Patent ID: 8423154

Claim:
A lead assembly comprising: a lead body; a plurality of electrode contacts disposed along the lead body, wherein each of the electrode contacts is configured to apply stimulation current to at least one stimulation site; a plurality of conductor wires disposed within the lead body; and a plurality of switching networks disposed in the lead body, each switching network corresponding to and configured to control an operation of one or more of the plurality of electrode contacts, wherein each of the switching networks comprises a memory unit coupled to at least one of the conductor wires to receive signals, the memory unit configured to store one or more unique address codes and one or more stimulation parameters configured to facilitate independent control of each of the electrode contacts, a switching element configured to couple and decouple at least one of the plurality of electrode contacts to at least one of the conductor wires in response to the signals received at the memory unit, and adjusting circuitry coupled to the switching element and the memory unit and configured to adjust one or more of the stimulation parameters selected from stimulation amplitude or frequency in response to the signals received at the memory unit.