Oscillating Cable Conductor Lumens for Implantable Lead Strain Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Implantable medical leads experience stress and strain due to bending, particularly near the terminal connector, which can lead to mechanical failure and reduced efficacy in delivering electrical signals effectively.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a series of non-linear lumens with crests and troughs along the lead body, providing slack to the conductor cables and minimizing strain through sinusoidal or oscillating patterns, which are manufactured using techniques such as extrusion and injection molding with guiding pins to create the desired lumen configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the lead body is made flexible to allow bending, then the lead can be implanted and positioned, but stress and strain develop in the conductors near the terminal connector during bending
Solution Approach 1:
The lead body is divided into distinct regions with different structural properties. The proximal portion containing the terminal connector has a different construction than the distal portion, with the conductor cables arranged in separate lumens that allow independent movement and strain relief.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductor cables are positioned within lumens that extend in a non-linear, three-dimensional path through the lead body rather than straight lines. This spatial arrangement allows the conductors to accommodate bending stresses by following the curved lumen path.
2Device complexity
If straight lumens are used, then the lead structure is simple, but conductor cables experience high strain during bending
Solution Approach 1:
The lumens are configured with curved, non-linear paths containing multiple crests and troughs instead of straight lines. This curvature allows the conductor cables to follow a longer, more gradual path that reduces strain during lead bending while maintaining structural integrity.
3Reliability
If non-linear lumens with crests and troughs are used, then conductor strain is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The non-linear lumen configuration is pre-formed into the lead body structure during manufacturing using molded core pins or mandrels. This preliminary formation of the curved lumen path allows conductor cables to be simply inserted into the pre-configured lumens without requiring complex post-manufacturing shaping operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical implantable lead includes an elongated lead body having a plurality of lumens therein, including at least one linear lumen and at least one planar, non-linear lumen and a plurality of conductor cables disposed within the plurality of lumens. The electrical implantable lead further includes a terminal connector coupled to a proximal end of the lead body, the terminal connector being in electrical communication with at least one of the plurality of conductor cables. Further, the electrical implantable lead includes at least one electrode coupled to the lead body, the at least one electrode in electrical communication with at least one of the plurality of conductor cables. In accordance with various embodiments, the at least one non-linear lumen extends longitudinally along a portion of the lead body and includes a plurality or crests and a plurality of troughs.