Filtered feedthrough assembly for implantable medical electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9521744-B2
Application number	US-201514628119-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2015
Priority date	Feb 21, 2014
Publication date	Dec 13, 2016
Grant date	Dec 13, 2016

Abstract

A filtered feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device includes a ferrule, an electrical insulator coupled to the ferrule by a connection element, a plurality of feedthrough conductors extending through the electrical insulator, a printed circuit board (PCB), and a plurality of capacitors. The PCB is coupled to the ferrule or the electrical insulator, and includes one or more ground layers and a plurality of vias. The connection element is electrically coupled to the ground layer through the vias. The capacitor has a ground terminal electrically coupled to the ground layer through at least one of the vias, and a conductor terminal electrically coupled to the feedthrough conductor.

First claim

We claim:

1. A filtered feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device, comprising:
a ferrule configured to be attached to a metal case of the implantable medical device;
an electrical insulator coupled to the ferrule by a connection element;
a feedthrough conductor extending through the electrical insulator;
a printed circuit board (PCB) coupled to at least one of the ferrule and the electrical insulator, the PCB including a ground layer and a plurality of vias, the connection element being electrically coupled to the ground layer through the vias; and
a capacitor having a ground terminal electrically coupled to the ground layer through at least one of the vias, and a conductor terminal electrically coupled to the feedthrough conductor.

2. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a conductive epoxy disposed within at least one of the vias to electrically couple the connection element to the ground layer.

3. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the PCB includes a plurality of ground layers and wherein the vias traverse the plurality of ground layers.

4. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of feedthrough conductors extending through the electrical insulator, and a plurality of capacitors each associated with one of the plurality of feedthrough conductors.

5. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 4 , wherein each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors includes a ground terminal electrically coupled to the plurality of ground layers by at least one of the vias, and a conductor terminal electrically coupled to a respective one of the feedthrough conductors.

6. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 3 , further comprising at least one ground pin electrically coupled to the ground layers.

7. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 6 , wherein the number of ground pins equals the number of ground layers of the PCB.

8. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the connection element is a gold braze material disposed so as to attach the electrical insulator to the ferrule.

9. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein a conductive epoxy is disposed within at least one of the plurality of vias to contact the connection element so as to provide a continuous electrical path between the connection element and the ground layer.

10. A filtered feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device, comprising:
a ferrule configured to be attached to a metal case of the implantable medical device;
an electrical insulator coupled to the ferrule by an electrically conductive connection element;
a plurality of feedthrough conductors extending through the electrical insulator from a first side to a second side thereof;
a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed adjacent to the second side of the electrical insulator, the PCB including a plurality of ground layers, and a plurality of vias traversing the ground layers, the vias configured to provide a plurality of electrically conductive paths through the ground layers, wherein the electrically conductive connection element is electrically coupled to the plurality of ground layers through the plurality of vias; and
a plurality of capacitors each having a ground terminal and a conductor terminal, wherein the ground terminal is electrically coupled to the plurality of ground layers through at least one of the plurality of vias, and the conductor terminal is electrically coupled to at least one of the plurality of feedthrough conductors.

11. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 10 , wherein a conductive epoxy is disposed within the plurality of vias so as to electrically couple the electrically conductive connection element to the plurality of ground layers.

12. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 11 , wherein the electrically conductive connection element is a gold braze material disposed so as to attach the electrical insulator to the ferrule, and wherein the conductive epoxy is disposed within at least one of the plurality of vias to contact the gold braze material so as to provide a plurality of electrical paths electrically coupling the gold braze material to the plurality of ground layers.

13. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 10 , further comprising at least one ground pin electrically coupled to the plurality of ground layers.

14. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 13 , wherein the at least one ground pin is coupled to the plurality of ground layers by a conductive epoxy injected into at least one of the plurality of vias.

15. The filtered feedthrough assembly of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of ground layers comprises one of four ground layers, three ground layers, and two ground layers.

16. A method of making a filtered feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device, the method comprising:
providing a PCB having a plurality of ground layers, a plurality of vias extending through the ground layer, and a plurality of capacitors, each of the capacitors having a conductor terminal and a ground terminal electrically coupled to the plurality of ground layers through at least one of the vias;
coupling an electrical insulator to a ferrule using an electrically conductive connection element;
disposing a plurality of feedthrough conductors through the electrical insulator and attaching the feedthrough conductors to the electrical insulator;
coupling the PCB to one or more of the ferrule, the electrical insulator, and the feedthrough conductors;
electrically coupling each of the feedthrough conductors to the conductor terminal of a respective one of the capacitors; and
electrically coupling the connection element to the plurality of ground layers through the vias.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising electrically coupling a plurality of ground pins to the ferrule of the feedthrough assembly.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein electrically coupling the connection element to the plurality of ground layers includes disposing a conductive material in the plurality of vias so as to contact the connection element and provide a plurality of parallel electrical paths from the connection element to the plurality of ground layers.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein disposing the conductive material in the plurality of vias includes disposing a conductive epoxy in the plurality of vias.

Assignees

• Cardiac Pacemakers Inc

Inventors

• Barry Patrick J
• White Randy
• Giese Troy A
• Blood James E
• Lyden Michael J
• Mohn Robert M

Classifications

• A61N1/3754 Primary

  Feedthroughs · CPC title

• H05K5/04

  Metal casings · CPC title

• H05K5/0247

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

• H05K3/4038

  Through-connections; Vertical interconnect access [VIA] connections (H05K3/403, H05K3/42 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61N1/086

  Magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] compatible leads · CPC title