3D printed instrumented packaging for implantable devices

Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMDs) are essentially complex electronic systems which has to be surgically introduced inside the human body for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. To ensure a good coexistence between the implant and the biological organism, a key role is played by the package. This thesis project deals with the design of a 3D printed polymeric package for medical electronic implants. The package is in direct contact with the living body environment and, to this purpose, first of all, it must be hermetic and biocompatible. Since any living body implant site constitutes a wet environment, it is fundamental to guarantee a good moisture barrier to save the electronics inside the cavity and to ensure safety for the patient. To fabricate an implantable device encapsulation, typical materials adopted are titanium alloys, glass or ceramics. In recent years, the idea to exploit polymers for these tasks has became more and more attractive since polymers gives the opportunity to extend the potentiality of an implant, bringing lots of benefits and, above all, lowering the manufacturing cost. Continuing along these lines, 3D printing additive technology has been exploited to fabricate a low cost polymeric package. Since the greatest challenge for a polymeric encapsulation is to ensure hermeticity, an in-situ humidity monitoring system has been developed to test its resistance against moisture ingress. Finally, an accelerated life time test has been conducted to verify package suitability.