| abstract |
An epicardial defibrillation electrode having a wide insulating border which insulates the heart from the body is disclosed. The wide insulating border forces defibrillation current to flow through the heart without passing through surrounding tissues, thus increasing the current density throughout the heart, to depolarize the majority of the cardiac tissue with a minimum of energy. By increasing defibrillation efficacy in this way, the conductive surface area of each electrode can be decreased, thus allowing room for implantation of a plurality of conductive electrode portions for controlling energy delivery to the heart both spatially and temporally. |