Disclosed is an apparatus and method for facilitating the implantation and secure positioning of implantable medical devices within a subcutaneous pocket formed by a surgeon within the patient. Such apparatus and method are configured to address the above-described challenges of containing implantable medical devices within such subcutaneous pockets, and the spring-like leads or catheters that may be attached to them, during implantation.

A leadless implantable medical device comprises a first electrode configured to deliver electrical pacing energy, a second electrode configured to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity, and a third electrode configurable to both deliver electrical pacing energy and sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity. The first and third electrodes are used for delivering electrical pacing energy and the second and third electrodes are used to sense intrinsic electrical cardiac activity. None of the first, second and third electrodes are incorporated into a lead.

Disclosed herein is an implantable electronic device. In one embodiment, the device has a modular header-feedthru assembly and a housing. The modular header-feedthru assembly has a conductor assembly, a feedthru coupled to the conductor assembly, and a polymer header that is injected molded about the conductor assembly and at least a portion of the feedthru. The housing is welded to the feedthru.

A device includes a signal generator module, a processing module, and a housing. The signal generator module is configured to deliver pacing pulses to an atrium. The processing module is configured to detect a ventricular activation event and determine a length of an interval between the ventricular activation event and a previous atrial event that preceded the ventricular activation event. The processing module is further configured to schedule a time at which to deliver a pacing pulse to the atrium based on the length of the interval and control the signal generator module to deliver the pacing pulse at the scheduled time. The housing is configured for implantation within the atrium. The housing encloses the stimulation generator and the processing module.

A biostimulator, such as a leadless cardiac pacemaker, having a flexible circuit assembly, is described. The flexible circuit assembly is contained within an electronics compartment between a battery, a housing, and a header assembly of the biostimulator. The flexible circuit assembly includes a flexible substrate that folds into a stacked configuration in which an electrical connector and an electronic component of the flexible circuit assembly are enfolded by the flexible substrate. An aperture is located in a fold region of the flexible substrate to allow a feedthrough pin of the header assembly to pass through the folded structure into electrical contact with the electrical connector. The electronic component can be a processor to control delivery of a pacing impulse through the feedthrough pin to a pacing tip. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Systems and methods involve an intrathoracic cardiac stimulation device operable to provide autonomous cardiac sensing and energy delivery. The cardiac stimulation device includes a housing configured for intrathoracic placement relative to a patient's heart. A fixation arrangement of the housing is configured to affix the housing at an implant location within cardiac tissue or cardiac vasculature. An electrode arrangement supported by the housing is configured to sense cardiac activity and deliver stimulation energy to the cardiac tissue or cardiac vasculature. Energy delivery circuitry in the housing is coupled to the electrode arrangement. Detection circuitry is provided in the housing and coupled to the electrode arrangement. Communications circuitry may optionally be supported by the housing. A controller in the housing coordinates delivery of energy to the cardiac tissue or cardiac vasculature in accordance with an energy delivery protocol appropriate for the implant location.

On aspect is a housing for an implantable medical device, including a first portion of metal and having integrated features and a second portion also of metal. The first and second portions are sealed together thereby forming the housing with an internal space that is within first and second portions and that fully contains the features such that they are hermetically sealed relative to an external space outside the housing.

Apparatus and methods are described, including apparatus for pacing a heart of a subject. The apparatus includes an implantable pulse generator (IPG) and a coiled lead connected to the IPG. The coiled lead includes a smaller-diameter coiled portion, a lumen of which having a first coil-lumen-diameter, and a larger-diameter coiled portion electrically in series with the smaller-diameter coiled portion, a lumen of the larger-diameter coiled portion having a second coil-lumen-diameter that is larger than the first coil-lumen-diameter. A perpendicular distance from a central longitudinal axis of the smaller-diameter coiled portion to the lumen of the larger-diameter coiled portion is greater than an outer radius of the smaller-diameter coiled portion, when the central longitudinal axis of the smaller-diameter coiled portion is parallel to a central longitudinal axis of the larger-diameter coiled portion. Other applications are also described.

A device that is implantable in body tissue of a human or animal. The device is comprised of a header comprising at least one terminal adapted for removable connection to a lead and an open ended case closed by a plate to form a housing. The housing is comprised of a surrounding edge wall joined to a first side wall and a second side wall opposed to the first side wall. At least a first suture port extends through the edge wall and the second side wall but not the first side wall at an upper edge region of the housing. A second suture port may extend through the surrounding edge wall and the second side wall but not the first side wall in a similar manner. A third suture port may extend through the header. The three suture ports may define a triangular attachment configuration.

A cardiac pacing system and a pacemaker fixation device are disclosed. The pacemaker fixation device includes a ring-shaped stent and at least one contractible member. The ring-shaped stent is configured to load a leadless pacemaker and easily fix it at a target site in a patient's body reliably without dislodgement. A connecting element in the contractible member can be reliably connected to an external mechanism, thus facilitating retrieval and removal of the cardiac pacing system with an increased success rate. During implantation, the contractible member can be adapted by operating the external mechanism to adjust the pacing location for the leadless pacemaker, thus allowing the operator to easily determine the best pacing location that can result in enhanced pacing performance of the leadless pacemaker. Further, the leadless pacemaker may be fixed in the atrium in order to pace the atrium, thus reducing non-physiological pacing with atrioventricular desynchronization.