Implantable Feedthrough Ground Wire Attachment to Ferrule
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing implantable medical device feedthrough assemblies face challenges in maintaining a hermetic seal due to the need for ground lead connections that pass through or alongside insulators, potentially compromising the seal and requiring additional hermetic connections.
Innovation Solution
A feedthrough assembly design featuring a metallic ferrule with an insulator and feedthrough wires, where the ground wire is directly attached to the ferrule without passing through or alongside the insulator, located on the interior side, and coupled using braze or weld joints, reducing the number of leak paths and eliminating the need for an external hermetic seal for the ground connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the ground lead connection extends through the insulator of the feedthrough assembly, then the ground connection can be made to the ferrule on the exterior of the housing, but the hermetic seal is compromised and additional hermetic connections are required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of extending the ground lead through the insulator to the exterior, the invention inverts the approach by bringing the ground connection to the interior side of the housing. The ground lead is attached to the ferrule at an interior location, eliminating the need for it to pass through the insulator and thereby preserving the hermetic seal while still providing ground connection functionality.
2Reliability
If the ground wire passes through or alongside the insulator, then the ground connection can be established, but the number of leak paths increases and hermetic connections are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the ground wire from the path through the insulator. By removing the requirement for the ground wire to pass through or alongside the insulator, the design eliminates the associated leak paths and reduces the number of hermetic connections needed, while still achieving the electrical ground connection function through the interior attachment to the ferrule.
3Ease of operation
If additional hermetic connections are added to accommodate ground lead routing, then the ground connection can be maintained, but the device complexity and potential leak paths increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the conventional ground lead routing approach by placing the ground connection on the interior side rather than requiring exterior access through the insulator. This reversal eliminates the need for additional hermetic connections and penetrations, thereby maintaining ground lead functionality while improving hermetic seal robustness.
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 design enhances the robustness of the hermetic seal, reduces the number of required hermetic connections, and provides an efficient internal ground connection for filtering EMI and MRI signals, improving the reliability of implantable medical devices.
Implementation Method 1
coupled using braze or weld joints
Implementation Method 2
coupled using braze or weld joints
Data Source
AI summary
A feedthrough assembly includes a metallic ferrule, an insulator mounted within the ferrule, a plurality of feedthrough wires mounted within and extending through the insulator, and a ground wire directly attached to the ferrule, wherein the ground wire does not pass through or alongside the insulator.