Patent ID: 7076294

Claim:
A method of implanting a subcutaneous cardioverter-defibrillator in a patient, the method comprising: providing a subcutaneously implantable cardioverter-defibrillator including an electrically active canister that serves as either an anode or a cathode of the cardioverter-defibrillator, wherein the canister houses a source of electrical energy, a capacitor, and operational circuitry, and the cardioverter-defibrillator further includes a subcutaneous lead connected to the canister, the lead including a subcutaneous cardioversion-defibrillation electrode that serves as the opposite electrode from the canister such that electrical cardioversion-defibrillation energy is delivered between the subcutaneous electrically active canister and the subcutaneous cardioversion-defibrillation electrode; inserting the subcutaneous canister in a predetermined subcutaneous position within the thorax of the patient; inserting the subcutaneous lead in a predetermined subcutaneous path extending around a portion of the thorax of the patient so that the cardioversion-defibrillation electrode is positioned such that electrical cardioversion-defibrillation energy is delivered to the heart of the patient when electrical cardioversion-defibrillation energy is delivered between the subcutaneous electrically active canister and the subcutaneous cardioversion-defibrillation electrode.