Composite flexible and conductive catheter electrode
OwnerErick Keenaninventor
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Abstract
A flexible cardiac catheter for sensing electrical activity within and administering therapy to a patients' heart has a series of flexible, conductive electrode bands positioned in grooves in the catheter's tubular body. The bands consist of alternating flexible and conductive elements, providing flexibility and overall versatility to the catheter. The electrode bands have controllable flexibility due to the elastic properties of the flexible elements and continuous uninterrupted electrical current conductance from the one-piece design of the conductive element. The synergy of the components of the composite flexible and conductive bands will help solve problems current electrode bands have and will allow for a freedom in the design of catheter electrode band configurations in the future.
Claims12
A flexible cardiac catheter for sensing electrical activity within and administering therapy to a patient's heart, said catheter comprising:
- a cardiac catheter tube with at least one groove of given width extending longitudinally along the tube and circumscribing the tube;
- at least one electrode inset within and circumscribing the groove of the tube, said electrode comprising a single, integral, unitary, cylindrically shaped, electrically conductive band, the band comprising a plurality of separate, unitary, individual, flexible elements which encircle the groove and a plurality of separate, unitary, individual, conductive elements which encircle the groove, each individual flexible element being immediately adjacent to and in contact with an individual conductive element, such that the elements are stacked and aligned transversely along the width of the groove in an alternating pattern, said electrode further comprising means to physically unite all the separate elements to form the conductive band;
- and
- conductor means sealed internally within the catheter tube and extending through to the groove for carrying an electrical signal from the conductive band from within the groove to a proximate end of the catheter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.