A new form of connector technology which incorporates pgms could dramatically improve integration into the casting headers of implantable pulse generators (IPGs), it has been suggested.

IPGs were first introduced in the 1950s to treat cardiac-related conditions but researchers have made strong recent advances in using them for therapies to the deep brain and spinal cord.

The traditional problem occurring in the manufacture of the electrical devices is creating and testing isolation seals for their critical lead interfaces, which can add up to six months to the design process.

However, Bal Seal Enginering has developed a new product, known as SYGNUS, which is thought to be the world's first seal-integrated contact system and could therefore remove this problem.

SYGNUS is a combination of tiny platinum-iridium springs, metal housings of MP35N and implantable-grade silicone isolation seals which form a dense connector stack capable of housing leads measuring between 0.9mm and 3.2mm.

In other words, the company is using a proven electrical contact platform and improving its ability to guard against the dangers of fluid infiltration and signal leakage.

Bill Nissim, Business Development Manager at Bal Seal Engineering, explained in an interview with TMD that there has been "a growing need for this kind of solution".

"To some companies, especially those facing venture capital deadlines and clinical trial windows, choosing a system like SYGNUS provides a level of freedom that could mean the difference between success and failure," he told the news provider.

"Similarly, from a patient's perspective, it might be one of the factors that determine whether or not a breakthrough therapy ever makes it to market."

Meanwhile, Boston Scientific revealed last month that it has received the CE Mark for its PROMUS Element Everolimus-Eluting platinum chromium stent system.

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Stacking the Deck (20/10/10) 

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