Patent ID: 8112160

Claim:
A medical electrical lead comprising: an insulative lead body including a proximal portion and a distal portion; a proximal connector disposed on the proximal portion of the lead body, the connector configured to couple the lead to an implantable medical device, the connector having a rotatable portion that is rotatable with respect to the lead body; a composite helical electrode including a first generally tubular electrode having a first distal end portion, a second electrode disposed at least partially within the first electrode and having a second distal end portion, the first and second distal end portions longitudinally spaced from one another, and an insulating layer disposed between the first and second electrodes, the insulating layer extending distally of the first electrode and terminating between the first and second distal end portions; a first conductor providing an electrical pathway between the rotatable portion of the proximal connector and the first electrode and a second conductor providing an electrical pathway between the rotatable portion of the proximal connector and the second electrode, wherein the first and second conductors are co-radial; and a jack screw disposed in the lead body, a proximal portion of the jack screw coupled to the conductors and a distal portion of the jack screw coupled to the composite electrode, the jack screw having first threads disposed on the outer surface thereof configured to mechanically interact with second threads on the inner surface of the lead body to convert rotational motion of the jack screw into linear motion of the jack screw such that rotating the rotatable portion of the proximal connector transmits torque through the co-radial first and second conductors to the jack screw and results in both rotational and linear motion of the composite electrode.