Abstract: A cell culture device has a chamber bottom, a wall section and a lid that enclose a culture chamber. A first electrode in the chamber bottom extends over a cell culture area of the culture chamber onto which cells are to be cultured. A second electrode in the lid is aligned with the first electrode and extends over an area in the lid corresponding to the cell culture area. A stimulation pulse generator applies stimulation pulses over the electrodes to form an electric field with a homogenous current density in the cell culture area.

Abstract: An assembly includes a medical implantable lead adapted to be attached with a distal end of the lead to an organ inside a human or animal body, the medical implantable lead being formed with an inner lumen extending along essentially the entire length of the lead. The assembly also includes a support core that has a desirable stiffness and a suitably cross sectional dimension such that it is insertable into the lumen (7) in order to increase the stiffness of the lead along its length during its working life when being implanted into a body. A method for implanting a medical implantable lead into a human or animal body makes use of such an assembly.

Abstract: A medical implantable lead adapted to be implanted into a human or animal body for monitoring and/or controlling of an organ inside the body has a fixation in a distal end, which is adapted to fix a distal end of the lead to the organ, an electrode member in the distal end adapted to be in contact with tissue of the organ and receive and/or transmit electrical signals from and/or to the organ, and at least one electrically conducting coil, which includes one or more electrically conducting helical wires and that is adapted to connect the electrode member in the distal end with a monitoring and/or controlling device in a proximal end of the lead. One or more of the individual wires of the coil has a wire core that is provided with a surrounding electrically insulating layer, which in turn is provided with a surrounding electrically conducting shield layer, and the coil is close lapped such that electrically conducting shield layers of adjacent loops of the coil are in electrical contact with each other.

Abstract: An implantable electrode lead for tissue stimulation adapted to be attached to an implantable tissue stimulator provided with a pulse generator, has at least two stimulation electrodes to apply stimulation pulses to said tissue and arranged close to the distal end of the electrode lead, and at least two electrical conductors to connect said electrodes to said pulse generator. The electrode lead further has a switching unit arranged close to the distal end of the electrode lead and adapted to switch the electrode lead between a local pacing mode and a normal pacing mode, the switching unit being controlled by a mode control signal. Further, a pacing module is arranged close to the distal end of the electrode lead and in relation to the switching unit and being connectable to said at least two stimulation electrodes, the pacing module includes a pulse generating unit to generate stimulating pulses to be applied to the tissue by the stimulation electrodes.

Abstract: A tissue stimulating device that provides a biological stimulation of tissue has a release surface adapted for arrangement adjacent to a tissue to be stimulated. An agent reservoir of the device includes an ionic agent capable of causing a stimulation if present at sufficient high extracellular concentration close to the tissue. An agent releaser is provided in the device for releasing a selected amount of the ionic agent from the agent reservoir to an outside of the release surface at a stimulation occasion for stimulating the tissue. The ionic agent will cause a temporary change in ion permeability of the tissue cell membranes and a depolarization of the tissue cells.

Abstract: A medical implantable lead has a proximal end and a distal end, and a flexible flat elongate body. The elongate body includes a layer of strip conductors extending along the length of the flat elongate body, a top insulating layer, and a bottom insulating layer. The layer of strip conductors is sealingly enclosed between the top and bottom insulating layers, and at least a major portion of the flat elongate body is twisted into an elongate helical portion having a central cavity extending longitudinally of the helical portion.

Abstract: In a method and medical system for determining a link quality and a link quality margin of a communication link between a programmer device and an implantable medical device of such a medical system, a link quality monitoring circuit of the programmer or the medical device a present link quality and/or link quality margin at reduced signal power using at least one link quality parameter.

Abstract: An implantable electrode lead for tissue stimulation adapted to be attached to an implantable tissue stimulator provided with a pulse generator, has at least two stimulation electrodes to apply stimulation pulses to said tissue and arranged close to the distal end of the electrode lead, and at least two electrical conductors to connect said electrodes to said pulse generator. The electrode lead further has a switching unit arranged close to the distal end of the electrode lead and adapted to switch the electrode lead between a local pacing mode and a normal pacing mode, the switching unit being controlled by a mode control signal. Further, a pacing module is arranged close to the distal end of the electrode lead and in relation to the switching unit and being connectable to said at least two stimulation electrodes, the pacing module includes a pulse generating unit to generate stimulating pulses to be applied to the tissue by the stimulation electrodes.

Abstract: A medical implantable lead adapted to be implanted into a human or animal body for monitoring and/or controlling of an organ inside the body has a fixation in a distal end, which is adapted to fix a distal end of the lead to the organ, an electrode member in the distal end adapted to be in contact with tissue of the organ and receive and/or transmit electrical signals from and/or to the organ, and at least one electrically conducting coil, which includes one or more electrically conducting helical wires and that is adapted to connect the electrode member in the distal end with a monitoring and/or controlling device in a proximal end of the lead. One or more of the individual wires of the coil has a wire core that is provided with a surrounding electrically insulating layer, which in turn is provided with a surrounding electrically conducting shield layer, and the coil is close lapped such that electrically conducting shield layers of adjacent loops of the coil are in electrical contact with each other.

Abstract: An assembly includes a medical implantable lead adapted to be attached with a distal end of the lead to an organ inside a human or animal body, the medical implantable lead being formed with an inner lumen extending along essentially the entire length of the lead. The assembly also includes a support core that has a desirable stiffness and a suitably cross sectional dimension such that it is insertable into the lumen in order to increase the stiffness of the lead along its length during its working life when being implanted into a body. A method for implanting a medical implantable lead into a human or animal body makes use of such an assembly.

Abstract: A tissue stimulating device that provides a biological stimulation of tissue has a release surface adapted for arrangement adjacent to a tissue to be stimulated. An agent reservoir of the device includes an ionic agent capable of causing a stimulation if present at sufficient high extracellular concentration close to the tissue. An agent releaser is provided in the device for releasing a selected amount of the ionic agent from the agent reservoir to an outside of the release surface at a stimulation occasion for stimulating the tissue. The ionic agent will cause a temporary change in ion permeability of the tissue cell membranes and a depolarization of the tissue cells.

Abstract: In an implantable medical device and a method for treating cardiac tissue of a heart of a patient with therapeutic light, a myocardial infarction is detected and a location the myocardial infarction is identified. A therapy session is initiated by selectively activating one or more of a number of light emitting units arranged in at least one medical lead connectable to the implantable medical device, to emit therapeutic light toward the detected location of the myocardial infarction upon detection of an occurrence of the myocardial infarction.

Abstract: In a method and medical system for determining a link quality and a link quality margin of a communication link between a programmer device and an implantable medical device of such a medical system, a link quality monitoring circuit of the programmer or the medical device a present link quality and/or link quality margin at reduced signal power using at least one link quality parameter.

Abstract: A medical implantable lead has a proximal end and a distal end, and a flexible flat elongate body. The elongate body includes a layer of strip conductors extending along the length of the flat elongate body, a top insulating layer, and a bottom insulating layer. The layer of strip conductors is sealingly enclosed between the top and bottom insulating layers, and at least a major portion of the flat elongate body is twisted into an elongate helical portion having a central cavity extending longitudinally of the helical portion.

Abstract: A implantable lead an elongate body including a flexible insulating tube, and a tubular conductor layer formed of multiple separate strip conductors, which are arranged at the outer surface of the insulating tube and extend along the length thereof.

Abstract: In a device and method for evaluating positions of a medical lead during an implantation procedure, an IEGM signal and a signal indicative of heart pumping activity are obtained for each of a number of different lead positions, and those signals are stored dependent on the different lead positions. A processor automatically determines a lead position, from among the stored lead positions, that results in most favorable hemodynamics of the heart, based on the IEGM signal and the pumping activity signal.

Abstract: An implantable bi-ventricular heart stimulating device and system, suitable for treating congestive heart failure, have a control circuit with first and second pacing circuits and first and second sensing circuits. The device operates with time cycles corresponding to normal heart cycles. The control circuit determines: (a) whether a signal typical of an evoked response to a pacing pulse delivered by the first pacing circuit is sensed within a first time interval and (b) whether a signal typical for an R-wave transferred from the second ventricle, or from some other part of the heart, to the first ventricle is detected within a first time window. The operation of the device depends on whether the conditions (a) and (b) are fulfilled.

Abstract: An implantable medical device is operable in a normal mode of operation, including a test mode, as well as in at least one other mode of operation outside of the normal mode. The device has a signal detector that is responsive to an external activation and a timer that can be programmed with a specified time period. If the external activation is detected by the signal detector during the programmed time period, the medical device is operated in a mode outside of the normal mode. The medical device enters into the test mode, within the normal mode, if the external activation is detected by the signal detector outside of the time period.

Abstract: Medical system for detecting heart events including an electrode lead provided with a multi-dot electrode unit that comprises at least three dot electrodes, said multi-dot electrode unit is adapted to be used for intra-corporal sensing of heart signals. The heart signals sensed by each of the dot electrodes am applied to a processing means where the signals are combined and a synthetic reference signal is determined. The differences between each dot electrode heart signal and the synthetic reference voltage are determined, and an indication signal is formed based upon said differences, wherein said indication signal is used to detect heart events.

Abstract: A heart stimulator for multi-site stimulation of the heart of a patient has a pulse generator and a measuring device for measuring a physiological cardiac parameter and delivering a corresponding output signal to a control unit for controlling time intervals between pulses delivered to different stimulation sites in the heart dependent on the output signal according to a predetermined criterion. The measuring device has a ring-shaped electrode sized to fit within a blood vessel to measure perfusion blood flow of the patient's heart, a counter-electrode adapted to contact the blood, and a measuring unit connected to the ring-shaped electrode and to the counter-electrode to measure voltage or current between those electrodes to determine the perfusion blood flow in the vessel, as the physiological parameter.