PCTFE Polymer Enclosure for Implantable Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional enclosure materials for implantable devices, such as glass, are prone to failure when manufacturing involves thousands of tightly spaced wires, which is common in advanced applications like brain-machine interfaces, due to mechanical stress and inability to maintain a hermetic seal.
Innovation Solution
The use of a polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) enclosure that is thermally welded around densely packed insulated wires, providing a hermetic seal even when wires are spaced as close as 10-50 micrometers apart, utilizing a thermocompression bonding process with specific temperature and pressure conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glass housing is used for implantable device, then hermetic protection is achieved, but the housing cracks or fails when tightly spaced wires are manufactured through it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from glass to PCTFE polymer, which has different mechanical properties that allow it to flex and accommodate tightly spaced wires without cracking while maintaining hermetic sealing capability through thermal welding
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses PCTFE polymer as a composite material that combines the hermetic sealing properties needed for implantable devices with the flexibility required to accommodate densely packed wires, resolving the contradiction between rigidity and flexibility
2Adaptability or versatility
If thousands of wires are tightly spaced in the enclosure, then device functionality is improved, but traditional housing materials cannot maintain a hermetic seal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the sealing mechanism parameter from mechanical fitting (traditional glass housing) to thermal welding (PCTFE polymer), enabling hermetic sealing around thousands of tightly spaced wires by melting and fusing the material around the wire array
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dynamic sealing process where the PCTFE housing is heated to melting point and then cooled, allowing the material to flow around and seal the wires during the phase transition, creating a hermetic seal that adapts to the wire configuration
3Reliability
If PCTFE enclosure is thermally welded around densely packed wires, then hermetic seal is maintained, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-arranging the wires in their final configuration before the thermal welding process, and pre-heating the PCTFE housing to the appropriate temperature range, which simplifies the actual sealing operation and reduces manufacturing complexity
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
The PCTFE enclosure effectively maintains a hermetic seal around hundreds or thousands of closely spaced wires, protecting sensitive electronics from environmental stress and ensuring the longevity of implantable devices by preventing the passage of liquids or gases for an extended period.
Implementation Method 1
thermally welding the PCTFE first portion to the PCTFE second portion
Implementation Method 2
thermally melting and adhering the PCTFE first and second portions
Implementation Method 3
thermocompression bonding process with specific temperature and pressure conditions
Implementation Method 4
clamping the first and second portions together so as to squeeze the plurality of insulated wires between the PCTFE first and second portions
Data Source
AI summary
An implantable device and method of manufacture include a substantially hermetic polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) enclosure with closely-spaced wires extending out of the enclosure. The implantable device includes a PCTFE first portion of an enclosure and a PCTFE second portion of the enclosure. The first and second portions are configured to mate with each other to form the enclosure. A plurality of insulated wires extend between the first and second portions of the enclosure. Each of the insulated wires are parallel to each other and separated by less than 150 micrometers (μm) from a neighboring wire. A thermal weld seam of PCTFE is disposed between the first portion of the enclosure and the second portion of the enclosure and conformally adheres around insulation of each wire such that the enclosure is sealed.