Imd having anti-migration and device extraction features

Abstract

An implantable medical device comprising a housing having an outer surface; and protrusions disposed on the outer surface, where the plurality of protrusions are configured to reduce at least one of rotational, translational, and lateral movement of the implantable medical device within a patient's tissue after implantation in the patient.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An implantable medical device comprising:
 a core assembly housing having an outer surface;   a header housing coupled to the core assembly housing, the header housing having an outer surface extending from a first header end to a second header end; and   a plurality of protrusions disposed on the outer surface of the header housing, wherein the plurality of protrusions are configured to be gripped by an extraction tool used to extract the implantable medical device from a tissue pocket by having spaces defined between each of the plurality of protrusions that are sized to receive corresponding teeth of the extraction tool.   
     
     
         2 . The implantable medical device of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer surface of the core assembly housing. 
     
     
         3 . The implantable medical device of  claim 2 , wherein the outer surface of the header housing includes a first side and a second, opposite-facing, side, the plurality of protrusions comprising a plurality of rows of protrusions, each row extending at least partially across a width of the first side, wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions includes at least one protrusion. 
     
     
         4 . The implantable medical device of  claim 3 , the plurality of protrusions comprising at least one additional row of protrusions disposed on the second side. 
     
     
         5 . The implantable medical device of  claim 3 , wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions is aligned parallel to a first axis, wherein the first axis is perpendicular to a second axis, the second axis comprising an axis of symmetry of the header, extending from the first header end to the second header end. 
     
     
         6 . The implantable medical device of  claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions is arranged to be offset from an adjacent row of protrusions. 
     
     
         7 . The implantable medical device of  claim 5 , further comprising an elongated protrusion oriented at an angle to the second axis. 
     
     
         8 . The implantable medical device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one protrusion of the plurality of protrusions has an elongated truncated pyramid shape. 
     
     
         9 . The implantable medical device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one protrusion of the plurality of protrusions has a truncated triangular prism shape. 
     
     
         10 . The implantable medical device of  claim 1 , wherein the extraction tool is a medical forceps. 
     
     
         11 . The implantable medical device of  claim 1 , wherein the protrusions are configured to reduce at least one of rotational, translational, and lateral movement of the implantable medical device within a patient's tissue after implantation in the patient. 
     
     
         12 . An implantable medical device comprising:
 a core assembly comprising a core assembly housing, the core assembly having a first end and a second end;   a header coupled at a first header end to the first end of the core assembly housing, the header comprising a header housing having an outer surface extending from the first header end to a second header end; and   a plurality of protrusions disposed on the outer surface of the header housing, wherein the plurality of protrusions are configured to be gripped by an extraction tool used to extract the implantable medical device from a tissue pocket by having spaces defined between each of the plurality of protrusions that are sized to receive corresponding teeth of the extraction tool, wherein at least one protrusion of the plurality of protrusions is aligned parallel to a first axis, wherein the first axis is perpendicular to an axis of symmetry of the header.   
     
     
         13 . The implantable medical device of  claim 12 , wherein the outer surface of the header housing includes a first side and a second, opposite-facing, side, the plurality of protrusions comprising a plurality of rows of protrusions, each row extending at least partially across a width of the first side, wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions includes at least one protrusion, wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions is aligned parallel to a first axis, and wherein the first axis is perpendicular to a second axis, the second axis comprising an axis of symmetry of the header, extending from the first header end to the second header end. 
     
     
         14 . The implantable medical device of  claim 13 , further comprising an elongated protrusion oriented at an angle to the second axis. 
     
     
         15 . The implantable medical device of  claim 12 , wherein the extraction tool is a medical forceps. 
     
     
         16 . A method of forming an implantable medical device, the method comprising:
 forming a core assembly comprising a core assembly housing, the core assembly having an outer surface extending between a first end and a second end;   forming a header, the header comprising a header housing having an outer surface extending from a first header end to a second header end;   forming a plurality of protrusions disposed on the outer surface of the header housing, wherein the plurality of protrusions are configured to be gripped by an extraction tool used to extract the implantable medical device from a tissue pocket by having spaces defined between each of the plurality of protrusions that are sized to receive corresponding teeth of the extraction tool; and   coupling the header, at a first header end, to the first end of the core assembly housing.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the outer surface of the header housing includes a first side and a second, opposite-facing, side, and wherein forming the plurality of protrusions comprises forming a plurality of rows of protrusions, each row extending at least partially across a width of the first side, wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions includes at least one protrusion, wherein each of the plurality of rows of protrusions is aligned parallel to a first axis, and wherein the first axis is perpendicular to a second axis, the second axis comprising an axis of symmetry of the header, extending from the first header end to the second header end. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein forming the plurality of protrusions further comprises forming an elongated protrusion oriented at an angle to the second axis. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein at least one protrusion of the plurality of protrusions has at least one of an elongated truncated pyramid shape and a truncated triangular prism shape. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein forming the plurality of protrusions comprises shaping the plurality of protrusions to provide a complementary fit to a plurality of teeth of a standard medical forceps.