A reconnectable multiway implantable connector.
A well-tried plug-and-socket connector system designed for connecting multichannel implanted cables was adapted so as to allow disconnection and reconnection during surgery. Five different sealing techniques were tested in vitro, and it was found that only one of them had the required qualities of high leakage path impedance (taken as more than one megaohm for the worst sample) after three months of saline soak, together with demountability under surgical conditions. The system has subsequently been successfully implemented in a patient in whom reconnection was required two years after implantation.
Rushton
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Frank Cooksey Rehab Unit, King's College Hospital, Mapother House, de Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, SE5 8AZ, London, UK. david@rushtons.co.uk
Tromans
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Donaldson
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D017097:Electric Impedance; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004559:Electric Wiring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012825:Silicon; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation
D012825:Silicon