Pivotable Electrode Arm for Stable Left Bundle Branch Pacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing leadless pacemakers are not suitable for optimal left bundle branch pacing due to their rigid bodies that can interfere with heart structures and cause cyclical contact, leading to potential interference with heart function.
Innovation Solution
A biostimulator with a pivotable electrode arm that can be deployed at an angle to the body, allowing it to engage the interventricular septal wall without interfering with adjacent structures, and a spring-loaded mechanism for stable implantation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid body design is used for leadless pacemakers, then structural strength and stability are improved, but interference with heart structures and cyclical contact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pacemaker is divided into two functional segments: a rigid body housing containing electronics and a separate flexible electrode arm. This segmentation allows the rigid body to maintain structural strength while the flexible electrode arm adapts to heart movements without causing interference or cyclical contact with adjacent structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode arm is constructed as a flexible component that can bend and move with the heart tissue. This flexibility eliminates the harmful cyclical contact and interference caused by rigid structures, while still allowing effective electrical stimulation of the interventricular septum.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the electrode arm is made flexible to reduce interference, then harm to heart structures is reduced, but electrode stability and contact reliability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the electrode arm from the main body, the design allows the electrode to be flexible and adaptive to heart movements while maintaining stable electrical contact through the segmented connection point. The flexible arm can move with tissue deformation without compromising the reliability of electrical stimulus delivery.
3Ease of manufacture
If a fixed electrode configuration is used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but adaptability to different pacing sites and heart geometries worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode arm is designed as a dynamic, flexible component that can adapt its position and orientation relative to the heart tissue. This dynamic capability allows the same manufactured device to effectively pace different sites (e.g., apex, mid-ventricle, septum) by utilizing the flexible arm's ability to conform to varying anatomical geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented design with a separate flexible electrode arm provides manufacturing simplicity for the main body while the flexible arm can be configured to adapt to different pacing sites. The separation allows independent optimization of the rigid housing for manufacturing while the flexible arm provides anatomical adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A biostimulator (100) includes a body (114) having an electronics compartment (302) containing pacing circuitry. The biostimulator (100) includes an electrode arm (110) pivotably coupled to the body (114). The electrode arm (110) is pivotable from an undeployed state to a deployed state. A pivot angle (402) between the electrode arm (110) and the body (114) is greater in the deployed state than in the undeployed state. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.