Medical lead and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

This invention provides a medical lead, comprising a lead body, an insulating material, and a plurality of electrode assemblies. The lead body has a distal end, a proximal end, and a chamber disposed along a long axis, with the insulating material surrounding the chamber. The electrode assemblies are disposed at the distal end and arranged along the long axis. The electrode assemblies include at least one segmented electrode assembly, which includes a plurality of segmented electrodes, at least one tube, and a plurality of core wires. The segmented electrodes are disposed along a circumferential direction of the lead body and located on an outer surface of the lead body. The tube is connected to an inner surface of one of the segmented electrodes, and the insulating material fills the tube. The core wires are electrically connected to the segmented electrodes respectively.

Claims

1. A medical lead, comprising: A conductor body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a cavity disposed along a long axis; an insulating material disposed around the cavity; and a plurality of electrode assemblies disposed at the distal end and arranged along the long axis, wherein the electrode assemblies include at least one segmented electrode assembly, the segmented electrode assembly including: a plurality of segmented electrodes disposed along a circumferential direction of the conductor body and located on an outer surface of the conductor body; At least one tube is connected to an inner surface of one of the segmented electrodes, and the insulating material is filled in the tube; and a plurality of core wires are electrically connected to the segmented electrodes respectively.

2. The medical lead as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulating material is disposed between the inner surface and the cavity.

3. The medical lead as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the segmented electrodes further includes an outer surface, and the roughness of the inner surfaces of the segmented electrodes is greater than the roughness of the outer surfaces of the segmented electrodes.

4. The medical lead as claimed in claim 1, wherein the core wires are connected to the inner surfaces of the segmented electrodes.

5. The medical lead wire as described in claim 1, wherein the core wires are connected to the tube body, and the tube body is made of a conductive material.

6. The medical lead as claimed in claim 1, wherein the segmented electrode assembly further includes a plurality of sleeves to which the core wires are connected, and which sleeves are connected to the inner surfaces of the segmented electrodes.

7. The medical lead as claimed in claim 1, wherein the medical lead further includes a star-shaped tube adjacent to the electrode assembly and having a plurality of longitudinal grooves parallel to the long axis, and at least a portion of the core wires are located in the longitudinal grooves.

8. The medical lead as claimed in claim 7, wherein the star-shaped tube has a central chamber for accommodating a steel needle.

9. A method for manufacturing a medical lead, comprising: Provide at least one electrode ring; A plurality of tubes are fixed at intervals to an inner surface of the electrode ring; a plurality of core wires are electrically connected to the electrode rings respectively; an insulating material is filled into the electrode ring and the tubes by injection molding; and the electrode ring is ground so that the electrode ring forms a plurality of segmented electrodes that are separated from each other, such that each tube is connected to one of the segmented electrodes and each core wire is connected to one of the segmented electrodes respectively.

10. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 9, wherein the electrode ring comprises a plurality of electrode segments and a plurality of spacer segments arranged alternately to each other, and the thickness of the electrode segments is substantially equal to the thickness of the spacer segments.

11. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 10, wherein the spaced segments are each a protrusion, and the insulating material is filled in the protrusions.

12. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 10, wherein in the step of fixing the tubes to the inner surface of the electrode ring, the tubes are fixed to the electrode segments.

13. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 10, wherein after the step of grinding the electrode ring, the spacer segments are removed, and the electrode segments are separated by the insulating material.

14. A method for manufacturing a medical lead as described in claim 10, wherein the method for manufacturing the medical lead comprises: A plurality of grooves are formed on an outer surface of the electrode ring, and the positions of the grooves correspond to the positions of the electrode segments.

15. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 9, wherein the step of connecting the core wires to the electrode ring comprises: These core wires are soldered into a plurality of sleeves; And to connect the sleeves to the inner surface of the electrode ring or the tubes.

16. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 15, wherein in the step of filling the insulating material by injection molding, at least a portion of the insulating material enters the sleeves.

17. A method for manufacturing a medical lead as described in claim 9, wherein the method for manufacturing the medical lead comprises: Before filling the insulating material, a mandrel is provided to pass through the electrode rings; And after filling the insulating material, the mandrel is removed to form a chamber in the insulating material.

18. A method for manufacturing a medical lead as described in claim 9, wherein the method for manufacturing the medical lead comprises: A star-shaped tube is provided, wherein the star-shaped tube has a plurality of longitudinal grooves; and the core wires are disposed in the longitudinal grooves.

19. A method of manufacturing a medical lead as claimed in claim 18, wherein the star-shaped tube has a central chamber, and the method of manufacturing the medical lead comprises: Before filling the insulating material, a mandrel is provided to pass through the central chamber.

20. The method of manufacturing the medical lead as described in claim 9 further comprises: A surface treatment is applied to the inner surface of the electrode ring to make the roughness of the inner surface of the electrode ring greater than the roughness of an outer surface of the electrode ring.

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