The present invention relates to a method for connecting a strand of a multi-strand cable to an electrode of an implantable medical device. The method includes cutting a strand of the multi-strand cable lifting at least one of the free ends, stripping the end of the lifted strand, placing an electrode around the multi-strand cable to partially cover the end of the lifted and stripped stand, and connecting at least one portion of the stripped end of the strand to the electrode.

A delivery systems for an intravascular electrode lead of an intravascular neurostimulation device, as well as corresponding delivery methods and catheters.

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 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.

The present subject matter includes an implantable medical device with a capture feature at or near the proximal end. In some cases, the capture feature includes a hold that is configured to facilitate a releasable connection with a delivery device that is used to deliver the implantable medical device to a target implant site.

An implantable medical lead for sacral modulation therapy is disclosed. The implantable medical lead includes a lead body having a distal portion. An electrode is electrically coupled to the lead body and configured to generate a stimulation field or to sense electrical fields. A fixation mechanism is coupled to the distal portion. The fixation mechanism is configured to anchor the implantable medical lead against an interior wall of a blood vessel. The electrode can effect the stimulation field from within the vessel to stimulate a selected sacral nerve or sense electrical signals such as muscle or nerve responses. Guided implantation of the medical lead or other medical leads through the body to a nerve of interest for neurostimulation via remote sensor is also disclosed.

A leadless pacemaker and a leadless pacemaker system are disclosed. A housing of a pacemaker body of the leadless pacemaker is designed as a curved tubular structure and can be deployed at a site with a limited space in a curved configuration, which allows the curved surface structure to fit more closely myocardial or vascular tissue around the site, resulting in improved pacing or sensing performance and in applicability to a substantially enlarged scope of patients who may benefit from cardiac pacing.

A medical apparatus and a fixation mechanism for a medical device thereof are disclosed. The fixation mechanism allows the medical device to be easily fixed at a target site in a patient's body. The medical device may be a leadless pacemaker, and with the present invention, it can provide more physiological cardiac pacing. The fixation mechanism includes a holder and a fixation member. The holder extends in parallelism with the intended object, and the fixation member is provided on an outer wall of the holder and extends around the holder. One end of the fixation member is connected to the outer wall of the holder, and the other end is spaced from the outer wall of the holder by a gap. The holder can be driven to rotate in the same direction as the extension of the fixation member, causing the fixation member to rotate in the same way.

A medical system including a device head configured to be positioned in an atrium of a heart, an implantable medical device configured to be positioned within a vena cava of the heart, and a lead extending from the device head to the implantable medical device. A fixation element coupled to the device head is configured to engage tissues within the atrium. The device head includes an electrode configured to deliver therapy and/or sensing signals to tissues within the atrium using stimulation signals received from processing circuitry within the implantable medical device. The medical system may include a delivery catheter configured to allow delivery of the device head to the atrium.

Wireless treatment of arrhythmias. At least some of the example embodiments are methods including: charging a capacitor of a first microchip device abutting heart tissue, the charging by harvesting ambient energy; charging a capacitor of a second microchip device abutting the heart tissue, the charging of the capacitor of the second microchip device by harvesting ambient energy; sending a command wirelessly from a communication device outside the rib cage to the microchip devices; applying electrical energy to the heart tissue by the first microchip device responsive to the command, the electrical energy applied from the capacitor of the first microchip device; and applying electrical energy to the heart tissue by the second microchip device responsive to the command to the second microchip device, the electrical energy applied from the capacitor of the second microchip device.