Patent ID: 11890483
Assignee: GREATBATCH LTD.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus for subcutaneously inserting an implantable device within a patient, the implantable device including a housing and an antenna extending outwardly from the housing, the antenna including an antenna length, the apparatus comprising:
a dilator portion including:
a dilator including a dilator length that is at least as long as the antenna length; and
a dilator handle sized and shaped to approximate a size and shape of the housing of the implantable device, the dilator fixedly attached to and extending outwardly from the dilator handle, the dilator portion being configured to separate tissue to create a subcutaneous pocket within the patient sized and shaped to accommodate the implantable device within the subcutaneous pocket; and

a sheath portion removably couplable with the dilator portion, the sheath portion including:
a sheath sized and shaped to accommodate the dilator within a sheath lumen, the sheath including a proximal sheath end and a distal sheath end, the sheath configured to accommodate the antenna of the implantable device with the dilator removed from within the sheath; and
a sheath housing at the proximal sheath end, the sheath housing including a passage substantially aligned with the sheath lumen, the dilator handle including a portion complementary to the passage of the sheath housing, the portion of the dilator handle being sized and shaped to fit within the passage with the dilator disposed within the sheath lumen, wherein the sheath includes a sheath length that is at least substantially as long as the antenna length, the sheath housing including an opening along a side of the sheath housing to allow access to the passage from the side of the sheath housing, the opening and the passage being configured to allow the housing of the implantable device to pass through the sheath housing without splitting the sheath housing, and wherein:
with the dilator portion coupled to the sheath portion, a distal dilator end extends distally from the sheath and a first edge of the dilator handle faces distally, extending through the opening of the sheath housing and outside of the passage of the sheath housing to extend radially outwardly from the dilator and radially beyond the sheath, such that, with insertion of the dilator portion coupled to the sheath portion into the patient:
the distal dilator end contacts and separates the tissue of the patient to create a portion of the subcutaneous pocket configured to accommodate the antenna of the device; and
the first edge of the dilator handle contacts and separates the tissue of the patient to create a portion of the subcutaneous pocket configured to accommodate the housing of the device; and

with the dilator removed from within the sheath lumen, the passage permits placement of the housing of the implantable device within the passage and movement of the antenna of the implantable device into the sheath lumen, the sheath being configured to separate to allow removal of the sheath from around the implantable device to remove the sheath from and leave the implantable device within the subcutaneous pocket within the patient.