Electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management

About 1% of the global population suffers from arrhythmia, which is rising due to a growing geriatric population. Johnson Matthey enhances the lives of arrhythmia patients by partnering with both medical device and contract manufacturers worldwide. Our CRM and EP product categories offer a wide range of solutions utilising our material science and manufacturability expertise to ensure quality and sustainability in all our processes. Our extensive product portfolio includes components and subassemblies used in devices such as:

Pacemakers and defibrillators

Platinum’s durability, inertness, and electrical conductivity makes it an ideal electrode material for devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. The early generation devices have leads with either active fixation electrodes or passive fixation electrodes. The electrodes deliver electrical impulses to the heart muscle—in the case of a pacemaker, these ensure that the heart beats regularly and at an appropriate pace, while in the case of a defibrillator, a much stronger electrical shock is delivered as soon as the device detects a dangerously irregular heartbeat. Each lead typically has one titanium nitride coated platinum-iridium electrode, two or more ring electrodes, and platinum feed through connectors, used to connect the pulse generator to the lead. The latest generation of implantable generators have precision machined parts made up of precious metals that assist with the device’s functions.

Electrophysiology diagnostic and ablation catheters

EP catheters have an electrode on the end of the catheter that is threaded through an artery into the heart to record electrical activity while emitting electrical impulses to test the heart’s response. JM provides a variety of precious metal components for EP catheters.

We partner with the leaders in EP from the early concept and design phases to develop precision micromachined irrigation tip electrodes, ring electrodes, marker bands and other precious metal components. In addition to the metal component, our coatings and surface solutions applied to our components enhance the performance of the catheters used in these procedures. We also have metal management solutions for our customers to maintain supply chain continuity for their immediate needs.