Abstract
A new insulation material for cardiac leads has been developed and evaluated. The new hybrid material, a chemical co-polymer of high performance silicone rubber and polyurethane known as SPC™, has shown significant performance and reliability improvements beyond that of currently used insulations. The new SPC provides robust physical attributes similar to polyurethane 55D, yet is soft and flexible like silicone rubber, but has a lower surface friction, allowing easier venous passage. Moreover, SPC is virtually immune to abrasion wear and cyclic crushing, thus having potential for reduced insulation failures in the rib-clavicle crush region and in lead-to-can interaction. Lastly, based upon 2-year animal studies, SPC is very biostable, showing virtually no degradation.
Author
Christopher Jenney PhD, Jiahong Tan PhD, Annapurna Karicherla MS, Jaime Burke BS and John Helland BS
Citation
Heart Rhythm, (2)5: S318 - S319, May 2005.
