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EP-4739383-A1 - NOVEL FEEDTHROUGH DESIGN

EP4739383A1EP 4739383 A1EP4739383 A1EP 4739383A1EP-4739383-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrical feedthrough (2) for a medical device (1), comprising: a multi-layer structure (20) comprising a plurality of electrically insulating layers (21) and a plurality of conductive tracks (22), each conductive track (22) being arranged between two electrically insulating layers (21) of said plurality of electrically insulating layers (21), a plurality of first electrical contacts (23) arranged on a first end portion (25) of the multi-layer structure (20), and a plurality of second electrical contacts (24) arranged on an opposing second end portion (26) of the multi-layer structure (20), wherein each conductive track (22) connects a first electrical contact (23) to a second electrical contact (24), and a flange (4) comprising a top side (4a) and a bottom side (4b) facing away from the top side, wherein the flange (4) surrounds a through-hole (40) of the flange (4), the through-hole (40) extending from the top side (4a) to the bottom side (4b), and wherein the multi-layer-structure (20) extends through the through-hole (40) and is hermetically connected to the flange (4), such that the flange (4) extends around the multi-layer structure (20) and is arranged between the first end portion (25) and the second end portion (26).

Inventors

  • STARKE, MARCEL
  • ROMBERG, JAN

Assignees

  • BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240605

Claims (15)

  1. 1. An electrical feedthrough (2) for a medical device (1), comprising: a multi-layer structure (20) extending from a first end portion (25) to an opposing second end portion (26) along a first direction and comprising a plurality of electrically insulating layers (21) and a plurality of conductive tracks (22), each conductive track (22) being arranged between two electrically insulating layers (21) of said plurality of electrically insulating layers (21), a plurality of first electrical contacts (23) arranged on the first end portion (25) of the multi-layer structure (20), and a plurality of second electrical contacts (24) arranged on the end portion (26) of the multi-layer structure (20), wherein each conductive track (22) connects a first electrical contact (23) to a second electrical contact (24), a flange (4) comprising a top side (4a) and a bottom side (4b) facing away from the top side, wherein the flange (4) surrounds a through-hole (40) of the flange (4), the through-hole (40) extending from the top side (4a) to the bottom side (4b), and wherein the multi-layer-structure (20) extends through the through-hole (40) and is hermetically connected to the flange (4), such that the flange (4) extends around the multi-layer structure (20) and is arranged between the first end portion (25) and the second end portion (26), and wherein the flange (4) is configured to be connected to a casing (5) of the medical device (1).
  2. 2. The electrical feedthrough according to claim 1, further comprising an antenna (3) for receiving an electromagnetic signal, the antenna (3) comprising at least one conductive track (30) arranged between two electrically insulating layers (21) of the multi-layer structure (20).
  3. 3. The electrical feedthrough according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flange (4) is connected to the multi-layer structure (20) by a circumferential joint (43), particularly a solder or brazing joint (43), welding joint or glue joint.
  4. 4. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the multilayer structure (20) is a flat planar multi-layer structure, particularly a multi-layer printed circuit board.
  5. 5. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrically insulating layers (21) are formed out of or comprise one of the following materials: a ceramic, a low temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC), high temperature cofire ceramics (HTCC) or organic multilayer structures, e.g. comprising an LCP or a polyimide.
  6. 6. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims wherein each first electrical contact (23) is a contact pad or is formed by a connector, and/or wherein each second electrical contact (24) is a contact pad or is formed by a connector.
  7. 7. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims, wherein - the first electrical contacts (23) are arranged on a first surface region (25a) of the first end portion (25) of the multi-layer structure (20) and/or on a second surface region (25a) of the first end portion (25) facing away from the first surface region (25a) of the first end portion (25), and - the second electrical contacts (24) are arranged on a first surface region (26a) of the second end portion (26) and/or on a second surface region (26b) of the second end portion (26) facing away from the first surface region (26a) of the second end portion (26) , wherein particularly - the first surface region (25a) of the first end portion (25) faces away from the first surface region (26a) of the second end portion (26), or - the surface region (25a) of the first end portion (25) and the first surface portion (26a) of the second end portion (26) face in the same direction.
  8. 8. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the antenna (3) is connected to one of the first electrical contacts (23).
  9. 9. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the antenna (3) comprises an open loop (31) or a meandering portion (30).
  10. 10. The electrical feedthrough according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the through-hole (40) of the flange (4) comprises four corner regions (41), each corner region (41) comprising a recess (42) for stress relief.
  11. 11. A medical device comprising a casing (5) and an electrical feedthrough (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the flange (4) is connected to the casing (5) such that the second electrical contacts (24), and optionally the antenna (3), are arranged outside the casing (5) and the first contacts (23) are arranged in an internal space (50) of the casing (5).
  12. 12. The medical device according to claim 11, wherein the medical device (1) comprises a header (6) connected to the casing (5), wherein the antenna (3) and the second electrical contacts (24) are enclosed by the header (6).
  13. 13. A method for producing an electrical feedthrough (2) for a medical device (1), comprising the steps of: Providing a multi-layer structure (20) comprising a plurality of electrically insulating layers (21) and a plurality of conductive tracks (22), each conductive track (22) being arranged between two electrically insulating layers (21) of said plurality of electrically insulating layers (21), wherein the multi-layer structure (20) further comprises an antenna (3) for receiving an electromagnetic signal, the antenna (3) comprising at least one conductive track (22) arranged between two electrically insulating layers (21) of the multi-layer structure (20), and wherein a plurality of first electrical contacts (23) is arranged on a first end portion (25) of the multi-layer structure (20), and a plurality of second electrical contacts (24) is arranged on an opposing second end portion (26) of the multi-layer structure, wherein each conductive track (22) connects a first electrical contact (23) to a second electrical contact (24), Providing a flange (4) comprising a top side (4a) and a bottom side (4b) facing away from the top side (4a), wherein the flange (4) surrounds a through-hole (40) of the flange (4), the through-hole (40) extending from the top side (4a) to the bottom side (4b), and - Inserting the multi-layer structure (20) into the through-hole (40) of the flange (4) and hermetically joining the multi-layer structure (20) to the flange (4).
  14. 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the multi-layer structure (20) is formed by an LTCC process, HTCC or organic multilayer structure, e.g. made from an LCP or a polyimide.
  15. 15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the flange (4) is formed by molding, particularly metal injection molding (MIM), machining, milling, or an additive manufacturing method, particularly 3D-printing.

Description

Novel feedthrough design The present invention relates to an electrical feedthrough for a medical device and to a corresponding method for producing such a feedthrough. In medical devices, particularly implantable medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers or cardioverter defibrillators, feedthroughs are used to contact electronic modules accommodated by a hermetically sealed casing of the respective medical device from the outside. By means of the feedthrough electrically conducting pins protrude out of the casing in a sealed fashion allowing, e.g., to electrically connect the pins to a connector or an antenna, e.g., in a header of the medical device that is connected to the casing. In the prior art, electrical feedthroughs are based on compact ceramics as insulators into which pins are brazed by a brazing process. Furthermore, metallic antennas are usually designed as separate components that are manufactures, e.g., by stamping or etching. Feedthroughs are currently produced as complex components having a special design. Particularly, the insulator is usually a complex body made of a compact ceramic. The feedthrough contacts are formed by wire sections (pins), which are soldered into the ceramic with pure gold solder using a high-temperature process. The ceramic itself is simultaneously soldered into a circumferential flange, again with pure gold solder. The flange usually consists of a turned or milled part. The manufacturing methods and technology limit the possible design, and the materials used must have a high temperature resistance. Because of the high process temperature, soldering must be carried out under vacuum or in a special inert gas atmosphere. On the other hand, antennas are usually stamped or etched in fine structures. These are easily deformable and mechanically unstable, wherein handling during assembly and further processing is complex. In addition, the antennas must be connected to the feedthrough pin mechanically and electrically by a joining process (e.g., welding or soldering). Based on the above, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electrical feedthrough for a medical device having a simplified design, which particularly facilitates the integration of an antenna. This problem is solved by an electrical feedthrough having the features of claim 1, a medical device having the features of claim 11, and a method having the features of claim 13. Appropriate embodiments of these aspects of the present invention are stated in the dependent claims and are described below. According to claim 1, an electrical feedthrough for a medical device is disclosed, comprising: a multi-layer structure extending from a first end portion to an opposing second end portion along a first direction and comprising a plurality of electrically insulating layers and a plurality of conductive tracks, each conductive track being arranged between two electrically insulating layers of said plurality of electrically insulating layers, a plurality of first electrical contacts arranged on the first end portion of the multi-layer structure, and a plurality of second electrical contacts arranged on the second end portion of the multi-layer structure, wherein each conductive track connects a first electrical contact to a second electrical contact, a flange comprising a top side and a bottom side facing away from the top side, wherein the flange surrounds a through-hole of the flange, the through-hole extending from the top side to the bottom side, and wherein the multi-layer-structure extends through the through-hole and is hermetically connected to the flange, particularly such that the flange extends around the multi-layer structure and is arranged between the first end portion and the second end portion, and wherein, in particular, the flange is configured to be connected to a casing of the medical device, particularly such that the second electrical contacts are arranged outside the casing and the first electrical contacts are arranged in an internal space of the casing of the medical device. Particularly, the multi-layer structure is substantially planar. Particularly, each conductive track extends at least partly along the first direction. Particularly, the first end portion extends or protrude into the internal space of the casing, and the second end portion extends to an outside of the casing or protrude out of the casing. According to an embodiment, the electrical feedthrough according to the invention further comprises an antenna configured to receive and/or transmit an electromagnetic signal, the antenna comprising at least one conductive track arranged between two electrically insulating layers of the multi-layer structure, wherein particularly the antenna is arranged outside the casing. According to an embodiment of the electrical feedthrough, the flange is connected to the multi-layer structure by a circumferential solder or braze joint so that the joint is hermetically sea