Evolution of power sources for implantable cardioverter defibrillators

The evolution of seven generations of power sources for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) is presented. The packaging efficiency of the power sources has steadily increased, resulting in smaller, lighter batteries while maintaining the required electrical characteristics. The main areas for improvement were reduction of headspace volume, reduction of separator volume, and a change from a two-cell battery to a single cell. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.