Did You Know...
...that the Slinky toy was the result of a failed attempt by engineer Richard James to produce an antivibration device for ship instruments? His goal was to develop a spring that would instantaneously counterbalance the wave motion that rocks a ship at sea. Instead, he developed the Slinky.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5683447 | Lead with septal defibrillation and pacing electrodes A lead system for use with an implantable pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillator. The lead system includes a securable pace/sense electrode positioned between the distal tip of the lead and the tricuspid valve. The distal tip of the lead is positioned at th... | 11/04/1997 |
| 5683433 | Implantable medical apparatus with magnifying header An implantable medical apparatus operable in conjunction with an attachable lead, and having a housing containing an electronic component, with a header connected to the housing and defining a cavity. A connector element is positioned within the cavity an... | 11/04/1997 |
| 5679026 | Header adapter for an implantable cardiac stimulation device A header adapter which is a separately molded part and which is designed to be secured to receiving portions of the header and pulse generator case of an implantable cardiac stimulation device, such as a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator... | 10/21/1997 |
| 5674272 | Crush resistant implantable lead The present invention is directed toward providing a composite lead body design for pacing and defibrillation leads. This lead body design improves the lead crush resistance in the lead segment that is implanted in the patient's clavicular region, while m... | 10/07/1997 |
| 5669391 | Apparatus and method for presenting patient electrocardiogram and implantable device status information An implantable cardiac therapy device collects patient ECG and device status information, including cardiac event interval information, why therapy was or was not applied, and patient response to therapy, in connection with an arrhythmic episode and corre... | 09/23/1997 |
| 5669790 | Lead lumen sealing device A lead sealing device that resides within the connector cavity of a pacemaker or defibrillator intended to prevent fluid intrusion by automatically sealing the lead lumen when the lead connector is inserted. The sealing mechanism may be in the form of a s... | 09/23/1997 |
| 5662698 | Nonshunting endocardial defibrillation lead A defibrillation insulating device prevents current from directly shunting through the blood pool from the right ventricular defibrillation electrode to a superior vena cava electrode and vice versa. This forces current to flow through the heart muscle, t... | 09/02/1997 |
| 5660737 | Process for making a capacitor foil with enhanced surface area An improved electrolytic capacitor is provided by producing an anode foil which has areas which are not subject to stress during manufacturing being highly etched and those areas which are subject to stress during manufacturing being lightly etched or not... | 08/26/1997 |
| 5658321 | Conductive housing for implantable cardiac device An implantable cardiac stimulator having a housing defining an interior cavity and having an exterior surface, and a defibrillation pulse generator circuit contained within the cavity. The housing exterior surface has a number of ridges, and each ridge in... | 08/19/1997 |
| 5658327 | Intracardiac lead having a compliant fixation device Intracardiac lead for compliant fixation of a distal end of the lead to cardiac tissue. A fixation helix is disposed at the distal end of the lead. The fixation helix has a first end rigidly attached to the compliant fixation device and a second end that ... | 08/19/1997 |
| 5658709 | Method for manufacturing implantable cardiac defibrillation electrodes using a laser beam material removal process A method for the automated manufacture of defibrillation lead electrodes is disclosed. A metallic defibrillation electrode coil is first embedded in silicone rubber. The location of the coil is mapped using a machine vision system and then a CO2 | 08/19/1997 |
| 5649971 | Apparatus and method for inducing fibrillation A method and apparatus for inducing fibrillation in a patient's heart by delivering a direct current stimulus to the heart from a DC-to-DC converter. The hardware of a conventional implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) is utilized with a modificati... | 07/22/1997 |
| 5647379 | Correlator based electromagnetic interference responsive control system useful in medical devices A system is provided to control operation of an implantable medical device based upon detected EMI (electromagnetic interference). A correlator produces a correlation function indicating the level of an EMI component of an input biomedical signal that inc... | 07/15/1997 |
| 5645586 | Conforming implantable defibrillator An implantable device, such as a defibrillator, has a conforming housing that is adapted to follow to the contours of the patient's body at a device implantation site, while complying with pressures applied to the patient's body and with body flexion. In ... | 07/08/1997 |
| 5645070 | Method and apparatus for determining the origins of cardiac arrhythmias morphology dynamics A method of discriminating among cardiac rhythms of supraventricular and ventricular origin by exploiting the differences in their underlying dynamics reflected in the morphology of the waveform. A phase space representation of the dynamics of a waveform ... | 07/08/1997 |
| 5626626 | Implantable medical apparatus with magnifying header An implantable medical apparatus operable in conjunction with an attachable lead, and having a housing containing an electronic component, with a header connected to the housing and defining a cavity. A connector element is positioned within the cavity an... | 05/06/1997 |
| 5620477 | Pulse generator with case that can be active or inactive A pulse generator having a housing for enclosing and containing pulse generator defibrillation circuitry, particularly adapted to allow for ease of manufacture and use, is disclosed. At least one surface of the housing is electrically conductive and conne... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5609618 | Apparatus and method for inducing fibrillation A method and apparatus for inducing fibrillation in a patient's heart by delivering an alternating current stimulus to the heart from a DC-to DC converter. The hardware of a conventional implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) is utilized with a modi... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5610561 | Crystal oscillator and back-up circuit with overspeed and underspeed detection A fail-safe clock generator which has particular utility in implantable cardiac defibrillators includes a crystal oscillator for generating a crystal clock signal, a back-up circuit, and a one-shot generator. The back-up circuit includes a low frequency o... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5603730 | Suture sleeve for implantable lead A suture sleeve having an elongated body defining a bore and having a relief aperture at a first intermediate position on the body and communicating with the bore. The sleeve includes a pair of actuator tabs connected to a second intermediate position on ... | 02/18/1997 |
| 5601611 | Optical blood flow measurement apparatus and method and implantable defibrillator incorporating same A cardiac blood flow sensor includes a light source and a photodetector within a housing. The light source projects a beam through a fiber optic line having a first end optically connected to the housing and a distal tip positioned within the patient's he... | 02/11/1997 |
| 5591211 | Defibrillator having redundant switchable high voltage capacitors An implantable cardioverter defibrillator having a plurality of high voltage capacitors in the output stage which are coupled in parallel and a switching matrix for controlling the number of capacitors used to deliver the shock. For patients having lower ... | 01/07/1997 |
| 5580699 | Method for manufacturing implantable cardiac defibrillation electrodes using a laser beam material removal process A method for the automated manufacture of defibrillation lead electrodes is disclosed. A metallic defibrillation electrode coil is first embedded in silicone rubber. The location of the coil is mapped using a machine vision system and then a CO2 | 12/03/1996 |
| 5558098 | Method and apparatus for detecting lead sensing artifacts in cardiac electrograms An ICD system and method for its use which will detect the presence of sensing artifacts caused by lead conductor fracture, lead insulation failure or connector port fluid penetration. When such a failure results in an incorrect detection of a tachyarrhyt... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5545183 | Method and apparatus for delivering defibrillation therapy through a sensing electrode A pulse generator circuit and method for using a defibrillation lead positioned close to the right ventricular apex to optimize energy delivery and sensing. This method includes operating a defibrillator-pacemaker system in a true bipolar sensing mode as ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5545206 | Low profile lead with automatic tine activation A transvenous lead system for cardiac stimulation with a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator having automatic activation of a passive fixation system. The lead includes an insulative lead body such as silicone rubber and has a proximal end with a conne... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5545189 | Case-activating switch assembly for an implantable cardiac stimulation device A switch assembly for an implantable cardiac stimulation device which enables the implanting physician to selectively activate the pulse generator case or can of the device and/or to selectively activate an endocardial lead electrode inserted into a lead ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5542173 | Method of making flexible defibrillation electrode An implantable defibrillator lead comprises a flexible core onto which is wound helically wound coils to form an electrode. These electrode coils are partially encapsulated by a flexible matrix which holds them in their wrapped position around the core. D... | 08/06/1996 |
| 5534022 | Lead having an integrated defibrillation/sensing electrode An implantable defibrillator lead having an improved integrated bipolar defibrillation electrode is disclosed. The defibrillation electrode is electrically connected to the lead conductor at the distal end, and has an increased surface area portion at the... | 07/09/1996 |
| 5534019 | Cardiac defibrillator with case that can be electrically active or inactive A defibrillator having a housing for enclosing and containing defibrillation pulse generator circuitry, particularly adapted to allow for ease of manufacture and use. At least one surface of the housing is electrically conductive and connected to the defi... | 07/09/1996 |
| 5534814 | High input impedance gate driver circuit with Miller protection and delayed turnoff A gate driver circuit includes a timing circuit, an anti-Miller surge protection circuit, and charging and discharging circuits for driving an output transistor, such as an IGBT. The anti-Miller surge protection circuit prevents the output transistor from... | 07/09/1996 |
| 5531767 | Method and apparatus for delivering defibrillation shocks with improved effectiveness A method for defibrillating a patient's heart with an implantable defibrillator having defibrillation synchronized to the fibrillation waveform is disclosed. The defibrillator is used to detect fibrillation in a patient's heart, monitor at least one far-f... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5531765 | Method and apparatus for producing configurable biphasic defibrillation waveforms A programmable implantable medical device utilizable for delivering a configurable defibrillation waveform to a patient's heart. The device includes defibrillation electrode means adapted to be connected to the heart for delivering a multiphasic defibrill... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5520190 | Cardiac blood flow sensor and method A cardiac blood flow sensor includes a light source and a photodetector within a housing. The light source projects a beam through a fiber optic line having a first end optically connected to the housing and a distal tip positioned within the patient's he... | 05/28/1996 |
| 5509924 | Epicardial stimulation electrode with energy directing capability An epicardial defibrillation electrode having a wide insulating border which insulates the heart from the body is disclosed. The wide insulating border forces defibrillation current to flow through the heart without passing through surrounding tissues, th... | 04/23/1996 |
| 5507779 | Cardiac insulation for defibrillation A defibrillation insulating device insulates the heart from the body. This forces current to flow through the heart without passing through surrounding tissues, thus increasing the current density throughout the heart, to depolarize the majority of the ca... | 04/16/1996 |
| 5496360 | Implantable cardiac electrode with rate controlled drug delivery A body implantable electrode with rate controlled drug delivery is disclosed. A body implantable lead is provided for the delivery of stimulation energy to a desired body site includes a drug dispenser carried by the lead which retains a drug to be dispen... | 03/05/1996 |
| 5489225 | Electrical terminal with a collet grip for a defibrillator A terminal for detachably connecting an electrical lead connector pin to an electrical device is disclosed. The terminal includes an outer sleeve and a movable collet for movement between first and second positions relative to the outer sleeve. The collet... | 02/06/1996 |
| 5489293 | Method and apparatus for treating cardiac tachyarrhythmia The present invention provides an apparatus and method for cardiac defibrillation which utilizes a lower voltage defibrillation output to depolarize the myocardial cells by providing a rapid sequence of defibrillation shocks synchronized with sensed seque... | 02/06/1996 |
| 5488768 | Method of forming a defibrillation electrode connection A method for electrically attaching electrode wire to a conductor in a defibrillation lead is disclosed. The method comprises melting the end of the wire with a hydrogen torch to form a ball of metal, then crimping or welding the ball to the conductor or ... | 02/06/1996 |
