness of less than 500 nm; and
a central rod, wherein the flexible conductive track is wound around the central rod in a spiralling fashion with the substantially flat surface facing the central rod; and

a neurostimulation detection having a plurality of further contacts for contacting respective contacts of the proximal portion of the flexible conductive track arrangement.

5. A hearing aid device comprising the neurostimulation device of claim 4 .

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Pham Hoa

Classifications

• A61N1/0541

  Cochlear electrodes · CPC title

• A61N1/0534 Primary

  Electrodes for deep brain stimulation · CPC title

• A61B2562/125

  characterised by the manufacture of electrodes · CPC title

• A61N1/0551 Primary

  Spinal or peripheral nerve electrodes · CPC title

• A61B5/04001

  Human Necessities · mapped topic