Medical electrical lead with interchangeable fixation member

Abstract

A medical electrical lead, a system for providing electrical stimulation or sensing using such a lead, and methods of implanting, making and using same are described. The lead includes a rapidly connectable and / or interchangeable distal line that may be attached to a connector located distally from a distal end of a stimulating electrode. The rapidly connectable or interchangeable line may be sutured to a patient's muscle or other tissue. A physician may select a distal suture line of the present invention on the basis of the desired characteristics of the line, and then connect, secure or attach same to the lead body just prior to the surgical operation in which the stimulating or sensing medical electrical lead of the present invention is to be employed. The desired characteristics of the suture line may relate to thickness or diameter, length, the material from which the line is made, biodegradability, and the like.

Description

RELATED DISCLOSURES [0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 132,513, filed Apr. 26, 2002, now pending, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 487,787, filed Jan. 20, 2001, now issued, U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,431 issued Aug. 13, 2002. The entire content of each of these U.S. Applications is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to medical electrical medical leads, including intramuscular medical electrical leads. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Surgically implanted medical electrical leads for temporary stimulation of various organs in the human body are known in the art, some examples of which may be found in the issued U.S. Patents listed in Table 1 below. TABLE 1U.S. Pat.No.Title3,474,791Multiple Conductor Electrode3,682,162Combined Electrode and Hypodermic Syringe Needle3,757,790Threshold Analyzer and Stimulator Testing Device withInternal Generator4,245,6...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] The present invention has certain objects. That is, the present invention provides solutions to problems existing in the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide an intramuscular or other medical electrical lead, which may be reliably and quickly affixed to muscle or other issue. It is further object of the present invention to provide an intramuscular or other medical electrical lead, which is quickly and easily attached to human muscle or other tissue. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an intramuscular or other medical electrical lead which easier to implant than prior art leads.

[0008] Various embodiments of the present invention have one or more advantages, including one or more of the following: (a) reducing the amount of time required to implant an intramuscular lead in muscle tissue; (b) permitting one or more electrodes to be reliably and fixedly implanted within is human muscle tissue; (c) reducing patient trauma; (d) reducing the number of puncture sites in the muscle tissue; (e) is easy to use; (f) attaching to external pacemakers, defibrillators, monitoring equipment and other external electrical apparatus quickly, easily, securely and reliably; (g) increasing patient safety owing to shortened implantation times, quicker connection to external stimulation or monitoring equipment, and more reliable fixation to muscle tissue; (h) eliminating the requirement for post-operative removal of suture wires from the patent; (i) permitting the implanting physician to select from an array of different suture wires that may be quickly connected to the lead.

[0009] Various embodiments of the intramuscular medical electrical lead of the present invention have certain features, including one or more of the following: (a) an intramuscular lead having at least one proximal fixation member; (b) an intramuscular medical electrical lead having at least one distal fixation member; (c) an intramuscular medical electrical lead having proximal and distal fixation members, (d) an intramuscular medical electrical lead having a proximal or distal fixation member, where the fixation member is selected from a group consisting of a trumpet-shaped member, a tined member, and a helical screw; (e) an intramuscular medical electrical lead having an electrode section which may be elongated or compressed during the implantation procedure; (f) an intramuscular or other medical electrical lead having an absorbable or resorbable suture wire section; and (g) an intramuscular or other medical electrical lead having a suture wire section which may be readily installed, swapped or replaced, according to the is particular requirements of the physician who implants the lead.

Problems solved by technology

Additionally, non-conductive polypropolene monofilaments employed in known intramuscular leads have been criticized as being too stiff and difficult to tie into a knot.

Moreover, fixation of the aforementioned sliding members to muscle tissue is not always possible.

Indeed, such sliding members have a tendency to move after a suture has been applied around the barrel anchor thereof.

There also exists the problems of temporary electrical stimulating leads having suture wires affixed thereto which are determined to be difficult to suture by the physicians who implant them, or which should or must be removed post-operatively from the patient.

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