Patent ID: 8380310

Claim:
An implantable electrochemical power cell device for providing electrical power to an implantable medical device (IMD), the power cell device comprising: a first and a second electrode assembly not enclosed in a common housing, the first and second electrode assemblies adapted for implantation into a human subject; wherein, the first electrode assembly is a hermetically sealed anode assembly comprising: an electroactive component material, the electroactive component material being chemically incompatible in contact with water, the electroactive component material comprising an active metal; and a biocompatible water-impermeable housing defining an interior volume in which the electroactive component material is disposed, the biocompatible water-impermeable housing comprising an active wall member having an exterior surface facing an external environment outside the biocompatible water-impermeable housing and an internal surface facing an internal environment inside the biocompatible water-impermeable housing, the active wall member: i) conductive to ions of the active metal, ii) impermeable to water in contact with the exterior surface, and iii) in active metal ion communication with the electroactive component material; and the second electrode assembly is a cathode assembly; wherein, the power cell device is implantable in a human subject such that a bodily fluid of the subject could serve as an electrolytic medium between the first and second electrode assemblies during discharge of the electrochemical power cell device.