Abstract: A method of fabricating implantable electronic medical devices eliminates the use of a backfill tube on the header or feed-through by reconfiguring the device's lead connector block anchor so as to provide it with a plug that can be used to seal an aperture in the device's header following removal of undesirable welding gases and replacement with an inert gas with a high breakdown resistance.

Abstract: The non-joined thermocouple electrode configuration, for use in an RF ablation catheter for ablating biological tissue such as cardiac tissue, allows temperature to be monitored at two locations of a band electrode while only using a single pair of thermocouple wires. The thermocouple wires are connected to the electrode at separate locations. They preferably are formed of metallic materials having Seebeck coefficients that are substantially equal in magnitude but opposite in sign relative to the electrode material connecting the two. In the case of a band electrode, the two thermocouple wires are preferably spaced apart on the band electrode so that the first junction contacts the tissue having a first temperature and the second junction contacts circulating blood having a second temperature.