Leadless cardiac pacemaker with integral battery and redundant welds

• US 9,511,236 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2012
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Pacesetter Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Varady, Eric, Ostroff, Alan, Jacobson, Peter M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Heller, Tammie K
• Application Number:
  US13/669,242
• Publication Number:
  US 20130123875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,492 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37205 Microstimulators, e.g. implantable through a cannula
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37512 Pacemakers
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37518 Anchoring of the implants, e.g. fixation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3752 Details of casing-lead connections
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3756 Casings with electrodes thereon, e.g. leadless stimulators
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3968 Constructional arrangements, e.g. casings A61N1/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/206 Laser sealing

Abstract

A leadless cardiac pacemaker that does not require a separate hermetic housing surrounding the battery and electronics compartments is provided. The cardiac pacemaker can include a battery disposed in a battery housing and a set of electronics disposed in an electronics housing. In some embodiments, the battery housing and the electronics housing can comprise an external surface of the pacemaker. The pacemaker can include a first set of welds separating the battery from the set of electronics, and a second set of welds separating the set of electronics and the battery from an exterior of the housing. Various embodiments for achieving dual-redundant welds are also provided.

Claims

1. An implantable medical device, comprising:

a battery disposed in a battery housing, the battery housing comprising a battery wall and a first lid, and the battery housing configured to operate as an electrode;

a set of electronics disposed in an electronics housing, the set of electronics being electrically coupled to the battery and configured to control operation of the electrode;

a first set of welds configured to hermetically join the battery wall, the first lid, and the electronics housing so as to hermetically seal the battery from the set of electronics; and

a second set of welds configured to hermetically join the battery wall and electronics housing so as to seal the set of electronics and the battery from an exterior of the implantable medical device, wherein the first set of welds is disposed only on an interior of the implantable medical device and the second set of welds is disposed on the exterior of the implantable medical device.

2. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the battery comprises a toxic component and wherein the first set of welds is configured to prevent the toxic component of the battery from leaking to the exterior of the implantable medical device when the second set of welds fails.

3. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the battery housing is not surrounded by or enclosed in a separate housing.

4. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the implantable medical device is a leadless cardiac pacemaker and wherein an external surface of the battery housing is also an external surface of the pacemaker.

5. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the implantable medical device is a leadless cardiac pacemaker and the battery wall and electronics housing combine to form a cylindrical housing of the pacemaker.

6. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein:

the first lid is welded to a distal portion of the battery wall,

the battery housing further comprises a second lid welded to a proximal portion of the battery wall with a third set of welds to hermetically seal the proximal portion of the battery housing.

7. The implantable medical device of claim 6, further comprising a cap surrounding the second lid and welded to the battery housing with a fourth set of welds to provide dual-weld redundancy for the proximal end of the housing.

8. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of welds are laser bead welds.

9. An implantable medical device, comprising:

a battery disposed in a battery housing, the battery housing comprising a battery wall and a first lid, the battery wall comprising an external surface of the implantable medical device;

a set of electronics disposed in an electronics housing and electrically coupled to the battery, the set of electronics configured to control operation of the implantable medical device;

a first set of welds configured to join the battery wall to the first lid to hermetically seal the battery from the set of electronics; and

a second set of welds configured to join the battery wall to the electronics housing to hermetically seal the set of electronics and the battery from an exterior of the implantable medical device, wherein the first set of welds is disposed only on an interior of the implantable medical device and the second set of welds is disposed on the exterior of the implantable medical device.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the battery comprises a toxic component and wherein the first set of welds is configured to prevent the toxic component of the battery from leaking to an exterior of the implantable medical device when the second set of welds fails and the second set of welds is configured to prevent the toxic component of the battery from leaking to the exterior of the implantable medical device when the first set of welds fails.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the battery housing is not surrounded by or enclosed in a separate housing.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein:

the battery wall comprises a lip, the lip comprising an inner portion disposed only on an interior of the implantable medical device and an outer portion disposed on an exterior of the implantable medical device,

the first lid is welded to the battery wall at the inner portion of the lip with the first set of welds to join the battery wall to the first lid and hermetically seal the battery from the set of electronics, and

the second set of welds is disposed on the exterior of the implantable medical device, wherein the second set of welds weld the battery wall and the electronics housing together at the outer portion of the lip.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the battery wall and electronics housing combine to form a cylindrical housing of the device.

14. The device of claim 9, wherein the first set of welds is configured to hermetically seal the distal portion of the battery housing, wherein the device further comprises a second lid welded to a proximal portion of the battery housing only on the interior of the medical device with a third set of welds to hermetically seal the proximal portion of the battery housing.

15. The device of claim 14, further comprising a cap surrounding the second lid and welded to the battery housing with a fourth set of welds to provide dual-weld redundancy for the proximal end of the housing.

16. The device of claim 9, the battery housing further comprising a lip positioned near a distal end of the battery housing, the lip extending inwards from the external surface of the implantable medical device and then distally.

17. The device of claim 9, the battery housing further comprising an indentation positioned near a distal end of the battery housing, the indentation extending inwards from the external surface of the battery housing.

18. The device of claim 9, the battery housing further comprising a first lip positioned near a distal end of the battery housing and a second lip positioned near a proximal end of the battery housing, the first lip extending inwards from the external surface of the implantable medical device and then distally and the second lip extending inwards from the external surface of the implantable medical device and then proximally.

19. The device of claim 9, the battery housing further comprising a first indentation positioned near a distal end of the battery housing and a second indentation positioned near a proximal end of the battery housing, the first and second indentations extending inwards from the external surface of the housing.

20. The device of claim 9, wherein the first and second sets of welds are laser bead welds.

21. The device of claim 9, wherein the implantable medical device is an implantable cardiac device.

22. A leadless cardiac pacemaker, comprising:

a battery disposed in a battery housing, the battery housing comprising a battery wall and a lid, the battery housing configured to operate as an electrode;

a set of electronics disposed in an electronics housing, the set of electronics being electrically coupled to the battery and configured to control operation of the electrode, wherein;

the battery wall is welded to the lid and the electronics housing with a first set of welds, wherein the first set of welds is disposed only on an interior of the leadless cardiac pacemaker,

the electronics housing is welded to the battery wall with a second set of welds disposed on the exterior of the leadless cardiac pacemaker; and

a fixation device configured to attach the leadless cardiac pacemaker to human tissue.

23. The leadless cardiac pacemaker of claim 22, wherein the battery comprises an electrolyte, wherein the first set of welds is configured to hermetically seal the battery from the set of electronics, wherein the second set of welds is configured to hermetically seal the set of electronics and the battery from an exterior of the leadless cardiac pacemaker, and wherein the first and second welds are configured so that both the first and second set of welds must fail for the electrolyte to leak to the exterior of the leadless cardiac pacemaker.

24. The leadless cardiac pacemaker of claim 22, wherein first and second sets of welds are laser bead welds.

25. The leadless cardiac pacemaker of claim 22, wherein the battery wall is thicker than the electronics housing.