Percutaneous Access Device With Stress Relief Features

A polymer based percutaneous access device (PAD) has been developed to allow for a physical interconnection between an implant and the outer world during chronic animal experiments. The PAD consists of a skin-piercing conduit connected to a flat base that is typically implanted. The skin-piercing conduit has one or more circumferential notches in its walls. The stress resulting from external forces acting on the PAD conduit is concentrated at the root of the notch. This permits the conduit to bend more easily at the notch rather than at the PAD-skin interface, thereby reducing the deleterious effect of forces on the PAD-skin interface and extending the useful life of the PAD.