Patent ID: 7069075
Filing Date: 2006-06-27
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
1. In an implantable cardioverter/defibrillator of the type comprising a plurality of components including a relatively bulky high voltage battery, at least one high voltage capacitor, and circuitry powered by a low voltage power source for detecting a tachyarrhythmia, charging the high voltage capacitor, and discharging the high voltage capacitor to provide a cardioversion/defibrillation shock, the improvement comprising: a first hermetically sealed housing supporting a first cardioversion/defibrillation electrode adapted to be implanted at a first subcutaneous implantation site about the patient's thorax directing the first cardioversion/defibrillation electrode toward the patient's heart; a second hermetically sealed housing supporting a second cardioversion/defibrillation electrode adapted to be implanted at a second subcutaneous implantation site about the patient's thorax directing the second cardioversion/defibrillation electrode toward the patient's heart, whereby the heart is disposed substantially between the first and second cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes; and an electrical cable having a plurality of conductors tethering the first and second hermetically sealed housings together, wherein the components of the ICD are distributed between the first and second hermetically sealed housings, and conductors of the electrical cable interconnect the components to enable generation and delivery of cardioversion/defibrillation shocks between the first and second cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes and across the patient's heart.