Encapsulated filtered feedthrough for implantable medical devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016287883-A1
Application number	US-201615080122-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Mar 31, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An encapsulated filtered feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device including a ferrule, an electrical insulator coupled to the ferrule, a printed circuit board (PCB), a feedthrough conductor extending through the electrical insulator and the PCB, and a capacitor coupled to the PCB. The encapsulated filtered feedthrough assembly can include a mold defining an opening and located with respect to the printed circuit board such that at least a portion of the capacitor is positioned within the opening. A first non-conductive material can underfill the capacitor and a second non-conductive material can be backfilled into the mold to encapsulate the capacitor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device, comprising:
a ferrule configured to be attached to a device container of the implantable medical device; an electrical insulator coupled to the ferrule by a first connection element; a printed circuit board; a feedthrough conductor extending through the electrical insulator and the printed circuit board, the feedthrough conductor coupled to the insulator by a second connection element; a capacitor electrically coupled to the second side of the printed circuit board, wherein a gap is formed between the capacitor and the second side of the printed circuit board; a first non-conductive material disposed at least partially within the gap; a mold defining an opening and located with respect to the second side of the printed circuit board such that at least a portion of the capacitor is positioned within the opening; and a second non-conductive material disposed within the mold, the second non-conductive material encapsulating at least a portion of the capacitor.

2 . The feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , further including:
a plurality of feedthrough conductors extending through the printed circuit board; and a plurality of capacitors each associated with one of the plurality of feedthrough conductors, wherein the mold includes a plurality of openings such that at least one capacitor is positioned at least partially within a corresponding opening.

3 . The feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least two layers of the second non-conducting material and a portion of the mold are positioned between two adjacent capacitors.

4 . The feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein a height of the mold extends beyond a height of the capacitor.

5 . The feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first non-conductive material and the second non-conductive material are a different type of material from the mold.

6 . The feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first non-conductive material and the second non-conductive material include a curable epoxy resin and the mold includes silicone.

7 . The feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board is a multi-layer circuit board.

8 . An implantable medical device, including:
a device container including an electronic module within the device container; a header including a header core and a header shell disposed around the header core, wherein at least one electrical contact is positioned within the header core; and a feedthrough assembly configured to electrically couple the electronic module within the device container to the at least one electrical contact, the feedthrough assembly including:
a capacitor electrically coupled to a printed circuit board, wherein a gap is formed between the capacitor and the printed circuit board;
a first non-conductive material disposed at least partially within the gap;
a mold defining an opening and located with respect to the printed circuit board such that at least a portion of the capacitor is positioned within the opening; and
a second non-conductive material disposed within the mold, the second non-conductive material encapsulating at least a portion of the capacitor.

9 . The implantable medical device of claim 8 , wherein the feedthrough assembly further includes:
a ferrule configured to be attached to the device container; an electrical insulator coupled to the ferrule by an electrically conductive connection element; a plurality of feedthrough conductors extending through the printed circuit board and the electrical insulator, the plurality of feedthrough conductors coupled to the electrical insulator by a second connection element; and a plurality of capacitors each associated with one of the plurality of feedthrough conductors, wherein the mold includes a plurality of openings such that at least one capacitor is positioned at least partially within a corresponding opening.

10 . The implantable medical device of claim 8 , wherein at least two layers of the second non-conducting material and a portion of the mold are positioned between two adjacent capacitors.

11 . The implantable medical device of claim 8 , wherein the first non-conductive material and the second non-conductive material are a different type of material from the mold.

12 . The implantable medical device of claim 8 , wherein the first non-conductive material and the second non-conductive material include a curable epoxy resin and the mold includes silicone.

13 . A method of making an encapsulated filtered feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device, the method comprising:
coupling a capacitor to a printed circuit board, wherein a gap is formed between a first surface of the printed circuit board and a second surface of the capacitor; disposing a feedthrough conductor through the printed circuit board; introducing a first non-conductive material into the gap to at least partially underfill the capacitor with the first non-conductive material; locating a mold with respect to the printed circuit board, the mold including an opening configured to receive at least a portion of the capacitor when the mold is in location with respect to the printed circuit board; and introducing a second non-conductive material into the mold to encapsulate at least a portion of the capacitor.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein coupling the capacitor to the printed circuit board includes coupling a plurality of capacitors to the printed circuit board, and wherein the mold includes a plurality of openings, each opening separate from each other and configured to receive at least a portion of at least one corresponding capacitor of the plurality of capacitors when the mold is in location with respect to the printed circuit board.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein introducing the first non-conductive material into the gap includes:
introducing the first non-conductive material onto the first surface of the printed circuit board; and allowing the first non-conductive material introduced onto the printed circuit board to be wicked into the gap.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further including:
coupling the conductor to at least one of the printed circuit and an electrical insulator; and coupling the mold to the printed circuit board using the first non-conductive material.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the mold is formed of a third non-conductive material.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the first non-conductive material and the second non-conductive material are a different type of material from the third non-conductive material.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the third non-conductive material includes silicone and the first non-conductive material and the second non-conductive material include a curable epoxy resin.

20 . The method of claim 13 , further including:
curing the first non-conductive material; and curing the second non-conductive material.

Assignees

• Cardiac Pacemakers Inc

Inventors

• Barry Patrick J
• White Randy
• Kubow Steven A
• Spadgenske Scott A
• Chizek David A
• Sauber Jerald

Classifications

• H03H3/00

  Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of impedance networks, resonating circuits, resonators · CPC title

• A61N1/3754 Primary

  Feedthroughs · CPC title

• H03H7/17

  Structural details of sub-circuits of frequency selective networks · CPC title

• H01G4/35

  Feed-through capacitors or anti-noise capacitors · CPC title

• H05K5/0247

  Electrical details of casings, e.g. terminals, passages for cables or wiring · CPC title