Coated Implant Electrode Bonding in Harsh Bodily Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Implantable medical devices (IMDs) face challenges with adhesive bonds between electrodes and insulative materials due to harsh chemical and mechanical environments, leading to potential reliability and safety issues.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an electrode design featuring a metal substrate with a connection segment and an active segment, where the metal substrate is coated with titanium nitride, platinum black, or iridium oxide, and the insulative material surrounds only the connection segment, enhancing adhesive bond strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an adhesive bond is used to attach the electrode to the insulative material, then the electrode can be securely mounted, but the bond strength deteriorates under harsh chemical and mechanical environments in the body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a metal coating layer (such as titanium nitride, platinum black, or iridium oxide) on the electrode surface to change the surface properties and chemistry. This coating modifies the parameters of the electrode surface, making it more resistant to adhesive degradation in harsh bodily environments while maintaining strong bond strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by combining the metal electrode substrate with a metal coating layer. This composite material approach allows the electrode to benefit from both the electrical conductivity of the metal substrate and the enhanced surface properties of the coating that improve adhesive bonding and environmental resistance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly improves the adhesive bond strength between the electrode and the insulative material, enhancing the reliability and safety of IMDs by withstanding harsh bodily environments.
Implementation Method 1
the adhesive adheres to the metal coating on the connection segment
Data Source
AI summary
An implantable medical device includes an electrode and an insulative material secured to the electrode via an adhesive. The electrode includes a metal substrate and a metal coating. The metal substrate includes a connection segment and an active segment along a length of the metal substrate. The metal coating is disposed on an outer surface of the metal substrate along the connection segment and the active segment. The insulative material surrounds the connection segment of the metal substrate without surrounding the active segment, and the adhesive adheres to the metal coating on the connection segment.