Pressure sensing pacing lead
First Claim
1. An elongate endocardial lead including at least one distal electrode for sensing electrical activity in, and delivering electrical pacing pulses to, a patient'"'"'s malfunctioning heart, a plurality of proximal terminal pins for coupling said lead to a pacemaker device, and a distal pressure sensor for sensing haemodynamic pressure within the heart,said pressure sensor comprising an integrated circuit chip having a layer of piezo-resistive material and a non-conductive base member, said layer being carried by said base member and having a pressure sensing diaphragm area therein exposed to ambient pressure, said base member and said layer being constructed and arranged so as to form a hermetically sealed chamber therebetween, said chamber being at substantially atmospheric pressure and being substantially coextensive with said pressure sensing diaphragm area;
- said lead further including means for coupling said integrated circuit chip across first and second ones of said proximal terminal pins.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An elongate endocardial lead is disclosed which includes at least one distal electrode for sensing electrical activity in, and delivering electrical pacing pulses to, a patient'"'"'s malfunctioning heart, a plurality of proximal terminal pins for coupling the lead to a pacemaker device, and a distal pressure sensor for sensing haemodynamic pressure within the heart. The pressure sensor comprises an integrated circuit chip having a layer of piezo-resistive material and a non-conductive base member, with the layer of piezo-resistive material being carried by the base member and having a pressure sensing diaphragm area therein exposed to ambient pressure. The base member and layer of piezo-resistive material are constructed and arranged so as to form a hermetically sealed chamber therebetween, with the chamber being at substantially atmospheric pressure and being substantially coextensive with the pressure sensing diaphragm area. The lead further includes coil wire conductors for coupling the integrated circuit chip and electrodes to various ones of the proximal terminal pins, so that a central lumen is provided in the lead throughout a major portion of the length thereof to facilitate passage of a stylet therethrough for actuating a device at the distal end of the lead to fix the lead to tissue of the heart.
-
Citations
11 Claims
-
1. An elongate endocardial lead including at least one distal electrode for sensing electrical activity in, and delivering electrical pacing pulses to, a patient'"'"'s malfunctioning heart, a plurality of proximal terminal pins for coupling said lead to a pacemaker device, and a distal pressure sensor for sensing haemodynamic pressure within the heart,
said pressure sensor comprising an integrated circuit chip having a layer of piezo-resistive material and a non-conductive base member, said layer being carried by said base member and having a pressure sensing diaphragm area therein exposed to ambient pressure, said base member and said layer being constructed and arranged so as to form a hermetically sealed chamber therebetween, said chamber being at substantially atmospheric pressure and being substantially coextensive with said pressure sensing diaphragm area; said lead further including means for coupling said integrated circuit chip across first and second ones of said proximal terminal pins. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
5. An elongate, generally cylindrical, endocardial lead having at least one distal electrode for sensing electrical activity in, and delivering pacing pulses to, a patient'"'"'s malfunctioning heart, a plurality of proximal terminal pins for coupling said lead to a pacemaker device, a distal pressure sensor, proximal of said electrode, for sensing haemodynamic pressure within the heart, and means for coupling said pressure sensor across first and second ones of said proximal terminal pins,
said distal electrode including rotatable active fixation means therein for fixing said electrode to heart tissue; -
said pressure sensor including a layer of piezo-resistive material, a non-conductive base member supporting said layer of piezo-resistive material for limited flexing movement relative to said base member in response to pressure variations on said layer of piezo-resistive material, and first and second contact means for connecting said pressure sensor to an electrical circuit; said coupling means including inner and outer coaxial coil wires separated by a layer of insulating material, said inner and outer coil wires respectively connecting said first terminal pin to said first contact means and said second terminal pin to said second contact means, said lead having a coaxial central lumen therein extending throughout the entire length thereof to facilitate passage of a stylet therethrough and rotation of the stylet therein in order to rotate said active fixation means and fix said electrode to heart tissue; wherein said layer of piezo-resistive material of said pressure sensor includes a pressure sensing diaphragm area therein, wherein said base member and said layer of piezo-resistive material include planar surfaces in abutment with one another, and wherein the planar surfaces of said base member is recessed substantially coextensively with said pressure sensing diaphragm area to facilitate said flexing movement.
-
Specification