Multipolar Medical Lead With Aligned Openings for Simpler Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and high cost of manufacturing bi- or multipolar leads for medical devices, particularly for temporary medical test trials, lead to increased prices and potential reliability issues due to the use of numerous components, which can limit the success of medical treatments.
Innovation Solution
A bi- or multipolar lead design featuring a cable with coaxial insulation and conducting channels, where ring electrodes are selectively connected through aligned openings, reducing the number of components and enabling efficient, cost-effective production without the need for connecting wires, allowing for miniaturization and improved connectivity while maintaining dielectric strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional bi- or multipolar leads are manufactured using multiple separate components, then the lead can provide multiple electrical contacts, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple conducting channels and their insulations into a single integrated cable structure. The cable contains multiple insulated conductors arranged in parallel, eliminating the need for separate connecting wires and multiple assembly steps. This merging of components directly reduces manufacturing complexity while maintaining multipolar functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support, electrical insulation, and multiple conducting pathways. The outer insulation and inner insulations work together to provide both structural integrity and electrical isolation, reducing the need for separate structural components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional bi- or multipolar leads use numerous separate components, then multiple electrical contacts can be achieved, but the price of the end product becomes very high
Solution Approach 1:
By combining multiple conducting channels into a single cable assembly with integrated insulation, the patent reduces the total number of components that need to be manufactured, stored, and assembled. This consolidation directly lowers manufacturing costs while maintaining the ability to provide multiple electrical contacts.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional bi- or multipolar leads are assembled from many single components, then flexibility in design is achieved, but the reliability decreases due to more possible failure modes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple conducting channels and insulations into a unified cable structure, reducing the total number of separate components. Fewer components mean fewer potential failure points and fewer assembly interfaces where problems can occur, thereby improving reliability while maintaining design flexibility through the modular cable structure.
4Ease of manufacture
If unipolar leads are used for temporary medical test trials to reduce cost, then economic feasibility is improved, but the success of the test trial is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides a multipolar lead design that can be manufactured cost-effectively by integrating multiple conducting channels into a single cable structure. This approach enables the use of multipolar leads for temporary medical test trials, improving test trial success rates by providing multiple electrical contacts while maintaining economic feasibility through simplified manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
One aspect is a bi- or multipolar lead for a medical device including: a) a cable comprising an outer insulation having at least two first openings near a distal end of the cable; an inner lumen, wherein the inner lumen is arranged coaxially to the outer insulation and extends in a longitudinal direction from a proximal end to the distal end of the cable; at least two conducting channels, wherein the at least two conducting channels are arranged between the outer insulation and the inner lumen of the cable, wherein each one of the at least two conducting channels is formed by at least one insulated conductor comprising a conductor and an insulation layer, and wherein the insulation layer of the at least one insulated conductor of each one of the at least two conducting channels comprises a second opening, which is aligned with one of the at least two first openings; b) at least two ring electrodes, wherein each one of the at least two ring electrodes surrounds the cable at a position of one of the at least two aligned first and second openings of the cable, and wherein each one of the at least two ring electrodes is selectively connected to the conductor of the at least one insulated conductor of one of the at least two conducting channels through one of the at least two aligned first and second openings.