Bal Seal Engineering, Inc.
1-800-366-1006
Products:
Contacts for medical applications
When manufacturers of active implantables need low-force, low-resistance contact solutions they can be confident about, they turn to us. For more than 20 years our electrical contact technology — based on the simple, robust Bal Spring® canted coil spring, has been making and maintaining reliable connections in pacemakers, defibrillators, neurostimulators and many other critical electronic devices used to deliver life-improving therapies to the human body.
Bal Conn® electrical contacts
Already at work in more than 1 million implantable devices worldwide, our Bal Conn® electrical contact remains the stand-alone solution of choice for OEMs seeking to ensure consistent, reliable connections in implantable pulse generation devices used for neuromodulation and cardiac healthcare. For over two decades, the Bal Conn has been helping manufacturers improve device performance and push the technology envelope. It has also dramatically simplified the process surgeons use to connect lead wires to implantable electronic units across the therapy spectrum. The Bal Conn offers very low electrical resistance and redundant contact points for reliable connectivity. Typical applications include cardiac defibrillation, cardiac pacing and cardiac resynchronization.
Technical specifications
| Application | Lead Diameter (mm) | Force Category | Breakout Force (N) | Running Force Range (N) | Housing Material | Spring Material | Static Contact Resistance (mohm) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max | From | To | Nominal | Tolerance | |||||
| Neuro (bi-directional | 1.35 | Medium | 1.20 | 0.09 | 0.40 | MP35N® | Platinum Iridium | 70 | ±20 |
| Light | 0.70 | 0.07 | 0.30 | 316L | Platinum Iridium | 600 | ±200 | ||
| Medical-Grade Titanium | Platinum Iridium | 350 | ±150 | ||||||
| MP35N® | Platinum Iridium | 80 | ±30 | ||||||
| Platinum Iridium | Platinum Iridium | 40 | ±15 | ||||||
|
IS-1 (bi-directional) |
2.67 mm | Medium | 3.10 | 0.50 | 0.90 | 316L | MP35N® | 100 | ±60 |
|
IS-4/DF-4 (uni-directional) |
3.20 mm | Heavy | 2.70 | 0.50 | 1.00 | MP35N® | MP35N® | 80 | ±50 |
|
IS-4/DF-4 (bi-directional) |
3.20 | Medium | 2.70 | 0.25 | 0.75 | MP35N® | Platinum Iridium | 40 | ±20 |
| VAD | 3.20 | Medium | 2.70 | 0.25 | 0.75 | Platinum Iridium | Platinum Iridium | 30 | ±20 |
This data is presented for comparative purposes only, and it represents the performance of the Bal Conn electrical contact under specific design parameters. Customer results may vary depending on application requirements and other factors.
The SYGNUS® Implantable Contact System
SYGNUS is the world’s first integrated seal and electrical contact system for active implantable devices. It is engineered to help device OEMs accelerate time to market and dedicate valuable resources to therapy and function improvements, instead of component development and testing. This innovative system combines reliable Bal Conn® electrical contact technology with proven implantable-grade silicone isolation seals, resulting in a densely spaced connector “stack” that can accommodate leads with diameters down to 0.7 mm. The system’s contact element consists of a housing made from medical-grade MP35N® and a platinum-iridium or MP35N® Bal Spring® canted coil spring. The spring contact offers low insertion force, provides multi-point conductivity, and compensates for both misalignment and mating surface irregularities.
SYGNUS precision-engineered silicone seals provide superior dielectric isolation for the prevention of signal leakage that can result in potential device malfunction.
SYGNUS is scalable and completely configurable—the number of contacts and seals in the system can be specified to support unique application and industry requirements. Regardless of configuration, the SYGNUS system’s contact designs are subjected to comprehensive force testing. Its proven sealing components are packaged to critical clean standards.
The SYGNUS Difference
PROVEN
- Incorporates the same proven electrical contact technology used in more than a million of today’s implantable devices
- Spring component’s inherent multi-point conductivity reduces risk of failure due to connection loss
COMPACT
- Offers one of the smallest pitches in the industry (~ 2 mm)
- Provides opportunity for greater connector density, resulting in more device functionality
INTEGRATED DESIGN
- Combines electrical contacts with fluid and electrical isolation components
- Eliminates the need for dual sourcing and/or internal component development
CONFIGURABLE
- Provides options for standard sizes in variable stack arrays
- Gives OEMs a basic technology platform for a wide range of size and design options
SYGNUS for Neuromodulation Applications
For manufacturers of devices used to deliver neuromodulation therapies, package size reduction is a constant challenge. The compact design of our SYGNUS implantable contact system lets OEMs conserve space without compromising performance.
By offering one of the industry’s smallest pitches and combining both isolation seals and electrical contacts into a dense, configurable stack, SYGNUS allows for a greater number of contacts to be used. The result is a decrease in overall device volume and an increase in functionality.
| Model | Functional Attributes | Physical Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Diameter (mm) | Insertion Force (N) | Extraction Force (N) | Electrical Isolation (kΩ) | Dry Static Contact Resistance (mΩ) | Materials | Pitch Distance (mm) | ||||
| Housing | Spring | Seal | ||||||||
| Neuro (unit) | 1.30 | <0.8 | <1.4 | >250 | <100 | MP35N® | Platinum Iridium | Implantable Silicone | 2.01 | |
This data is presented for comparative purposes only, and it represents the performance of the SYGNUS® implantable contact system under specific design parameters. Customer results may vary depending upon application requirements and other factors.
SYGNUS for Cardiac Health Management Applications
While reliability is always a primary concern for manufacturers of implantable devices used in cardiac healthcare management therapies, integration and ease of use have become equally important factors in choosing components that form the critical lead/connector interface. The SYGNUS implantable contact system offers OEMs a more efficient, plug-and-play option for integrating proven sealing and connecting technology into a standard platform.
SYGNUS for Emerging Therapies
The SYGNUS implantable contact system’s integrated design and proven performance, coupled with its ability to stack a greater number of contacts in a smaller space, makes it ideal for use in the development of breakthrough implantable device technologies. OEMs seeking ways to systemize and miniaturize have already begun to leverage the unique physical and functional attributes of the SYGNUS system to improve the capability of devices used in therapies such as deep brain, cochlear, vagus nerve, spinal stimulation, and others. Soon, the system will be playing a similar role in connecting patients through even smaller lead interfaces to cutting-edge treatments for hearing loss and vision impairment.
As lead interfaces shrink, the SYGNUS system’s compact, flexible Bal Spring® canted coil spring technology will continue to help implantable device developers make and maintain reliable connections.
