Abstract: An implant delivery instrument includes a housing with a main body section that defines a passage therethrough from a front end of the main body section to a back end of the main body section. The passage receives an obturator through an opening at the back end, and also receives an implant device. Movement of the obturator through the passage pushes the implant device through a discharge opening at the front end and through an incision into a subdermal pocket of a patient. The housing includes a tab connected to and projecting from the front end of the main body section. The tab has a blunt dissection tip for maintaining the incision in an open state without creating or enlarging the incision, and the tab is configured to surround the implant device moving through the discharge opening along only one side of the implant device.

Abstract: A blade for a cutting instrument includes a handle, a body, and at least three cutting edges along the body. The body has first and second sides extending along a longitudinal center axis. The body has a proximal end at the handle and a distal tip remote from the handle. The at least three cutting edges are oriented at corresponding angles with respect to the longitudinal center axis and are asymmetrically distributed with respect to the longitudinal center axis.

Abstract: A lead retention and sealing system for an implantable medical device comprises a lead receiving channel with an open end for slidably receiving a connecting end of an electrical lead and a closed end not open to an inner sealed portion of the medical device. The connecting end of the lead does not break the seal of the medical device. The receiving channel includes an electrical contact electrically connected with circuitry hermetically sealed within the medical device for mating contact with a respective portion of the lead when moved to a connecting position. A flexible seal mounted in the receiving channel sealingly engages the outer peripheral surface of the lead and retains the lead at the connecting position.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for ultrasonically welding wires includes an ultrasonic horn tip and associated structure for allowing adjustment to accommodate different diameters of wires to be welded while maintaining a tight grip around the wires during the welding process to avoid spreading or splaying of the wires. The tip is rotable to provide several alternative and interchangeable work surfaces on a standard-shaped readily machineable cross section, thereby allowing for a longer total worklife and a reduced cost of manufacture.