Implantable electrode lead

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9468384-B2
Application number	US-201113338433-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2011
Priority date	Jan 13, 2011
Publication date	Oct 18, 2016
Grant date	Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

An implantable electrode lead for transmitting electrical impulses to excitable bodily tissue and/or for transmitting electrical signals tapped at bodily tissue to a detection unit. The electrode lead including a distal electrode, a proximal electrode connector, and an electrode supply lead which connects the electrode, or each electrode, to the electrode connector, or each electrode connector, and extends in a lead body, wherein the lead body includes a hinged alignment of hard elements.

First claim

We claim:

1. An implantable electrode lead for transmitting electrical impulses to excitable bodily tissue or electrical signals tapped at bodily tissue to a detection unit or combinations thereof, the electrode lead comprising: a distal electrode; a proximal electrode contact; a lead body; and an electrode supply lead which connects the distal electrode to the proximal electrode contact and/or is used to transmit electrical shocks and/or to control sensors, and which extends in the lead body, wherein the lead body comprises a hinged alignment of closely interspaced hard elements configured and spaced for protecting the lead body and the electrode supply lead from radially acting forces and for permitting free deflection of the lead body in any direction, wherein the hinged alignment forms a rotationally symmetrical joint connection between the hard elements, wherein each hard element includes a central lumen through which the lead body and the electrode supply lead extend extends through, and wherein at least one hard element is drum-shaped and contains in an interior thereof a coil connected mechanically and electrically to the electrode supply lead, and wherein the drum-shaped element is rotatably supported on the electrode supply lead thereby enabling the lead body to rotate relative to the electrode supply lead with the coil securely placed thereon and preventing torsional stresses from forming during use of the electrode lead.

2. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein sections which are compressible or bendable in a flexibly yielding or flexurally resilient manner are inserted into the hinged alignment of hard elements.

3. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein sections which are compressible and bendable in a flexibly yielding or flexurally resilient manner are inserted into the hinged alignment of hard elements.

4. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein the hinged alignment of hard elements is enclosed by a flexibly yielding material, at least in sections.

5. The electrode lead according to claim 4 , wherein a flexible tube is drawn over the alignment of hard elements, or they are enclosed in a coating of the flexibly yielding material.

6. The electrode lead according to claim 5 , wherein the coating of flexibly yielding material is applied by injection molding.

7. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein the alignment of hard elements are disposed on a flexibly yielding material.

8. The electrode lead according to claim 7 , wherein the alignment of hard elements are drawn or injected onto a flexibly yielding material.

9. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein the hard elements contain at least one of the following materials:
a metal,
a ceramic,
a glass, and
a plastic.

10. The electrode lead according to claim 9 , wherein:
the metal comprises platinum, tantalum, iridium, palladium, stainless steel, gold, or MP35N,
the ceramic comprises Al2O3, ZrO2, TiO2, MgO, ZnO, Al2O3+TiO2, BaO+TiO2, SiC, BeO, AlN, HfC, TaC, TiN, BN, B4C, WC or Si3N4, and
the plastic comprises PEEK, silicone, a copolymer, a polyimide, PA, high-density polyethylene or polysulphone, or variants of the aforementioned plastics filled with fibers or nanoparticles.

11. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein at least a few of the hard elements are directly adjacent to one another and include end faces that face one another, wherein the end faces are shaped in a manner such that tilting about a longitudinal axis of the electrode lead, which is limited relative to a minimal bending radius, is possible.

12. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein at least a few of the hard elements are directly adjacent to one another and are directly interconnected to each other in a tension-resistant manner using joint sections.

13. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein first and second hard elements which are differently shaped and additionally, or alternatively, differently sized, are enmeshed in a hinged manner.

14. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , further comprising soft elements, wherein the hard and soft elements are enmeshed in a hinged manner and provided in alternating alignment.

15. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein the hard elements are formed by rigid sections of a tube, between which flexible sections are present which are defined by recesses formed in a wall of the tube.

16. The electrode lead according to claim 15 , wherein the recesses extend in an elongated, coiled manner.

17. The electrode lead according to claim 15 , wherein the recesses are designed as pairs or groups of circular or elliptical openings.

18. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the hard elements contains an electrical or electronic component in a cavity provided therein configured to electrically and mechanically connect to the electrode supply lead.

19. The electrode lead according to claim 18 wherein the electrical or electronic component comprises an electrode, a coil, a sensor element, a capacitor, or an active electronic component or an electronic circuit.

20. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the hard elements comprises a fixation element for mechanically fixing the electrode lead in an implanted state.

21. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein the hard elements include at least one central or one off-center recess, or combinations thereof, for receiving the electrode supply line or an electrode supply line.

22. The electrode lead according to claim 21 , wherein at least one electrode supply lead is designed as a rope or coil insulated against the hard elements, and the recesses of the hard elements are adapted thereto.

23. The electrode lead according to claim 22 , wherein an off-center recess in the hard elements is designed such that, and its alignment is selected such that, an extension of the electrode supply lead in the adjacent recesses of adjacent hard elements is predetermined, with the electrode lead extending in a coiled manner.

24. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein at least a few of the hard elements are directly adjacent to one another and include conical-shaped end faces that face one another, wherein a cone angle of the cone-shaped faces defines a minimal bending radius of the lead body in an area of the hard elements.

25. The electrode lead according to claim 1 , wherein the hard elements are connected together by cooperating ball and socket joints.

Assignees

• Kolberg Gernot
• Palm Jochen
• Bartels Klaus
• Biotronik Se & Co Kg

Inventors

• Kolberg Gernot
• Palm Jochen
• Bartels Klaus

Classifications

• A61N1/05 Primary

  for implantation or insertion into the body, e.g. heart electrode (A61N1/06 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61B5/6846

  specially adapted to be brought in contact with an internal body part, i.e. invasive · CPC title

• A61B2562/222

  Electrical cables or leads therefor, e.g. coaxial cables or ribbon cables · CPC title

• A61B2562/16

  Details of sensor housings or probes; Details of structural supports for sensors (A61B2560/0462 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61B2562/0209

  Special features of electrodes classified in A61B5/24, A61B5/25, A61B5/283, A61B5/291, A61B5/296, A61B5/053 · CPC title