Shield for implantable cardioverter defibrillator
First Claim
1. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator capable of subcutaneous positioning within a patient for delivering at least one electrical cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks of at least 0.5 Joules to at least two electrodes adapted to be positioned proximate the heart of the patient, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator comprising:
- a housing comprising a biocompatible material;
circuitry positioned within the housing to control delivery of the countershocks, the circuitry being susceptible to undesirable coupling effects of origin external to the circuitry;
an energy source coupled with the circuitry to provide electrical energy to the circuitry;
a conductive shield disposed between the housing and the circuitry to shield the circuitry against the coupling effects; and
a reference point in the circuitry, the conductive shield being in electrical connection with the reference point to cause the conductive shield to shield the circuitry from the coupling effects.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An implantable cardioverter defibrillator capable of subcutaneous positioning within a patient delivers at least one electrical cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks to the heart of the patient. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator includes a housing, circuitry positioned within the housing to control delivery of the countershocks, and an energy source coupled with the circuitry to provide electrical energy to a capacitor in the circuitry that stores the electrical energy for delivery of the countershocks. Because the circuitry is susceptible to undesirable electromagnetic coupling effects of origin external to the circuitry, particularly the capacitive coupling effects between the circuitry and the housing of the device when at least a portion of the housing is utilized as an electrode, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator also includes a conductive shield, disposed between the housing and the circuitry, to shield the circuitry against such undesired coupling effects.
96 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator capable of subcutaneous positioning within a patient for delivering at least one electrical cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks of at least 0.5 Joules to at least two electrodes adapted to be positioned proximate the heart of the patient, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator comprising:
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a housing comprising a biocompatible material; circuitry positioned within the housing to control delivery of the countershocks, the circuitry being susceptible to undesirable coupling effects of origin external to the circuitry; an energy source coupled with the circuitry to provide electrical energy to the circuitry; a conductive shield disposed between the housing and the circuitry to shield the circuitry against the coupling effects; and a reference point in the circuitry, the conductive shield being in electrical connection with the reference point to cause the conductive shield to shield the circuitry from the coupling effects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator capable of subcutaneous positioning within a patient for delivering at least one electrical cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks of at least 0.5 J to at least two electrodes positioned proximate the heart of the patient, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator comprising:
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capacitor means for storing electrical energy to generate the cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks; circuit means for controlling delivery of the cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks to at least two electrodes; battery means in electrical communication with the capacitor means and circuit means for providing electrical energy to the capacitor means and the circuit means; housing means comprising a biocompatible material for housing the capacitor means, the circuit means and the battery means, the housing means including an electrode portion forming at least one of the at least two electrodes, the electrode portion of the housing means being in sufficiently close proximity to the circuit means to promote undesirable capacitive coupling effects between the housing means and circuit means; and conductive shielding means disposed between the electrode portion of the housing means and the circuit means for shielding the circuit means against the capacitive coupling effects between the housing means and the circuit means, the conductive shielding means being in electrical communication with a reference point to cause the shielding means to shield the circuit means against the capacitive coupling effects. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of delivering electrical cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks of at least 0.5 J from an implantable cardioverter defibrillator positioned subcutaneously within a patient to at least two electrodes positioned proximate the heart of the patient, the method comprising:
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(a) storing electrical energy in at least one capacitor disposed within a housing of the implantable cardioverter defibrillation to generate the cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks; (b) controlling delivery of the cardioversion/defibrillation countershocks to the at least two electrodes using circuitry disposed within the housing of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator; and (c) using a conductive shield other than the housing to shield the circuitry from undesirable coupling effects between the circuitry and an electromagnetic field external to the circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification