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Case Study 2

MEDTRONIC
Improving performance on pacemaker leads

Background

Medtronic is the largest medical device and technology company in the world, specializing in cardiovascular devices, cranial and spine robotics, insulin pumps, and other acute care and monitoring solutions.

Medtronic was looking for a revolutionary new technology that would allow them to redesign their pacemaker leads to reduce or eliminate the potential need for risky revision surgery.

CRITERIA

Biologically inert wire coating to avoid triggering patient’s immune response
Reduction in electrical loss leading to smaller battery need.

They licensed the technology from NASA for a promising new aerospace polymer called LaRC-SI, developed at NASA by Dr. Robert Bryant. Medtronic had confidence in the material’s application for their needs because:

LaRC-SI had won an R&D 100 award (proof that the product was one of the 100 most technologically significant products of the year) and been featured in multiple publications.
Dr. Bryant had done the legwork of submitting LaRC-SI for third party lab testing and modifying it to meet a variety of criteria for potential commercial applications.
Dr. Bryant had created a domestic supply chain to source the material.

Challenge

In flight, HSCT skin temperatures could reach 200°C. No commercially available engineering resin or metallic structure could meet that requirement within the design's weight limits. NASA Langley's polymer research was funded to develop processable engineering resins for structural composites that would exceed continuous service temperatures of ~200°C (~400°F) in air for over 10 years.

Security restrictions required every material to come from U.S. suppliers as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. At the time, no domestic composite resin met the performance criteria, and few of the building-block raw materials were available domestically.

Technoir's Approach

Dr. Bryant was physically present with the Medtronic team at critical test events, helping to design production trials, making adjustments, and collaborating with Medtronic and their partners to create an efficient, robust wire-coating process that stood up to rigorous testing. Technoir worked with Medtronic for five years, leading to next generation pacemaker leads and device technology.

Results

Since 2016, the Medtronic Attain Ability Plus, a multi dual-electrode, steroid-eluting left-heart (left ventricular) lead made using Dr. Bryant’s LaRC-SI, has been implanted in nearly a million people worldwide, dramatically improving their lives and grossing several billions of dollars.
Because the new polymer worked so well as a dielectric coating, it increased the efficiency of the electrical current, allowing for a whole new pacemaker kit to be developed. Medtronic was able to reduce not only the battery size, but also the diameter of the pacemaker leads, making them more reliable and flexible.
The new technology dramatically reduced the time patients spent on the operating table, significantly lowering the risk of procedural complications.
Dr. Bryant won a Space Foundation’s Space Achievement award and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame after the success of Medtronic’s application of LaRC-SI. His product demonstrated how a technology developed for the aerospace industry could be applied toward helping people on earth.
All the taxpayer money used by NASA’s government labs to research and develop the material was paid back in full thanks to Medtronic’s purchase of the license.

The Technoir Difference

Boots on the ground technical leadership—not just a remote advisory role.
Subject-matter experts with years of experience and leadership roles in the field.
Beyond engineering, Technoir consultants help companies analyze commercial viability, develop supply chains, help secure funding, and find customers, creating an environment for a product to be successful.
Bottom line: Technoir’s connections, expertise, and understanding of what it takes to get a product to market reduces risk and helps clients see profitability at the end of the equation.