Insulator for a feedthrough

A hermetic feedthrough for an implantable medical device, comprising:

• an insulator body comprising a ceramic material and one or more electrically conductive conduits extending through the insulator body;
• and
• a ferrule, the insulator being disposed in an opening of the ferrule;
• wherein the insulator body has a plurality of substantially flat surfaces that each include a plurality of edges, and a rounded corner extends between adjacent edges of any two adjacent substantially flat surfaces;
• and
• wherein each rounded corner between any two adjacent substantially flat surfaces that face toward the ferrule has an average radius that is less than approximately 0.03″.

A method for manufacturing a hermetic feedthrough, comprising steps of:

• firing a ceramic material;
• and
• shaping the ceramic material subsequent to the step of firing;
• wherein the step of shaping consists essentially of cutting the ceramic material and polishing the ceramic material, such that the ceramic material has a generally rectangular prismatic shape having six substantially planar surfaces and having a width, a height, and a length, and rounded corners between any adjacent substantially planar surfaces;
• wherein each of the rounded corners has an average radius that is less than approximately 25% of each of the height, width, and length.