Patent ID: 9597492
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: A61N,Y10T

Claim:
1. A method of making a therapy delivery element configured for at least partial insertion in a living body, the method comprising: braiding a plurality of fibers to form a braided structure with a lumen; locating a conductor assembly including a plurality of conductors in the lumen of the braided structure; positioning an outer tubing around the braided structure and the conductor assembly; electrically coupling electrodes on an electrode assembly to the conductors at a distal end of the conductor assembly; electrically coupling electrical connectors on a connector assembly to the conductors at a proximal end of the conductor assembly; attaching the braided structure to the electrode assembly, while leaving a proximal end of the braided structure free floating in the outer tubing, wherein the free floating proximal end of the braided structure is unattached to, but disposed within, the outer tubing; attaching a proximal end of the outer tubing to the connector assembly; and bonding a distal end of the outer tubing to the braided structure near the electrode assembly, wherein with a first proximal tension force applied to the connector assembly, a first elongation of the therapy delivery element substantially corresponds to a first elongation of the outer tubing and the conductor assembly; with a second proximal tension force applied to the free floating proximal end of the braided structure, a second elongation of the therapy delivery element substantially corresponds to a second elongation of the braided structure; and with the first proximal tension force equal to the second proximal tension force, the first elongation of the therapy delivery element with the first proximal tension force applied to the connector assembly is greater than the second elongation of the therapy delivery element with the second proximal tension force applied to the free floating proximal end of the braided structure.