Implant implantation unit and procedure for implanting the unit

• US 20030036791A1
• Filed: 08/02/2002
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: JenaValve Technology, Inc., Medtronic Vascular Galway Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: JenaValve Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Philipp, Bonhoeffer, Younes, Boudjemline
• Application Number:
  US10/210,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20030036791A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2409 Support rings therefor, e.g. for connecting valves to tissue annuloplasty rings A61F2/2442
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2418 Scaffolds therefor, e.g. support stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2427 Devices for manipulating or deploying heart valves during implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2436 Deployment by retracting a sheath
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/061 provided with means for allowing access to secondary lumens
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0054 V-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/001 for adjusting a diameter

Abstract

The implant. implantation unit (2), at a determined position in the tubular element (51) with a wall comprising a cavity (50), is pushed there by a catheter (60) and the unit comprises deformable feelers (31) to, under the control of remote activation elements (42), change from a stowed form to a deployed functional form, to detect the cavity (50) and position itself there with reference to the position of the cavity.

Claims

1. Unit for implantation of an implant (2) at a determined position in a tubular element (51) with a wall comprising a cavity (50,52), the unit (10) being arranged to work with driving means (60) to drive the unit into the tubular element (51), the unit characterised by the fact that it comprises deployable feeler means (30, 31, 131) arranged to, under the control of remote control means (42), change from a stowed form to a functional deployed form, to detect the cavity (50, 52) and position themselves there with reference to the position of the cavity (50, 52).

2. A unit in accordance with claim 1, in which the feeler means (30, 31) are made from a shape memory material.

3. A unit in accordance with one of the claims 1 and 2, in which the remote control means are detachable and comprise a retaining sleeve (42) to hold the feeler means (30, 31) in the stowed form, said sleeve extending over the feeler means (30,31) to free them by relative withdrawal of the sleeve relative to a wire unit thrust drive element (60).

4. A unit in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 3, in which the feeler means (30, 31) comprise a ring, of generally cylindrical form with a radial direction, of loops (31) made of a wire with a limited stiffness in the radial direction, at least one of the loops (31) being arranged to protrude laterally so as to make a feeler.

5. A unit in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 4, in which the feeler means (30, 31) comprrise a plurality of feeler fingers (31) regularly spaced angularly and arranged so that, in the deployed form, they extend in respective inclined directions, at acute angles to a longitudinal drive axis (62) forward from the unit towards the cavity (50)

6. A unit according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which the feeler means (30, 31) are joined to deformable means (20), to hold an implant (2), arranged so that, under the action of release means (41), it changes from a stowed form to a radially deployed form, pressed against the wall of the tubular element (51) and bringing the implant (2) into use.

7. A unit according to claims 3 and 6 together, in which the means. (20) to receive the implant (2) comprise a mesh in a generally cylindrical form having an axial direction, to carry the implant, with a limited rigidity in the axial. direction, and the release means include a moveable sleeve (41) to retain the carrier mesh (20) in the stowed position, extending axially above the mesh to release it by a relative axial withdrawal of the sleeve (42) connected to a wire unit thrust drive element (60), the retention and holding sleeves (41, 42) being concentric.

8. A unit in accordance with one of the claims 6 and 7, in which the implant reception means (20) are covered with a lateral sealing sleeve (21) intended to be pressed against the wall of the tubular element (51) by said implant reception means (20) and the sleeve sealing casing (21) occupies an angular position determined relative to the feeler means.

9. A unit in accordance with one of claims 1 to 8, in which the feeler means (131) comprise a cylindrical element arranged to change from a stowed form to a radially deployed form arranged for pushing against a wall of the cavity (52) under the effect of remote control means.

10. A procedure, non surgical and with non therapeutic aims, of implanting a unit (10) according to claim 1, in a determined position in a tubular element with a wall (51) comprising a cavity (50, 52), the procedure characterised by the fact that

a user inserts the unit (10) by an open end of the tubular element,

the user activates the drive means (60) to make the unit (10) move forward to a position upstream the determined position,

the user commands the feeler means (30, 31, 131), remote control means (42), and with the forward motion continuing,

the user stops the activation of the drive means (60) when he detects that the motion is blocked, due to the fact that the feeler means 30, 31, 131) are positioned in the cavity (50, 52).