High energy density film capacitors for Compact Implantable Cardioverter Defibril

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): More than 1000 Americans die every single day due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which claims more lives than breast cancer, AIDS, and lung cancer combined.1 Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD) can provide 24 -hour monitoring of heart rhythm and deliver immediate effective treatment, thus can reduce overall mortality by 23% and provide 2.5 more years of life for a patient. However, the size, cost, and reliability of current ICD limit its acceptance by the patie nts. As a key component, the capacitor occupies more than 1/3 of the ICD volume and delivers the necessary defibrillation energy to the heart. Strategic Polymer Sciences, Inc (SPS) has developed a series of new polar fluoropolymer dielectrics that have ene rgy density (25 J/cm3) at least four times higher than the current ICD capacitors (4-6 J/cm3) and ten times higher than other polymer film capacitors (lt 2 J/cm3), therefore they can significantly reduce the size and weight of ICD (Science 313:334 (2006), A dielectric polymer with high electric energy density and fast discharge speed ).6 In addition, SPS dielectric polymers have self-healing feature, do not contain any liquid, do not require regular reforming, thus can improve the reliability of the ICD an d extend the battery life. SPS is working with both capacitor and ICD manufacturers to commercialize these new materials.