Implantable medical devices hermetic packaging for

Technology Advances and Challenges in Hermetic Packaging for Implantable Medical Devices... 

Advances in hermetic packaging technology have helped in the successful commercialization of many implantable medical devices, including implantable pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, implantable neuromuscular stimulators, and cochlear implants. The continued success of such devices is very much dependent on the reliability of the hermetic package. The packaging methods discussed in this chapter will continue to play important roles in the realm of hermetic packaging for implantable medical devices. 

Several hermetic packaging technologies could potentially lead to successful deployment of MEMS for implantable medical devices [107-111] ... 

Biocompatibility is the first thing that the packaging engineer should consider when designing a hermetic package for an implantable medical device, as it is the package that makes direct contact with body tissue. It is critical that implantable medical devices do not elicit any undesirable local or systemic effects in the human body. In addition, the package materials should be stable and must be able to withstand attack from a harsh ionic body environment. 

Many issues associated with hermetic packaging have yet to be completely understood, let alone overcome. The continued miniaturization of future implantable medical devices provides both opportunities and challenges for packaging/materials engineers to improve the current packaging methods and to develop new methods. Reliable hermetic micropackaging technologies are the key to a wide utilization of MEMS in miniaturized implantable medical devices. 

This book. Implantable Neural Prostheses 2 Techniques and Engineering Approaches, is part two of a two-volume sequence that describes state-of-the-art advances in techniques associated with implantable neural prosthetic devices. The techniques covered include biocompatibility and biostability, hermetic packaging, electrochemical techniques for neural stimulation applications, novel electrode materials and testing, thin-film flexible microelectrode arrays, in situ characterization of microelectrode arrays, chip-size thin-film device encapsulation, microchip-embedded capacitors and microelectronics for recording, stimulation, and wireless telemetry. The design process in the development of medical devices is also discussed. 

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