Unlock instant, AI-driven research and patent intelligence for your innovation.

Conductive elements

a technology of conductive elements and metallic films, applied in the direction of external electrodes, head electrodes, spinal electrodes, etc., can solve the problems of a large range of design and manufacturing constraints of medical devices implanted in the body, the development of devices into a highly specialised and labor-intensive craft, and the different properties of metallic films produced by these techniques

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-10-26
COCHLEAR LIMITED
View PDF6 Cites 14 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0034] wherein the platinum sheet on the semi-finish

Problems solved by technology

Medical devices that are implanted in the body are subject to a large range of design and manufacturing constraints.
Further, the materials from which the devices are made must be “biocompatible”.
Given the above requirements, the manufacturing of wiring and connector components for implantable medical devices has developed into a labour intensive and highly specialised craft.
However, the metallic films produced by these techniques can feature properties that are different from the corresponding properties of the original, bulk materials used.
This results in the materials functioning differently from their intended purpose.
In the case of platinum, thin film techniques tend to result in cracking and delamination of the platinum.
This forms a high impedance path which impairs the functionality of the device.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Conductive elements
  • Conductive elements
  • Conductive elements

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0055] An example of a process used to make a semi-finished sheet material that can later be used to form an electrode array will now be described with reference to FIG. 1A.

[0056] Commencing with Step 11, a sheet of conductive, biocompatible parent material 1 is sourced. This parent material is most usually platinum, although other materials which have been shown to possess the same properties at platinum for the purposes of suitability as a conductive element in an implantable medical device could also be used. Preferably, the platinum sheet is at least 99.95% pure and has a thickness of approximately 20 μm to 40 μm, although other dimensions may be used. In one embodiment, the platinum sheet has a thickness in the range of 10 μm to 200 μm.

[0057] Next at Step 12, a supplementary material 2 is deposited on to one side of the platinum sheet 1 to form a new composite sheet 3. In this example, the supplementary material 2 is Titanium Nitride (TiN) and is deposited at a thickness of a...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

PropertyMeasurementUnit
Thicknessaaaaaaaaaa
Electric chargeaaaaaaaaaa
Currentaaaaaaaaaa
Login to View More

Abstract

There is disclosed a method of forming a patterned conductive element for an implantable medical device, the method comprising the steps of: i) depositing a supplementary material on a sheet of conductive, parent material (1) to form a sheet of composite material; ii) applying a carrier material over the supplementary material of the composite sheet to form a sheet of semi-finished material; iii) removing portions from at least the conductive parent material of the sheet of semi-finished material in accordance with a desired pattern corresponding to a patterned conductive element to be formed; and iv) releasing at least the carrier material from the sheet of semi-finished material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a national stage application under 35 USC §371(c) of CT Application No. PCT / AU2004 / 000920, entitled “Conductive Elements,” filed on Jul. 9, 2004, which claims the priority of Australian Patent No. 2003903532, filed on Jul. 9, 2003. The entire disclosure and contents of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a method of making conductive elements and in particular, to making patterned conductive elements suitable for use in the manufacture of implantable medical devices. [0004] 2. Related Art [0005] Medical devices that are implanted in the body are subject to a large range of design and manufacturing constraints. [0006] Such medical devices need to be as small as possible to ensure they are minimally invasive. The order of size for components can be in the micron scale. [0007] Further, the materials from wh...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
IPC IPC(8): B23P19/00H01R43/00A61N1/05H01L21/48
CPCA61N1/05A61N1/0541A61N1/0551A61N1/0553H01L21/4846Y10T29/49117Y10T156/10Y10T156/1039Y10T29/49204Y10T29/53204Y10T29/49126Y10T29/49156
Inventor SCHULLER, PETER
Owner COCHLEAR LIMITED