Feedthrough With An Integrated Charging Antenna For An Active Implantable Medical Device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023135610-A1
Application number	US-202217972893-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 25, 2022
Priority date	Oct 29, 2021
Publication date	May 4, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

An inductive charging antenna for charging the power source of an active implantable medical device (AIMD) is described. The charging antenna is supported on the body fluid side of the feedthrough insulator, on the device side of the insulator or it is embedded inside the insulator. The charging antenna is connected to electronic circuits housed inside the medical device to charge the power source so that the device can deliver electrical stimulation to a patient and receive sensed biological signals from body tissue, among other functionalities. If the charging antenna is supported on the insulator body fluid side, it is made from a biocompatible material such as platinum. However, if the charging antenna is embedded inside the feedthrough insulator or is supported on the device side of the insulator, it can be made from a less expensive material that is not biocompatible, for example, copper.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A feedthrough, comprising:
a) an electrically conductive ferrule comprising a ferrule sidewall defining a ferrule opening, the ferrule sidewall having a height extending to a ferrule body fluid side surface and a ferrule device side surface; b) an insulator hermetically sealed to the ferrule in the ferrule opening, the insulator having an insulator thickness extending to an insulator body fluid side surface at or adjacent to the ferrule body fluid side surface and an insulator device side surface at or adjacent to the ferrule device side surface; c) at least a first via and a second via extending through the insulator to the insulator body fluid and device side surfaces; d) at least a first conductive pathway and a second conductive pathway residing in and hermetically sealed to the insulator in the respective first and second vias; and e) an electrically conductive antenna trace supported by the insulator, the antenna trace extending from an antenna trace first end to a spaced apart antenna trace second end, wherein the first and second ends of the antenna trace are configured for subsequent electrical connection to electronic circuits.

2 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace resides on either the insulator body fluid side surface, the insulator device side surface, or is embedded inside the insulator between the insulator body fluid and device side surfaces.

3 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace either surrounds the first and second vias or extends between the first and second vias.

4 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace is selected from platinum, platinum alloys, gold, gold alloys, rhodium, titanium, molybdenum, and mixtures thereof.

5 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace is supported on the insulator body fluid side surface and has first and second legs that extend through the thickness of the insulator to the antenna trace first and second ends residing at the insulator device side surface.

6 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace is embedded inside the insulator between the insulator body fluid and device side surfaces, and wherein the antenna trace has first and second legs that extend through the insulator to the antenna trace first and second ends residing at the insulator device side surface.

7 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace is supported on the insulator device side surface with the antenna trace first and second ends residing at the insulator device side surface.

8 . The feedthrough of claim 7 , wherein the antenna trace is selected from copper, copper alloys, platinum, platinum alloys, gold, gold alloys, and mixtures thereof.

9 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace is contacted to the insulator by at least one of printing, screen printing, pad printing, painting, plating, brush coating, direct bonding, active metal brazing, magnetron sputtering, physical vapor deposition, ion implantation, electroplating, and electroless plating.

10 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the insulator is selected from alumina, 3% YSZ, zirconia, sapphire, aluminum nitride, alumina toughened zirconia, boron nitride, ceramic-on-ceramic, partially stabilized zirconia, strontium aluminate, yttria-stabilized zirconia, zirconia toughened alumina, zirconia toughened ceramics, celsian (BaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 ), borosilicate sealing glasses, compression sealing glasses, a Li 2 O×Al 2 O 3 ×nSiO 2 glass-ceramic system (LAS system), a MgO×Al 2 O 3 ×nSiO 2 glass-ceramic system (MAS system), a ZnO×Al 2 O 3 ×nSiO 2 glass-ceramic system (ZAS system), and combinations thereof.

11 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the insulator is of a ceramic material that is characterized as having been sintered from a unitary body of green-state ceramic material or the insulator is characterized as having been formed from a sintered plurality of green-state ceramic sheets stacked one upon another.

12 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second vias comprises a device side via portion of a first diameter that extends from the insulator device side surface to an annular step that widens to a body fluid side via portion extending to the insulator body fluid side, the body fluid side via portion having a second diameter that is greater than the first diameter, and wherein a platinum-containing material that is characterized as having been co-fired with the insulator is hermetically sealed to the insulator in the body fluid side via portion and a terminal pin is hermetically brazed to the insulator in the device side via portion of the at least one of the first and second vias, and wherein the terminal pin abuts the platinum-containing material to form an electrically conductive pathway extending from the insulator body fluid side surface to the insulator device side surface through the via.

13 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein there is at least two rows of vias, each row comprising at least two vias, and wherein the antenna trace extends between the at least two rows of vias.

14 . The feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the antenna trace has a rectangularly-shaped serpentine trace portion or a sinusoidal trace portion.

15 . A feedthrough, comprising:
a) an electrically conductive ferrule comprising a ferrule sidewall defining a ferrule opening, the ferrule sidewall having a height extending to a ferrule body fluid side surface and a ferrule device side surface; b) an insulator hermetically sealed to the ferrule in the ferrule opening, the insulator having an insulator thickness extending to an insulator body fluid side surface at or adjacent to the ferrule body fluid side surface and an insulator device side surface at or adjacent to the ferrule device side surface; c) at least a first via and a second via extending through the insulator to the insulator body fluid and device side surfaces; d) at least a first conductive pathway and a second conductive pathway residing in and hermetically sealed to the insulator in the respective first and second vias; and e) an antenna trace supported on the insulator body fluid side surface, the antenna trace extending from an antenna trace first end to a spaced apart antenna trace second end, wherein the antenna trace has first and second legs that extend through the thickness of the insulator to the antenna trace first and second ends residing at the insulator device side surface, and wherein the first and second ends of the antenna trace are configured for subsequent electrical connection to electronic circuits.

16 . The feedthrough of claim 15 , wherein the antenna trace either surrounds the first and second vias or extends between the first and second vias.

17 . The feedthrough of claim 15 , wherein the antenna trace supported on the insulator body fluid side surface is selected from platinum, platinum alloys, gold, gold alloys, rhodium, titanium, molybdenum, and mixtures thereof.

Assignees

• Greatbatch Ltd

Inventors

• Villamil Luis Daniel
• Seitz Keith W
• Calamel Jonathan
• Marzano Thomas
• Stevenson Robert A

Classifications

• A61N1/3754 Primary

  Feedthroughs · CPC title

• A61N1/36125

  Details of circuitry or electric components · CPC title

• H01R13/5224

  for medical use · CPC title

• A61N1/3787

  from an external energy source · CPC title

• A61N1/37229 Primary

  Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna · CPC title