Telectronics

The company made significant contributions to pacemaker technology including the first definition of the relationship between surface area of the heart electrodes & pacing pulse characteristics, the first use of integrated circuits and the first hermetic titanium encapsulation.

[2] The company's first model, designated P1, was implanted in three volunteer terminally ill patients in December '64 - January'65,[2] while 2 control samples were retained in a 37 °C.

This initial design used PNP - NPN electronics to deliver a 2.0 millisecond pulse to the Jeffcoat epicardial electrodes, and was powered by 4 Mallory mercuric oxide-zinc cells (mercury battery), all encapsulated in epoxy resin with a final dip coat of a mix of epoxy and titanium dioxide.

In 1967 Telectronics commenced research into the technologies which could allow hermetic sealing of the pacemaker to preclude water vapour penetration and, as an interim measure contracted AWM a subsidiary of Amalgamated Wireless Australia Limited (AWA) to develop integrated circuits for the electronics.

[7] The circuits were analogue type, housed in hermetically sealed ceramic military 'flat packs' with redundant double gold bonding of the terminations.

The final hermetic sealing of the titanium capsule was performed by a TIG argon welding process within a large bell jar on an automated analogue controlled machine designed and built by Cowdery.

In 1971 Telectronics commenced testing samples of a new type of energy source for pacemakers, the lithium cell (lithium battery) being developed by Wilson Greatbatch and in 1972 commenced development of a range of integrated circuits capable of operation from the 2.8 volts of the cell while providing a stimulating pulse of 4.5 volts.

The combined technologies of a lithium cell, integrated circuits, hermetic titanium casing and an 0.5 millisecond pulse was first used clinically in 1974 in the model 120 pacemaker which was state of the art for that time.

Ltd.[15] Pacific Dunlop restructured in 2001 becoming Ansell with the high cost of the Telectronics settlement being a contributing factor in the decision.