Implantable nerve electrode and method for producing an implantable nerve electrode

The invention relates to an implantable nerve electrode (1) that comprises an electrically insulating substrate (2) with conductor traces (3) running therein, electrode contacts (4) and connection contacts (5), wherein the conductor traces (3) connect the electrode contacts (4) to the connection contacts (5), and wherein the electrode contacts (4) can be connected to the nerves of a nervous system, each of the conductor traces (3) having an at least partial sheathing (13) made of a polymer that is mechanically strong and a good insulator. The invention further relates to a method for producing an implantable nerve electrode (1).

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US2014128954A1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

• Interface and electrodes

  Electrodes and arrays · Peripheral interfaces

• Packaging

  Connectors and feedthroughs

• Stimulation

  Stimulation

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61N1/0551, A61N1/0553, H01R43/16, Y10T29/49224). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Interface and electrodes

Everything downstream works with what the contacts pick up. Their number, size and distance from the neurons set the ceiling on the signal. The problem behind it: more contacts, closer to neurons, that still record after years in tissue that reacts to them.

Packaging

Body fluid destroys unprotected electronics. An implant meant to last has to stay sealed for years while passing every channel through its wall. The problem behind it: a seal that lasts as long as the patient needs it, at a size that leaves room for the channels.

Stimulation

Restoring sensation, sight or movement needs information going in, and a therapy that adapts needs to sense and stimulate at once. The problem behind it: evoking a precise, stable effect without damaging tissue or electrodes, and without blinding the recording.

Why the layer matters to the field, not a judgement of this filing. A patent family shows that protection was sought. It does not show that the technology was built, is used in a product, or works in people. The whole stack

One invention, published 11 times in 5 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

• GermanyDE102011078982A117 Jan 2013DE102011078982B412 Feb 2015 · grant
• International (PCT)a route to several countries, not a countryWO2013007718A117 Jan 2013
• United StatesUS2014128954A18 May 2014US10022537B217 Jul 2018 · grantUS2018333572A122 Nov 2018US11040193B222 Jun 2021 · grant
• ChinaCN103813828A21 May 2014CN103813828B13 Apr 2016 · grant
• European Patent Officea route to several countries, not a countryEP2731669A121 May 2014EP2731669B122 Mar 2017 · grant

1. 11 Jul 2011First filingEarliest priority, at Germany. The family is counted in this year.
2. 10 Jul 2012ApplicationsFiled at International (PCT), China, European Patent Office.
3. 17 Jan 2013First publicationDE102011078982A1, Germany.
4. 6 Jun 2013Owner recordedGermany, on DE102011078982A1: change of applicant/patentee; owner named: CORTEC GMBH, DE.
5. 10 Jan 2014ApplicationFiled at United States.
6. 19 Feb 2014Owner recordedUnited States, on US2014128954A1: assignment; owner named: CORTEC GMBH, GERMANY.
7. 12 Feb 2015Grant publishedDE102011078982B4, Germany.
8. 13 Apr 2016Grant publishedCN103813828B, China.
9. 22 Mar 2017Grant publishedEP2731669B1, European Patent Office.
10. 17 Jul 2018ApplicationFiled at United States.
11. 1 Apr 2019Owner recordedEuropean Patent Office, on EP2731669A1: reference to a national code; owner named: CORTEC GMBH, DE.
12. 22 Jun 2021Grant publishedUS11040193B2, United States.
13. 31 Jul 2024Office recordEuropean Patent Office, on EP2731669A1: lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM, TR).
14. 3 Feb 2026Office recordGermany, on DE102011078982A1: application deemed withdrawn, or ip right lapsed, due to non-payment of renewal fee.

Dates as the offices published them. Office records are in the offices' own words and are a selection: refusals, lapses and withdrawals, and records that name an owner. Each concerns one member of the family, not the family as a whole, and another member in the same office may stand. Whether a patent is in force today is not assessed.

Organisation

CorTec · 27 families identified

• Bibliographic data, family members and office records: European Patent Office, Open Patent Services (the DOCDB and INPADOC databases), read 7 Oct 2026.
• The record itself, with its claims and description: US2014128954A1 in Espacenet
• Counted as a BCI patent family: classified A61N1/36 (electrical stimulation therapy); filed by CORTEC GMBH, an organisation already in the graph; describes neural hardware or methods without naming the field; cites a family already accepted. How families are found and judged