Granted Patent B2

US 12,642,968 · App. 17/456,828 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Inventor: Erich W. Wolf, II (Lake Charles, LA)

Assignee: Wavegate Corporation

A61N1/36128A61B17/3468A61N1/0553A61N1/36062A61N1/3752A61B5/0086A61B2017/320056A61B2562/0233

Abstract

Claims (91)

1 . A method for connecting an IPG to a set of electrodes fixed on a first set of flexible leads by a lead connector comprising:

providing a connector body;

providing a set of connector ports within the connector body;

providing a set of internal contacts fixed to the connector body and operationally disposed within the set of connector ports;

providing a set of optoelectronics, supported by the connector body and operationally positioned in the set of connector ports;

providing a second set of flexible leads, connected to the connector body;

providing a first set of external contacts fixed on the second set of flexible leads;

providing a second set of external contacts fixed on the second set of flexible leads;

providing the second set of flexible leads further comprising a first set of conductors and a second set of conductors;

connecting the first set of conductors to the set of optoelectronics and to the first set of external contacts; and,

connecting the second set of conductors to the set of internal contacts and to the second set of external contacts.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing the set of optoelectronics as at least one photo emitter and at least one photo detector.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

providing the at least one photo emitter as a near infrared LED.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

providing the at least one photo detector as a light to frequency converter.

5 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

providing the set of optoelectronics as at least one lens adjacent one of the group of the at least one photo emitter and the at least one photo detector.

6 . A method of connecting an IPG to a percutaneous lead connector system, comprising:

providing a connector body;

providing a first connection port in the connector body;

providing a second connection port in the connector body;

providing a first set of internal contacts in the first connection port;

providing a second set of internal contacts in the second connection port;

providing an optical emitter operationally positioned in the first connection port;

providing an optical detector operationally positioned in the second connection port;

providing a first flexible lead, having a first set of external contacts and a second set of external contacts, attached to the connector body adjacent the first connection port;

providing a second flexible lead, having a third set of external contacts and a fourth set of external contacts, attached to the connector body adjacent the second connection port;

providing a first set of conductors, inside the first flexible lead, connecting the optical emitter to the first set of external contacts;

providing a second set of conductors, inside the first flexible lead, connecting the first set of internal contacts to the second set of external contacts;

providing a third set of conductors, inside the second flexible lead, connecting the optical detector to the third set of external contacts; and,

providing a fourth set of conductors, inside the second flexible lead, connecting the second set of internal contacts to the fourth set of external contacts.

7 . The method of claim 6 further comprising:

providing a third flexible lead and a fourth flexible lead;

providing the third flexible lead as a first lead body with a first internal lumen;

providing the fourth flexible lead as a second lead body with a second internal lumen;

providing a first optical fiber assembly, operationally disposed in the first internal lumen;

providing a second optical fiber assembly, operationally disposed in the second internal lumen;

providing a first set of lead contacts and a first set of electrodes attached to an external surface of the third flexible lead and connected together by a first set of conductors within the first lead body;

providing a second set of lead contacts and a second set of electrodes attached to an external surface of the fourth flexible lead and connected together by a second set of conductors within the second lead body;

providing the first optical fiber assembly held adjacent the optical emitter by the connector body;

providing the second optical fiber assembly held adjacent the optical detector by the connector body;

providing the first set of lead contacts is held in contact with the first set of internal contacts by the connector body; and,

providing the second set of lead contacts is held in contact with the second set of internal contacts by the connector body.

8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

providing an IPG having a first set of IPG contacts and a second set of IPG contacts;

providing the first set of IPG contacts in contact with the first set of external contacts and the second set of external contacts; and,

providing the second set of IPG contacts in contact with the third set of external contacts and the fourth set of external contacts.

9 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

providing the first optical fiber assembly as a TiO 2 surfaced negative axicon.

10 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising;

providing the first optical fiber assembly as a collet adjacent the optical emitter.

11 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

providing the first optical fiber assembly as a collet adjacent the optical detector.

12 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising

providing the optical emitter as an LED.

13 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

providing the optical detector as an LFC.

14 . A method of connecting an IPG to a percutaneous lead connector system, comprising:

providing a connector body;

providing a first connection port in the connector body;

providing a second connection port in the connector body;

providing a third connection port in the connector body;

providing a first photo detector operationally positioned in the first connection port;

providing a photo emitter operationally positioned in the second connection port;

providing a second photo detector operationally positioned in the third connection port;

providing a first set of internal contacts in the first connection port;

providing a second set of internal contacts in the third connection port;

providing a first flexible lead, having a first set of external contacts and a second set of external contacts, attached to the connector body;

providing a second flexible lead, having a third set of external contacts and a fourth set of external contacts, attached to the connector body;

providing the first set of external contacts is connected to the photo emitter and the first photo detector;

providing the second set of external contacts is connected to the first set of internal contacts;

providing the third set of external contacts is connected to the second photo detector and the photo emitter; and,

providing the fourth set of external contacts is connected to the second set of internal contacts.

15 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

providing a fourth flexible lead, attached to a flexible paddle body, comprising a first optical fiber;

providing a fifth flexible lead, attached to the flexible paddle body, comprising a second optical fiber;

providing a sixth flexible lead, attached to the flexible paddle body, comprising a third optical fiber;

providing a flexible paddle body comprising a first set of electrodes and a second set of electrodes;

providing the second optical fiber positioned in the flexible paddle body to project light generally perpendicular to the flexible paddle body;

providing the first optical fiber and the third optical fiber positioned in the flexible paddle body to receive light generally perpendicular to the flexible paddle body;

providing the first set of electrodes in electrical contact with the first set of internal contacts;

providing the second set of electrodes in electrical contact with the second set of internal contacts;

providing the first optical fiber in optical contact with the first photo detector;

providing the second optical fiber in optical contact with the photo emitter; and,

providing the third optical fiber in optical contact with the second photo detector.

16 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

providing an IPG having a first set of IPG contacts and a second set of IPG contacts;

providing the first set of IPG contacts in contact with the first set of external contacts and the second set of external contacts; and,

providing the second set of IPG contacts in contact with the third set of external contacts and the fourth set of external contacts.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (12)