Insulator for a feedthrough

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9008779-B2
Application number	US-201414175812-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2014
Priority date	Aug 2, 2011
Publication date	Apr 14, 2015
Grant date	Apr 14, 2015

Abstract

A hermetic feedthrough for an implantable medical device includes an insulator body and a ferrule. The insulator body includes ceramic material and one or more electrically conductive conduits extending through the insulator body. The insulator is disposed in an opening of the ferrule. The insulator body includes a plurality of substantially flat surfaces that each include a plurality of edges. A rounded corner extends between adjacent edges of any two adjacent substantially flat surfaces. Each corner between any two adjacent substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule has an average radius that is less than approximately 25% of a length of the corresponding edges.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hermetic feedthrough for an implantable medical device, comprising:
an insulator body comprising a ceramic material;
an electrically conductive conduit extending through the insulator body; and
a ferrule, the insulator being disposed in an opening of the ferrule;
wherein the insulator body comprises a plurality of substantially flat surfaces that each include a plurality of edges and that face toward the ferrule, and a plurality of rounded corners, each rounded corner extending between the edges of two of the substantially flat surfaces that are adjacent to each other; and
wherein each of the rounded corners has an average radius that is 25% or less of a length of the edges the rounded corner extends between.

2. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the average radius of each of the rounded corners is measured over a continuous portion along the length of the edges the rounded corner extends between.

3. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of substantially flat surfaces includes four substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule, each of the four substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule being adjacent to two others of the four substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule;
wherein the plurality of rounded corners includes four rounded corners, each rounded corner of which extends between the edges of two of the four substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule and has an average radius that is 15% or less of the length of the edges the rounded corner extends between, the length of the edges the of the two substantially flat surfaces that the rounded corner extends between being greater than 0.05″.

4. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 3 , wherein each of the four rounded corners that extends between the edges of two of the four substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule has an average radius that is 15% or less of every length of every edge of the plurality of substantially flat surfaces, wherein every edge of the plurality of substantially flat surfaces has a length that is greater than 0.05″.

5. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 3 , wherein each of the four rounded corners that extends between the edges of two of the four substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule has an average radius that is 0.03″ or less.

6. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the insulator body has a rectangular prismatic shape, and the plurality of substantially flat surfaces consists of a generally rectangular top and a generally rectangular bottom that face away from the ferrule, two generally rectangular ends that extend between the top and bottom and each of which faces toward the ferrule, and two generally rectangular sides that extend between the top and bottom and between the two ends and each of which faces toward the ferrule.

7. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 6 , wherein a width of the insulator body is measured between the sides thereof, a length of the insulator body is measured between the ends thereof, and the length and the width are both greater than 0.05″.

8. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 7 , wherein a plurality of the rounded corners extend between the edges of the top or the bottom of the insulator body and one of the sides or one of the ends of the insulator body, each rounded corner of which has an average radius that 15% or less of the length and the width of the insulator body.

9. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 6 , wherein the top and bottom of the insulator body are orthogonal to each of the ends and each of the sides of the insulator body, and each of the ends of the insulator body are orthogonal to each of the sides of the insulator body.

10. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the ferrule is coupled to an encasement of an implantable medical device.

11. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of substantially flat surfaces comprises three substantially flat surfaces, and each one of the three substantially flat surfaces is adjacent each of the two other substantially flat surfaces.

12. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the insulator body has a surface roughness of less than 1 μm.

13. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 1 , wherein the insulator body includes no rounded corners having an average radius that is greater than 25% of the length of the edges the rounded corner extends between.

14. A hermetic feedthrough for an implantable medical device, comprising:
an insulator body comprising a ceramic material and one or more electrically conductive conduits extending through the insulator body; and
a ferrule, the insulator being disposed in an opening of the ferrule;
wherein the insulator body has a plurality of substantially flat surfaces that each include a plurality of edges and that face toward the ferrule, and a plurality of rounded corners, each rounded corner extending between the edges of two substantially flat surfaces that are adjacent to each other and face toward the insulator
and having an average radius that is 0.03″ or less.

15. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of substantially flat surfaces comprises three substantially flat surfaces that intersect each other.

16. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the average radius of each of the rounded corners is measured over a continuous portion of a length of the edges the corner extends between.

17. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the average radius of each of the rounded corners is 25% or less of a length of the edges the rounded corner extends between.

18. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 17 , wherein the average radius of each of the rounded corners is 15% or less of the length of the edges the rounded corner extends between.

19. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the average radius of each of the rounded corners is 0.02″ or less.

20. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the insulator body has a rectangular prismatic shape, and the plurality of substantially flat surfaces consists of a generally rectangular top and a generally rectangular bottom that face away from the ferrule, two generally rectangular ends that extend between the top and bottom and each of which faces toward the ferrule, and two generally rectangular sides that extend between the top and bottom and between the two ends and each of which faces toward the ferrule; and
wherein a width of the insulator body is measured between the sides, a length of the insulator body is measured between the ends, and both the width and the length of the insulator body is greater than 0.05″.

21. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the ferrule is coupled to an encasement of an implantable medical device.

22. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the insulator body has a surface roughness of less than 1 μm.

23. The hermetic feedthrough of claim 14 , wherein the insulator body includes no rounded corners having an average radius that is greater than 0.03″.

Assignees

• Kyocera Corp
• Medtronic Inc

Inventors

• Morioka Kengo
• Fujii Keiichi
• Knudsen Arne
• Satou Shingo
• Otomaru Hidekazu
• Makino Hiroshi
• Thom Andrew
• Reiterer Markus
• Munns Gordon
• Miltich Thomas
• Yamamoto Joyce

Classifications

• A61N1/3754 Primary

  Feedthroughs · CPC title

• H02G3/22 Primary

  Installations of cables or lines through walls, floors or ceilings, e.g. into buildings · CPC title