| abstract |
A medical lead which has a connector assembly coupled to an electrode by a lead body, the lead body is designed so as to have greater resistance to crush fatigue in the area which is located between the rib and clavicle when implanted. In particular the lead body of the present invention features an insulative sheath covering a coiled conductor. The coiled conductor has three sections, viz., proximal, intermediate and distal sections. The intermediate section has a different pitch as compared to proximal section and distal section. In the preferred embodiment, intermediate section has a pitch of approximately 0.100 while proximal section has a pitch of approximately 0.025 and distal section has a pitch of approximately 0.025. Moreover, intermediate section has a length of approximately 10.4 inches while proximal section has a length of approximately 5.1 inches and distal section has a length of approximately 7.2 inches. In such a manner the lead of the present invention presents a coiled conductor having a greater pitch in the area in which crush fatigue between the clavicle and rib is likely to occur. |