US Patent 7844347 - CNT-polymer medical electrodes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7844347.html

Contacts between electrodes and biological tissue often include an unwanted impedance which make measurement or stimulation difficult. This patent from Medtronic teaches using an electrically conductive CNT polymer to reduce the contact resistance. Claim 1 reads:

1. In a medical device, comprising:

a lead body;

an elongated conductor extending through the lead body;

at least one electrode electrically coupled to the elongated conductor;

an electrically conductive adhesive layer on at least a portion of the at least one electrode; and

a polymer combined with a plurality of carbon nanotubes to render the polymer conductive and electrically coupled to the electrically conductive adhesive layer, the polymer comprising one of polyurethane and silicone, wherein the plurality of carbon nanotubes comprise open ends arranged for contact with biological tissue when the at least one electrode is implanted in the body.