Improvements in and relating to electrical leads for cardiac pacemakers

Abstract

Abstract 1277107 Cardiac pacemaker electrodes E M GOLDBERG 4 Aug 1969 [5 Aug 1968] 38977/ 69 Heading A5R An electric lead 14 for attaching a cardiac pacemaker to a heart comprises an insulated electrical conducting section 22, and a lead-in securing member 26 including a helical portion which is screwed into the muscle 30 of the heart 12. A non-insulated electrically conducting section 24 is preferably included. The sections 22 and 24 may be spring wound in a helix and the helix may taper towards the free end or have a reduced diameter portion and may be rigid wire wound in a helix, the free end of which is preferably a sharp point 28 and which is electrically conductive. Alternatively the helical member may be a hollow portion (52), Fig. 5 not shown, and have a helical thread (54) terminating in a sharp point (56). In another embodiment, Fig. 6 not shown, a first lead (60), similar to lead 14, is intertwined with a second lead (64) the end of which is non-insulated and is adjacent to but spaced from the non insulated part (68) of the first lead. The two leads may be attached to a pacemaker by the same or separate plugs. The leads are screwed into the heart muscle 30 by means of an insertion tool (32), Figs. 3 and 4 not shown, which has a bevelled end to accommodate the reduced diameter end or portion of the helix of the lead. To prevent the second lead from unscrewing from the heart when the insertion tool is removed it is wound around the tool the same number of times as the number of turns required to place the lead in the heart.

Inventors

• 👤 Edward M Goldberg

Bibliographic Details