Patent ID: 7272449

Claim:
An implantable tissue-stimulating device comprising: an elongate carrier member having at least one electrode mounted thereon and having a first insertion configuration selected to allow said elongate carrier member to be inserted into an implantee's body and at least a second implanted configuration, wherein said elongate carrier member is made of a resiliently flexible first material; a bioresorbable stiffening element disposed in a lumen of the elongate carrier member and the bioresorbable stiffening element having a configuration selected for biasing said elongate carrier member into said first insertion configuration, said bioresorbable stiffening element being made of a second material relatively stiffer than said first material wherein said second material dissolves on exposure to a fluid to permit said elongate carrier member to substantially adopt said second implanted configuration while in the implantee's body; and an outer layer surrounding the bioresorbable stiffening element and the elongate carrier member, the outer layer being made of a material sufficiently resiliently flexible to allow said elongate carrier member to substantially adopt said second implanted configuration, and wherein the outer layer has at least one fluid ingress means formed therein.