IMPROVED TETHER ATTACHMENT FOR DELIVERING IMPLANTABLE DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING (02-Feb-2010)

                        Medical devices are known that can be implanted within a patient's body for monitoring one or more physiological parameters and/or for providing therapeutic functions.  For example, sensors or transducers can be placed in the body for monitoring a variety of properties, such as temperature, blood pressure, strain, fluid flow, chemical properties, electrical properties, magnetic properties, and the like.  In addition, medical devices can be implanted that perform one or more therapeutic functions, such as drug delivery, cardiac pacing, defibrillation, electrical stimulation, and the like. 

                        In some instances, implantable medical devices such as the sensors discussed herein may be delivered through a patient’s vasculature to a target vessel.  In some instances, as illustrated in Figure 1, an implantable medical device 10 may be delivered by releasably securing the device 10 to a delivery system 12.  The delivery system 12 may include a step frame strut 14 that interacts with a corresponding mounting projection 16 disposed on an outer surface of the implantable medical device 10.

                        In some instances, the delivery system 12 may include a retractable wire 18 that is disposed over the step frame strut 14 but extends through an aperture (not visible as illustrated) within the mounting projection 16 in order to releasably secure the implantable medical device 10 to the delivery system 12.  It will be appreciated that once the implantable medical device 10 has reached a desired location, it can be released from the delivery system 12 simply by retracting or otherwise removing the aforementioned retractable wire 18.

                        In some instances, it may be desirable to have multiple s...