Neurological stimulation lead anchors and associated systems and methods
A spinal cord lead anchor comprising a longitudinally extending sleeve having an aperture sized and positioned to receive a spinal cord lead. A retainer is disposed around the sleeve and is operative to compress at least a portion of the sleeve against a spinal cord lead extending through the sleeve. A cover extends around the retainer and includes at least one opening formed through the cover to facilitate engaging the retainer with a tool.
1. A lead anchor, comprising:
a longitudinally extending sleeve having an aperture sized and positioned to receive a lead therethrough;
a retainer disposed around the sleeve and operative to compress at least a portion of the sleeve against a lead extending through the aperture; and
a cover extending around the retainer.
2. The lead anchor of claim 1 , wherein the retainer is a tube elastically deformable from a contracted state to an expanded state.
3. The lead anchor of claim 2 , wherein the tube has an oval cross section in the contracted state and a circular cross-section in the expanded state.
4. The lead anchor of claim 1 , wherein the cover includes a pair of openings aligned with the retainer to provide access to the retainer from outside the cover.
5. The lead anchor of claim 4 , wherein the openings are longitudinally extending slots.
6. The lead anchor of claim 1 , wherein the retainer is a circlip having a pair of apertures engageable with a tool.
7. The lead anchor of claim 6 , further comprising a spacer disposed between the pair of apertures to maintain the circlip in an expanded state.
8. The lead anchor of claim 7 , wherein the spacer is frangible.
9. The lead anchor of claim 7 , wherein the spacer is deformable.
10. A spinal cord lead anchor, comprising:
a longitudinally extending sleeve having an aperture sized and positioned to receive a spinal cord lead therethrough;
a retainer disposed around the sleeve and operative to compress at least a portion of the sleeve against a spinal cord lead extending through the aperture;
a cover extending over the retainer including at least one opening formed through the cover to facilitate engaging the retainer with a tool; and
a pair of anchor tabs positioned to facilitate attaching the lead anchor to a patient.
11. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 10 , wherein the anchor tabs extend from the cover.
12. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 11 , wherein the anchor tabs each include an anchor aperture.
13. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 12 , wherein the cover includes two grooves, each one aligned with a corresponding one of the anchor tabs.
14. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 10 , wherein the retainer is normally contracted.
15. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 14 , wherein the retainer is a circlip having a pair of apertures engageable with a tool.
16. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 10 , wherein the retainer is normally expanded.
17. The spinal cord lead anchor of claim 16 , wherein the retainer includes a latch device positioned to maintain the retainer in a contracted state.
18. A method of anchoring a lead, comprising:
inserting a lead into a sleeve;
maintaining a retainer disposed around the sleeve in an expanded state with a spacer;
removing the spacer, thereby changing the retainer to a contracted state; and
compressing the sleeve against the lead with the retainer while the retainer is in the contracted state.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising placing the retainer in the expanded state and repositioning the lead with respect to the sleeve.
20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising attaching the sleeve to a patient.
21. A lead anchor, comprising:
a longitudinally extending sleeve having an aperture sized and positioned to receive a lead therethrough;
a retainer disposed around the sleeve and operative to compress at least a portion of the sleeve against a lead extending through the aperture, wherein the retainer is a normally contracted circlip having a pair of apertures engageable with a tool; and
a cover extending over the sleeve and the retainer, the cover including:
a pair of longitudinally extending slots, each slot aligned with one of the apertures to provide access to the pair of apertures from outside the cover;
at least one anchor tab positioned to facilitate attaching the lead anchor to a patient; and
an associated groove aligned with the at least one anchor tab.
22. A lead anchor, comprising:
a longitudinally extending sleeve having an aperture sized and positioned to receive a lead therethrough;
a retainer disposed around the sleeve and operative to compress at least a portion of the sleeve against a lead extending through the aperture, wherein the retainer is a circlip having a pair of apertures engageable with a tool; and
a spacer disposed between the pair of apertures to maintain the circlip in an expanded state.