Patent ID: 7912552

Claim:
A medical device, comprising: an electrical lead including an elongate insulative body, an elongate lead conductor extending within the insulative body between a proximal end and a distal end, a connector element electrically connected to the lead conductor and terminating the proximal end of the lead conductor; a housing containing electronic circuitry and including a feedthrough; the feedthrough including a signal conductor electrically connected to the electronic circuitry and extending out from the housing through the feedthrough; a connector module attached to the housing and including a conductive contact electrically connected to the signal conductor and adapted to electrically connect to the connector element of the lead at the proximal end of the lead conductor; a high frequency-grounded surface; and a passive lossy circuit electrically connected in proximity to and closer to the proximal end of the lead conductor than the distal end and in between the lead conductor and the high frequency-grounded surface when the conductive contact is connected to the connector element; wherein the passive lossy circuit located in proximity to the proximal end of the lead conductor has a high frequency impedance approximately equal to a characteristic impedance of the lead when implanted in a body such that the passive lossy circuit dissipates energy of an incident wave induced when the medical device is exposed to a high frequency electromagnetic field at high frequencies comprising at least one of 27 MHz, 64 MHz, and 128 MHz, formed along the lead, and traveling toward the proximal end of the lead conductor, thereby diminishing reflection of the incident wave toward the distal end; and the passive lossy circuit has low pass properties allowing for normal device operation when the conductive contact of the connector module is electrically connected to the connector element of the lead.