TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments include implantable percutaneous leads or lead extensions that include fewer conductors that carry signals to the distal electrodes than the number of distal electrodes that are present.

BACKGROUND

Medical devices that provide stimulation therapy via a percutaneously implanted lead conventionally include a device that contains a stimulation engine that produces stimulation pulses. The implanted percutaneous lead conventionally includes electrical conductors contained within a lead body where distal electrodes are located on a distal end of the lead. Each electrical conductor has a corresponding distal electrode. The stimulation engine thereby outputs a signal for each distal electrode.

In some cases, the stimulation therapy being provided can be focused into a small area that may be provided by a single pairing of anode and cathode electrodes providing bipolar stimulation or by a single electrode providing unipolar stimulation. However, it may be difficult to implant the lead so that a specific electrode is present at precisely the correct location. For instance, the general area where the stimulation is required, such as an area spanning multiple vertebral segments in the case of spinal cord stimulation, may be known but the precise location where stimulation is needed within the general area may not be known. To address this issue, the lead has more electrodes and associated conductors than are actually needed to stimulate the specific location. The lead is implanted so that the electrodes span the general area where stimulation is needed, and each electrode pairing is tested to find the electrode pairing that best stimulates the specific area that needs the stimulation.

While this approach is satisfactory for achieving stimulation therapy, the lead construction is complex due to the number of conductors that are present. Furthermore, the number of conductors within the lead adds to the bulk and cost of the lead and limits the amount of electrodes that can be used for therapy if each electrode needs an independent conductor through the lead body to the stimulation device.

SUMMARY

Embodiments address issues such as these and others by providing percutaneous leads or lead extensions such as those used for spinal cord stimulation therapy and other types of stimulation therapy that include more distal electrodes than conductors that deliver signals to the distal electrodes. Thus, multiple distal electrode pairings that allow the specific target site within the general area to be reached are still provided, but the number of conductors within the percutaneous lead or lead extension is smaller because a single conductor is electrically coupled to multiple distal electrodes.

Embodiments provide an implantable percutaneous medical lead that includes a percutaneous lead body having a proximal area configured to be mechanically coupled to a medical device and a first proximal contact coupled to the proximal area of the percutaneous lead body. The implantable medical lead includes a first plurality of distal ring electrodes being spaced apart along an axial dimension of the percutaneous lead body and coupled to a distal area of the percutaneous lead body to configure the implantable percutaneous medical lead for stimulation, such as spinal cord stimulation across multiple vertebral segments. The implantable percutaneous medical lead also includes a first conductor electrically coupled to the first proximal contact, extending through the percutaneous lead body, and electrically coupled to the plurality of distal ring electrodes.

Embodiments provide an implantable medical system that includes a medical device that has a stimulation engine. The implantable medical system also includes a first implantable percutaneous medical lead. The first implantable medical lead includes a percutaneous lead body that is mechanically coupled to the medical device and includes a plurality of distal ring electrodes being spaced from apart along an axial dimension of the percutaneous lead body and coupled to a distal area of the percutaneous lead body to configure the implantable percutaneous medical lead for stimulation, such as spinal cord stimulation across multiple vertebral segments. The first implantable medical lead also includes a first conductor electrically coupled to the stimulation engine, extending through the percutaneous lead body, and electrically coupled to the plurality of distal ring electrodes.

Embodiments provide a method of providing electrical stimulation, such as spinal cord stimulation across multiple vertebral segments. The method involves generating an electrical stimulation pulse at a stimulation engine of a medical device and carrying the electrical stimulation pulse through a first electrical conductor within an implantable percutaneous medical lead that is mechanically coupled to the medical device. The method further involves providing the electrical stimulation pulse at a first plurality of distal ring electrodes of the implantable percutaneous medical lead that are electrically coupled to the first electrical conductor where the first plurality of distal ring electrodes span the multiple vertebral segments.

