Pacing lead and introducer therefor
First Claim
1. A tool used to implant a pacing lead to heart tissue, said lead having an elongated electrical conductor connectable to a pacemaker, and a head supporting a helical electrode connected to the conductor comprising:
- a first beam having a first end portion and a second end portion, a second beam having a first end portion and a second end portion positioned laterally of the first beam, first pivot means connecting the first end portions of the first and second beams, second pivot means connecting the second end portions of the first and second beams;
jaw means joined to the first end portions of the first and second beams adapted to be moved to a closed position to grip the head of the lead and hold the head and electrode in a selected position and moved to an open position to release said head and electrode, biasing means mounted on the first and second beams operable to bias the jaw means to the open position thereof, and releasable look means mounted on the first and second beams operable to hold the jaw means in the closed position to grip said head whereby the helical electrode can be turned into heart tissue upon rotation of the tool and operable to release said head whereby the tool can be removed from said lead.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tool for implanting a pacing lead into heart tissue has a pair of side-by-side beams pivoted together at the opposite ends thereof. The beams have jaws that grip a lead head supporting a helical electrode and a groove for accommodating a section of the lead extended from the head. A releasable lock interposed between the beams operates to hold the beams in jaw closed position to grip the head of the electrode. The lock has flexible fingers and a movable sleeve that allows one hand operation to selectively lock and release of the jaws. The helical electrode has an external layer of platinum black particles resulting in decreased electrical losses at the electrode-tissue interface, increased current density, lower stimulation thresholds, and increased amplitude of sensed electrical signals from the heart tissue.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A tool used to implant a pacing lead to heart tissue, said lead having an elongated electrical conductor connectable to a pacemaker, and a head supporting a helical electrode connected to the conductor comprising:
- a first beam having a first end portion and a second end portion, a second beam having a first end portion and a second end portion positioned laterally of the first beam, first pivot means connecting the first end portions of the first and second beams, second pivot means connecting the second end portions of the first and second beams;
jaw means joined to the first end portions of the first and second beams adapted to be moved to a closed position to grip the head of the lead and hold the head and electrode in a selected position and moved to an open position to release said head and electrode, biasing means mounted on the first and second beams operable to bias the jaw means to the open position thereof, and releasable look means mounted on the first and second beams operable to hold the jaw means in the closed position to grip said head whereby the helical electrode can be turned into heart tissue upon rotation of the tool and operable to release said head whereby the tool can be removed from said lead. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21)
- a first beam having a first end portion and a second end portion, a second beam having a first end portion and a second end portion positioned laterally of the first beam, first pivot means connecting the first end portions of the first and second beams, second pivot means connecting the second end portions of the first and second beams;
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17. A tool used to implant a pacing lead to heart tissue, said lead having an elongated electrical conductor connectable to a pacemaker, and a head supporting an electrode connected to the conductor comprising:
- a first beam having a distal end, a first jaw mounted on said end, a second beam having a distal end, a second jaw mounted on said end of the second beam, pivot means pivotally connecting said first and second beams locating said first and second jaws adjacent each other, said first and second beams being selectively movable to a first position to locate the jaws in a grip position about said head and to a second position to release said jaws from said head and releasable lock means mounted on the first and second beams operable to hold the jaws in the grip position about the head whereby the electrode can be attached to heart tissue and operable to release the jaws from the head whereby the tool can be removed from the lead.
- View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
Specification