CONNECTOR ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLIES OF MEDICAL DEVICES INCLUDING AN ANGLED LEAD PASSAGEWAY
Connector enclosure assemblies for medical devices provide an angled lead passageway. The lead passageway which is defined by electrical connectors and intervening seals within the connector enclosure assembly establishes the angle relative to a base plane of the connector enclosure assembly. Various other aspects may be included in conjunction with the angled lead passageway, including an angled housing of the connector enclosure assembly, feedthrough pins that extend to the electrical connectors where the feedthrough pins may include angled sections, and a set screw passageway set at an angle relative to the lead passageway to provide fixation of a lead within the lead passageway.
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This present application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/847,830, filed Jul. 30, 2010, and entitled “MACHINING OF ENCLOSURES FOR IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/230,549, filed Jul. 31, 2009, and entitled “MACHINING OF ENCLOSURES FOR IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES.” Both cases are incorporated by reference as if entirely rewritten herein.
This present application also claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of International Application Serial No. PCT/US2012/022071, filed Jan. 20, 2012, and entitled “Implantable Medical Devices and Related Connector Enclosure Assemblies Utilizing Conductors Electrically Coupled to Feedthrough Pins”; and this present application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of International Application Serial No. PCT/US2012/022086, filed Jan. 20, 2012, and entitled “Implantable Medical Devices and Related Connector Enclosure Assemblies Utilizing Conductors Electrically Coupled to Feedthrough Pins”, both of which claim priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/436,600, filed Jan. 26, 2011, and entitled “Implantable Medical Devices and Related Connector Enclosure Assemblies Utilizing Conductors Electrically Coupled to Feedthrough Pins”, each of which is incorporated by reference as if entirely rewritten herein.
TECHNICAL FIELDEmbodiments provide connector enclosure assemblies of medical devices that include lead passageway that forms an angle relative to a base of the connector enclosure assembly.
BACKGROUNDImplantable medical devices (IMDs) typically include a connector enclosure assembly that is mounted onto a sealed enclosure. The connector enclosure assembly receives a proximal end of a medical lead and provides electrical connectivity between electrical circuitry of the medical device within the enclosure and the conductors of the medical lead. The connector enclosure assembly may provide a manner of securing the medical lead in position while also providing isolation of the electrical connections from external conditions such as body fluids.
It is desirable for medical devices to become smaller and less obtrusive. This is particularly true for implantable medical devices where a small device allows for a smaller subcutaneous pocket to be formed in the patient. However, a smaller size presents design challenges, particularly in relation to the connector enclosure assembly, where a particular number of electrical contacts may be present. Furthermore, the medical lead is typically implanted so that there is an excess amount of the lead present in proximity to the medical device, and orienting the excess lead as it exits the medical device while maintaining the relatively small pocket is additionally challenging.
SUMMARYEmbodiments address issues such as these and others by providing a medical device connector enclosure assembly that includes a lead passageway that is angled with respect to a plane of a base of the connector enclosure assembly. The angled lead passageway may then be coupled with various other design features to allow for a relatively small connector enclosure assembly size.
Embodiments provide a medical device connector enclosure assembly that includes a housing having an opening and having a base defining a plane and an electrical connector disposed within the housing. The electrical connector is aligned with the opening to form a lead passageway, and the lead passageway has an axial dimension that is at an angle greater than zero degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane. A feedthrough pin passes into the housing and extends to contact the electrical connector.
Embodiments provide a medical device connector enclosure assembly that includes a housing having an opening and having a base defining a plane. A plurality of electrical connectors is disposed within the housing, and the electrical connectors are separated by an intervening seal contacting electrical connectors on each side, the electrical connectors being aligned with the opening to form a lead passageway. The lead passageway has an axial dimension that is at an angle that is greater than zero and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane.
Embodiments provide a medical device connector enclosure assembly that includes a housing having an opening and a base defining a plane. A plurality of electrically conductive connectors is disposed within the housing, and the plurality of electrical connectors is aligned with the opening to form a lead passageway. The lead passageway has an axial dimension that is at an angle greater than zero and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane. The plurality of electrical connectors include at least one electrical connector that is electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing, and the plurality of electrical connectors include at least one electrical connector that is not electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing.
Embodiments provide for connector enclosure assemblies of medical devices where a lead passageway forms an angle relative to a base of the connector enclosure assemblies. Various other features may then be included in conjunction with the angled lead passageway to provide a relatively small connector enclosure assembly.
Enclosures of implantable medical devices described herein may be created in various ways, such as by machining. Machining of the enclosures may also be done in various ways. For instance, machining may involve one or more forms of electric discharge machining (EDM), with wire EDM being particularly well suited to the machining of an enclosure sleeve as discussed below. Milling is another example of machining that may be done, alone or in combination with one or more forms of EDM. Other examples of machining are also applicable such as water jetting.
In this wire EDM example of machining, the initial workpiece may be of various forms. Two examples of workpieces are shown, a piece of bar stock material 102 and a piece of tubular stock material 104. The wire EDM process 100 may begin with either type of workpiece as well as others. The tubular workpiece 104 is particularly well suited to a wire EDM process where the enclosure is being machined as a whole. Considering the tubular workpiece 104 already has a hollow center where a wire 109 of the wire EDM process may be positioned, the inside geometry of the enclosure can be machined using the wire 109. For a bar workpiece 102, if the enclosure is to be wire EDM machined as a whole, then a hole must first be created within the bar workpiece 102 to allow placement of a wire 108 of the wire EDM so that the inside geometry can be machined using the wire 108.
The wire EDM process 100 uses an electrical power source 110 which applies a voltage potential between the wire 108/109 and an electrical contact 106/107 to the workpiece 102/104. The workpiece 102/104 is present within a dielectric bath. The repeated discharge from the wire 108/109 to the workpiece 102/104 repeatedly removes matter from the workpiece 102/104 to essentially provide a cutting effect. This cutting effect works even in the harder materials such as grade 5 titanium as well as in grade 9 titanium and 811 titanium and does not work harden the material such that an additional annealing step is not needed afterwards when wire EDM is used for the entire enclosure. The wire EDM process 100 may employ a variety of machining wires, including those having a diameter on the order of one ten-thousandth of an inch. Furthermore, a variety of power settings and speeds may be utilized for the wire EDM process 100, with slower speeds generally resulting in smoother surface finishes.
In some embodiments, the wire EDM process 100 may be used to machine the entire enclosure sleeve. In other embodiments, the wire EDM process 100 may be used for only a portion of the enclosure sleeve geometry, such as only the inside geometry, while another machining process such as another form of EDM or milling is used to create the outside or other remaining geometry.
In some embodiments, the milling process 114 may be used to machine the entire enclosure, whether in the form of a whole sleeve, enclosure sleeve halves with top and bottom caps, or as non-sleeve enclosure halves of conventional shape. In other embodiments, the milling process 114 may be used for only a portion of the enclosure sleeve geometry, such as only the outside geometry, while another machining process such as wire EDM is used to create the inside or other remaining geometry.
The enclosure sleeve 200 is shown with a particular symmetrical racetrack cross-section that is consistent from top to bottom. It will be appreciated that other cross-sections are applicable as well and that variations in the cross-section from top to bottom are also applicable. For instance, the wall thickness may vary at certain locations by design, which is a direct benefit of machining versus stamping. The wall thickness of the enclosure sleeve 200 may be machined to relatively thin amounts, such as 0.008 inch having a tolerance of 0.001 inch. Machining allows for other small details, such as a radiused edge 308, as shown in
In some embodiments, the enclosure sleeve may not be machined as a whole but is instead machined as two separate halves that are subsequently brought together to form an enclosure sleeve similar to the enclosure sleeve 200 of
The tab 306 of this embodiment is shown as ending prior to reaching the top edge of the half 302. This allows space for a top cap discussed below to be seated into the top of the enclosure sleeve above the tab 306. However, in other embodiments the tab 306 may extend to the top edge of the half 302. In that case a top cap may have a notch that accepts the tab 306 as the top cap is being seated into the top of the enclosure sleeve.
The top cap 412 is attached such as by a laser seam weld to a top edge 408 of the enclosure sleeve 402 to provide a sealed edge. The top cap 412 may be constructed of the same or different material than the enclosure sleeve 402. In this example, the top cap 412 includes the feedthrough block 418 from which the connector pins 420 extend to reach the lead connections 422 of the connector block module 414. For the top cap 412 as shown in
The connector block module 414 mounts to the top of the top cap 412. The top cap 412 may include barbs, pins, or other fasteners that engage receiving features on the bottom of the connector block module 414 to properly position and fix the connector block module 414 in place. The connector block module 414 may include ports that receive the connector pins 420 of the feedthrough block 418 and channel them to connectors 422 that are positioned within channel(s) 424. The channel(s) 424 receive leads that have connectors that mate to the connectors 422 and establish electrical continuity with the connector pins of the feedthrough block 418. One side of the connector block module 414 is shown transparently in
The connector block module 414 may be of a conventional polymer construction. However, the milling process allows the sleeve 402 to be significantly narrower than conventional IMD casings such that the connector block module 414 may also be significantly narrower. To the extent the connector block module 414 may be made so narrow that using conventional attachment features to the top cap 412 become unfeasible, the connector block module 414 may be encased by a metal, such as titanium, and that connector block encasement may be welded to the top cap 412 to provide a hermetic seal.
A bottom cap 404 is attached such as by a laser seam weld to a bottom edge 406 of the enclosure sleeve 402 to provide a sealed edge. As with the top cap 412, the bottom cap 404 may also be made of the same or different material than the enclosure sleeve 402, and may also be made of the same or different material than the top cap 412. The bottom cap 404 as shown has a bowl or canoe shape. This shape allows a desiccant 405 to be included in the bottom cap 404 and reside beneath the chassis 409 once the IMD 400 is assembled. For the bottom cap 404 as shown in
The desiccant 405 may also serve as a bumper between the chassis 409 and the bottom cap 404 for embodiments where the chassis 409 slides into position within the enclosure sleeve 402 and is held in place at least partially by contact with the bottom cap 404. However, in other embodiments, the desiccant 405 may be positioned elsewhere, such as in a pocket within the chasses 409 and in that case a separate bumper may be placed within the bottom cap 404. In other embodiments, where the chassis 409 is installed within a connector sleeve half so that sliding the chassis 409 within a complete connector sleeve 402 is not performed, the chassis 409 may be glued to the connector sleeve half to hold the chassis 409 in place and a bumper may be omitted particularly where the desiccant 405 is positioned within the chassis 409.
The top cap may be fixed to the connector block module by welding or other suitable means of attachment dependent upon the manner of construction of the connector block module as discussed above at a welding step 604. The electrical pins of the feedthrough block of the top cap are routed into the connector block module to make electrical contact with electrical connectors of the connector block module.
Once the top cap and connector block module are joined, the circuitry is connected to the feedthrough of the top cap and the circuitry is loaded into the sleeve at an insertion step 606. At this point, the top cap may then be attached to the sleeve, at an attachment step 608. The top cap may be laser seam or otherwise welded at the top edge of the sleeve.
At this point, a desiccant may be placed into the resting place formed in the bottom cap at a desiccant step 610. By completing the top construction before adding the desiccant and bottom cap, the addition of the desiccant can be delayed until the only remaining step is to add the bottom cap. In this manner, the desiccant is exposed to the ambient conditions for only a short time prior to the interior of the enclosure sleeve being isolated from the exterior. This preserves the effectiveness of the desiccant.
The bottom cap including the desiccant is then fixed to the enclosure sleeve via a laser seam or other weld at a welding step 612. At this point, the enclosure sleeve is sealed and the desiccant is exposed to only the moisture that is already within the enclosure sleeve.
Once the two complementary enclosure sleeve halves are complete, the two halves may be fixed together to form the enclosure sleeve at a welding step 704.
The top cap may be fixed to the connector block module at a connection step 706, where this connection may involve barbs, adhesives, and other conventional forms of connecting the connector block module or where the connector block module is encased in a metal such as titanium, the connection may be a weld. Once the top cap is joined to the connector block module, the circuitry is connected to the feedthrough of the top cap and the circuitry is loaded into the sleeve at an insertion step 708. The top cap may be attached to the enclosure sleeve at a welding step 710.
At this point, a desiccant may be placed into the bottom cap at a desiccant step 712. As with the process of
The bottom cap is then fixed to the enclosure sleeve at a welding step 714. At this point, the enclosure sleeve is sealed and the desiccant is exposed to only the moisture that is already within the enclosure sleeve.
Once at least one of the two complementary enclosure sleeve halves is complete, the circuitry may be placed into one of the halves at an insertion step 804. In conjunction with inserting the circuitry, the top cap may be fixed to the connector block module at a connection step 806, where this connection may involve barbs, adhesives, and other conventional forms of connecting the connector block module or where the connector block module is encased in a metal such as titanium, the connection may be a weld. Once the top cap is joined to the connector block module, the top cap may be attached to the enclosure sleeve half, with the electrical connections to the circuitry being completed, at an attachment step 808.
At this point,
While the preceding examples of manufacturing involve the creation of an enclosure sleeve, other examples of manufacturing an implantable medical device with a machined enclosure are also applicable. For instance, rather than creating an enclosure sleeve as a whole or as two joined halves with top and bottom caps, two conventional halves may be milled rather than stamped. Circuitry, a connector block module, and desiccant may then be added in the conventional way.
Embodiments provide implantable medical devices that include various features related to the electrical connectivity of a connector enclosure assembly containing electrical connectors to a can that houses electrical circuitry.
The implantable medical lead 1104 is implanted into the body with the distal end being routed to a desired location such that the electrodes contact the tissue of interest. The proximal end 1112 is inserted into a connector enclosure assembly 1106 of the IMD 1102 via an entryway 1110. Within the connector enclosure assembly 1106, electrical connectors make contact with each of the contacts 1114. Electrical circuitry within the can 1108 provides stimulation signals and/or monitors for sensed signals by being electrically connected to the connectors within the connector enclosure assembly 1106. The electrical circuitry is thereby also connected to the electrodes at the distal end of the implantable medical lead 1104 such that the stimulation signals may be provided to tissue at the electrodes and/or sensed signals may be obtained from the tissue.
In this particular example, the can 1108 relies on separate components to create a hermetically sealed enclosure for the electrical circuitry. Namely, the can 1108 relies on a bottom cap 1116 that may be welded in place or may be formed integrally with the can 1108 and relies on a base plate 1130 which is shown in
In this particular example, the electrical circuitry 1122 includes electrical contact pads 1124. Conductors 1126 that extend from the connector enclosure assembly 1106 align with and are bonded to the electrical contact pads 1124 such as by soldering or a spot weld or the like during assembly of the IMD 1102. As discussed in more detail below, these conductors 1126 provide electrical connectivity between the electrical circuitry 1122 and feed through pins, where the feedthrough pins provide electrical connectivity to the electrical connectors within the connector enclosure assembly 1106.
As the conductors 1126 extend from the feedthrough pins 1136 to the contact pads 1124 in this example, there is no need for a flexible circuit to provide the interconnection. Accordingly, the structure for interconnecting the flexible circuit to the feedthrough pins is omitted.
The conductors 1126 pass through a support body 1128 that is affixed to the underside of the base plate 1130. The support body 1128 holds the conductors in proper positioning for interconnection to the feedthrough pins of the connector enclosure assembly 1106 and also in proper position for bonding to the contact pads 1124 of the electrical circuitry 1122 within the can 1108. The support body 1128 is discussed in more detail below with reference to
In
The filter capacitor 1146 has an aperture 1142 that allows the feedthrough pin 1136 to pass through. In this particular example, the aperture 1142 also includes a region 1144 that allows the conductor 1126 to enter into the aperture 1142 such that the feedthrough pin 1136 and conductor 1126 are adjacent within the aperture 1142. In this particular example, the region is smaller than the portion of the aperture 1142 where the feedthrough pin 1136 passes such that the aperture 1142 has a keyhole shape.
The conductor 1126 and the feedthrough pin 1136 are in the vicinity of one another as well as in the vicinity of the aperture 1142. In this particular example, both the conductor 1126 and the feedthrough pin 1136 are present within the aperture 1142. Because the conductor 1126 and the feedthrough pin 1136 are in the vicinity of one another and in the vicinity of the aperture 1142, the conductor 1126 and the feedthrough pin 1136 may be bonded together as well as to the filter capacitor 1146 via a single bonding event, as opposed to a separate bonding event for the conductor and a separate bonding even for the feedthrough pin. Further more, the non-ground capacitor plates within the filter capacitor 1146 may be present at the non-ground aperture 1142 such that the bond may also occur with the non-ground capacitor plates as shown below in
The filter capacitor 1146 may be a ceramic material with conductive layer within to provide the capacitance. The aperture 1142 may have a border such as silver-palladium or Ni—Au plating or the like sputtered or otherwise attached to the ceramic about the aperture 1142 so that an electrically conductive bonding material may be used to bond the conductor 1126, the feedthrough pin 1136, and the filter capacitor 1146 together. For example, a solder joint 1148 may be created at the junction of the conductor 1126, the feedthrough pin 1136, and the filter capacitor 1146.
For purposes of illustration, in
A ground conductor 1162 is interconnected within the ground pin 1160 via an electrically conductive bond at a ground aperture of the filter capacitor 1146. Thus, the electrically circuitry 1122 has a ground to the base plate 1130 which will ultimately be electrically connected to the can 1108 upon welding of the base plate 1130 to the can 1108. Furthermore, the ground aperture of the filter capacitor 1146 may include the ground plates of the capacitive coupling present within the filter capacitor 1146 such that the electrically conductive bond also occurs with the ground plates, which is discussed in more detail below with reference to
The support body 1128 includes the posts 1164 as well as protrusions 1166 that abut the base plate 1130 to create proper spacing between the support body 1128 and the base plate 1130 where the filter capacitor 1146 resides. The support body also includes the protrusions 1152 which properly position the support body 1128 by abutting the filter capacitor 1146 to align the interfacing surfaces.
The protective body 1174 includes a window 1176 that exposes the conductors 1126 so that electrical connection may be made to test the electrical pathway between the conductors 1126 and the individual electrical connectors 1132 as shown in
The protective body 1174 may also include features that allow the two halves 1178, 1180 to be joined together while engaging the base plate 1130. For instance, posts 1184 and receptacles 1186 may be provided where the posts are press fit into the receptacles as a flange 1188 of each half slides into place within a groove 1190 on the base plate 1130. This locks the two halves 1178, 1180 together while locking the body 1174 to the base plate 1130.
One manner of assembling the IMD 1102 that includes the features discussed above follows. It will be appreciated that this manner of assembly is for illustrative purposes and that other manners of assembling the IMD 1102 are also possible. Initially in this example, the inner region where the feedthrough apertures 1138 are located is welded in place to an outer structure of the baseplate to complete the baseplate assembly 1130. The inner region contains the feedthrough pins 1136 passing through the ferrules 1140 filled with the nonconductive polymer 1141 and with the insulator 1158 being located underneath the ferrule 1140.
The filter capacitor 1146 is then inserted with each feedthrough pin 1136 passing through an aperture 1142. The support body 1128 with the conductors 1126 present therein is then positioned so that each conductor 1126 enters the region 1144 of the aperture 1142. The support body 1148 is then pressed into place such that the mounting posts 1164 firmly lock into the cavities 1154 of the baseplate 1130.
At this point, the feedthrough pins 1136, conductors 1126, and filter capacitor 1146 may be bonded by placing the solder split performs 1149 in place as shown in
The protective cover 1174 is then installed as shown in
At the next step, the nonconductive polymer 1141 is added to the ferrules 1140 and then the medical adhesive 1155 is applied to the top of the baseplate 1130. The feedthrough pins 1136 are formed as necessary to be in position to contact the electrical connectors 1132. The pre-assembled set of electrical connectors 1136, such as a Bal Seal® stack is then placed against the feedthrough pins 1136 where they are then mechanically and electrically interconnected.
A top portion of the connector enclosure 1106 is then placed onto the baseplate 1130 and set of connectors 1132. The set screw 1134 is inserted into position within the top portion of the connector enclosure 1106. A cover plate of the connector enclosure 1106 that covers an open side of the top portion of the connector enclosure 1106 is put in position on the top portion and against the baseplate 1130. The top portion, cover plate, and the baseplate 1130 are then seam welded, and the cavity within the connector enclosure 1106 is filled with a non-conductive polymer by injection molding. At this point, the connector enclosure 1106 is ready for final assembly of the IMD 1102.
During final assembly, the isolation cup 1118 is placed into the bottom half of the can 108 as shown in
The protective cover 1174 is broken open to allow the connector enclosure assembly 1106 to be removed from the protective cover 1174. The connector enclosure assembly 1106 is then placed over the bottom half of the can 1108 and the conductors 1126 are mechanically and electrically connected to the electrical pads 1124.
The bottom cap 1116 is then added to the bottom half of the can 1108. The top half of the can 1108 is then placed into position relative to the bottom half. The interfaces of the two halves of the can 1108, the bottom cap 1116, and the baseplate 1130 of the connector assembly 1106 are seam welded to complete the assembly of the IMD 1102.
The common tab 1204 allows the integral conductor unit 1202 to be easily grasped and positioned during assembly of the structure shown in
In this particular embodiment, the ends of the conductors 1206, 1208 opposite the common tab 1204 include annular rings such as the annular ring 1212 revealed for the conductor 1208. The feedthrough pins 1136 pass through the openings of the annular rings 1212. The annular rings are then secured to the feedthrough pins 1136. In the case of the ground conductor 1206, the annular ring is secured to a ground pin 1260 of the baseplate 1130. Thereafter, the common tab 1204 is removed from the conductors 1206, 1208 such as by cutting or breaking the conductors 1206, 1208 in vicinity of the common tab 1204. For instance, the conductors 1206, 1208 may be formed with a thinner section near the common tab 1204 which provides a weak area that facilities the cut or break.
There may be several ways to secure the conductors 1206, 1208 to the ground pin 1260 or feedthrough pins 1136. For instance, in some embodiments, the conductors 1206, 1208 may be soldered to the respective pin. As shown in
Some embodiments of the annular rings 1212 may include extensions and the filter capacitor 1220 may include keyhole shaped openings like that of
An alternative manner of securing the conductors 1206, 1208 to the pins is shown in
A completed connector enclosure assembly 1106 is shown in
Another aspect that is present in the embodiment shown in
To ensure that the transitional area 1230 of each conductor 1208 does not electrically short circuit to ground, the notch 1228 is present in the filter capacitor 1220 to create additional airspace between the exposed area of ground plate 1232 where the ground plate 1232 and any metallic layer on the outer surface is soldered and the transitional area 1230. While
In this example, the connector enclosure assembly 2002 has yet to be joined to the remainder of the medical device and therefore a protective cover 2012 is in place to protect the feedthrough connections. This protective cover 2012 may be the same as the protective cover 1174 in
As shown in
In this example, the protective cover 2010 also includes a bottom vertical post 2018 which abuts an underside of a protruding portion of the connector enclosure assembly 2002 to further support and affix the protective cover 2010 in place. For embodiments of the housing 2004 where a set screw passageway extends through the protruding portion 2020, as shown below in
The protective cover 2010 may be constructed of various materials such as liquid silicone rubber (LSR) or other materials with similar mechanical properties. The material of the protective cover 2010 allows for the protective cover 2010 to be adequately compliant for insertion into and removal from both passageways while establishing an interference fit.
In the embodiment of
The housing 2004 also defines an elongated chamber 2064 that houses electrical connectors 2040 surrounded by seals such as a distal most seal 2034 and aligns the electrical connectors 2040 with the opening 2026 to further define the lead passageway. In this particular example, the seals including the distal most seal 2034 include two axially spaced circumferential sealing ridges 2036 and 2038 to ensure that the electrical connectors are adequately sealed from body fluids that may migrate into the lead passageway. Having two circumferential sealing ridges 2036, 2038 aids in sealing the lead where there may be some degree of misalignment of the connectors of the lead body and the connectors of the connector enclosure assembly 2002.
In this example, the elongated chamber 2064 of the housing 2004 includes a distal abutment 2032 that separates the area where the set screw 2024 is located relative to the area where the electrical connectors 2040 are present. One or more of the electrical connectors 2040 are actively driven by the hybrid circuitry of the medical device and therefore adequate electrical separation ensures that the housing 2004 and set screw 2024 are not inadvertently made active.
The most distal seal 2034 of this example includes a flap 2030 on the distal side which rests against the abutment 2032. The elongated chamber 2064 of the housing 2004 may be filled with a non-conductive filler material such as LSR, and this filler material engages the flap 2030 to force the flap to seal against the abutment 2032. The housing 2004 also includes a filler vent 2028 that allows the excess filler material to escape from the elongated chamber 2064 within the housing 2004. The filler vent 2028 may have a consistent diameter as shown, or may have a varying diameter such as, for example, a counterbore at the outer surface of the housing 2004.
The remaining features of the connector enclosure assembly of
In this embodiment, the axial dimension 2051 is also in a different plane than the axial dimension 2055 of the set screw passageway so as to form an angle 2070. In the particular example shown in
In this embodiment, the housing 2004 itself has an angled configuration. This angled configuration is evident by a mid-point tangent 2056 being at an angle 2054 relative to the plane 2053 of the base 2008. To achieve this angled configuration, the angle 2054 is greater than zero degrees and less than 90 degrees. In some embodiments this angle 2054 may be the same as the angle 2052, while in other embodiments, the two angles 2052 and 2054 may be different.
In this embodiment, it can further be seen that the housing 2004 and the protruding portion 2020 form separate arcs. The radius of curvature of the arcs are different, with the radius of curvature of the arc formed by the protruding portion 2020 being smaller in this example. For instance, the radius of curvature of the arc of the surface of the housing 2004, which extends from the protruding portion 2020 in this particular example, may be measured at the mid-point defining the tangent 2056 while the are of the protruding portion 2020 may be measured at the intersection with the axial dimension 2051.
To facilitate the connection of the feedthrough pins to the electrical connectors, the feedthrough pins of this example are provided with multiple sections 2044, 2045, and 2046. These multiple sections are also visible in
In this particular example, the feedthrough pin section 2046 is positioned by the feedthrough connection 2048 where the feedthrough pin section 246 has exited the housing 2004. This positioning of the pin section 2046 defines a longitudinal dimension of the pin 246 that intersects with the lead passageway other than at the exposed area 2042. An intervening section 2045 interconnects the section 2046 and the section 2044 and is angled with respect to both the section 2046 and the section 2044 so as to offset the section 2044 from the section 2046. As illustrated in
Thus, in the examples shown and described above, the connector enclosure assembly provides an angled lead passageway in conjunction with various other features. The relative size of the connector enclosure assembly and/or the direction of the medical lead exiting the connector enclosure assembly within the pocket may be beneficial to implantation procedure as a result.
While embodiments have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A medical device connector enclosure assembly comprising:
- a housing having an opening and having a base defining a plane;
- an electrical connector disposed within the housing, the electrical connector being aligned with the opening to form a lead passageway, the lead passageway having an axial dimension that is at an angle greater than zero degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane; and
- a feedthrough pin passing into the housing and extending to contact the electrical connector.
2. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 1, wherein the feedthrough pin has a first portion passing into the housing and has a second portion that extends to contact the electrical connector, the second portion being at an angle relative to the first portion.
3. The medical device of claim 2, wherein the first portion of the feedthrough pin is perpendicular to the plane defined by the base and wherein the second portion is perpendicular to the axial dimension of the lead passageway.
4. The medical device of claim 2, wherein the feedthrough pin further comprises an intermediate portion joining the first portion to the second portion, the intermediate portion being angled relative to the first portion and the second portion.
5. The medical device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of electrical connectors disposed within the housing forming the lead passageway, the electrical connectors being separated by an intervening seal contacting electrical connectors on each side.
6. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing has a longitudinal dimension, with a mid-point of a surface opposite the base defining a tangent with an angle relative to the plane of the base.
7. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing has a protruding portion with the opening being present on the protruding portion.
8. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing has an opening in a first, plane, the housing further having a second opening in another plane at an angle relative to the first plane, the second opening being defined by a threaded cylindrical wall of the housing.
9. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing defines an elongated chamber that has an axial dimension at an angle greater than zero and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane and wherein a plurality of connectors are maintained adjacently by engagement with the elongated chamber.
10. A medical device connector enclosure assembly comprising:
- a housing having an opening and having a base defining a plane;
- a plurality of electrical connectors disposed within the housing, the electrical connectors being separated by an intervening seal contacting electrical connectors on each side, the electrical connectors being aligned with the opening to form a lead passageway, the lead passageway having an axial dimension that is at an angle that is greater than zero and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane.
11. The medical device of claim 10, wherein the intervening seal has a plurality of circumferential sealing ridges separated in the axial dimension of the lead passageway.
12. The medical device of claim 10, wherein the intervening seal surrounds an outer circumferential surface of the electrical connectors.
13. The medical device of claim 10, further comprising a distal seal on the distal side of an electrical connector of the plurality of electrical connectors, the distal seal comprising a flap, and wherein the housing comprises an inner abutment distal of the electrical connector that is engaged by the flap.
14. The medical device of claim 10, wherein the plurality of electrical connectors comprise flangeless housings and wherein the intervening seal laps onto an outer circumference of the flangeless housings.
15. The medical connector enclosure assembly device of claim 10, wherein the housing defines an elongated chamber that positions the seals and electrical connectors.
16. A medical device connector enclosure assembly comprising:
- a housing having an opening and a base defining a plane;
- a plurality of electrically conductive connectors disposed within the housing, the plurality of electrical connectors being aligned with the opening to form a lead passageway, the lead passageway having an axial dimension that is at an angle greater than zero and less than 90 degrees relative to the plane, the plurality of electrical connectors including at least one electrical connector that is electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing and the plurality of electrical connectors including at least one electrical connector that is not electrically coupled to a conductor that exists the housing.
17. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 16, wherein the electrical connector that is electrically coupled to the conductor that exits the housing is fixed within the housing and wherein the electrical connector that is not electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing is movable in a direction perpendicular to the lead passageway.
18. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 17, wherein the electrical connector that is not electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing is a screw.
19. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 18, wherein the housing has an opening defining a threaded cylindrical wall that the screw engages.
20. The medical device connector enclosure assembly of claim 19, further comprising a bore plug present within the opening, the bore plug being present between an external edge of the opening and the screw within the opening.
21. The medical device of claim 16, wherein the electrical connector that is not electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing is in a most distal position, wherein the housing provides an abutment between a next most distal electrical connector and the electrical connector that is not electrically coupled to a conductor that exits the housing, and wherein a seal engages the abutment.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 18, 2012
Publication Date: Mar 30, 2017
Patent Grant number: 10286218
Applicant: Medtronic, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN)
Inventors: Steven T. Deininger (Blaine, MN), Michael J. Baade (Zimmerman, MN), Katherine J. Bach (Arden Hills, MN), Van L. Snyder (Ham Lake, MN)
Application Number: 13/449,428