GRAFT DEPLOYMENT ASSIST TOOL

• US 20120010692A1
• Filed: 07/07/2010
• Published: 01/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cook Medical Technologies, LLC (Cook Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cook Medical Technologies, LLC (Cook Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Frye, Mark R., Moore, William F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,419,783 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/95 Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/9517 handle assemblies therefor

Abstract

A delivery system for a medical device may include a sheath, a catheter slideably disposed within the sheath, and a hemostatic device comprising a housing disposed around and sealingly engaged with the sheath by a first seal. A sleeve is slideably coupled to the catheter and comprises a second seal sealingly engaging the catheter. The sleeve is movable between a first position, in which the sleeve is disposed outside of the housing and the first seal is sealingly engaged with an outer surface of the catheter, and a second position in which at least a portion of the sleeve is disposed within the housing between an inner surface of the housing and the outer surface of the catheter, wherein, in the second position, the first seal is sealingly engaged with an outer surface of the sleeve and the second seal is sealingly engaged with the outer surface of the catheter.

Claims

1. A system for delivering and deploying a medical device comprising:

a housing comprising a first seal; and

a sleeve slideably coupled to a catheter and comprising a second seal sealingly engaging the catheter extending through the housing, the sleeve being movable between a first position in which the sleeve is disposed outside of the housing and the first seal is sealingly engaged with an outer surface of the catheter, and a second position in which at least a portion of the sleeve is disposed within the housing between an inner surface of the housing and the outer surface of the catheter, wherein, in the second position, the first seal is sealingly engaged with an outer surface of the sleeve and the second seal is sealingly engaged with the outer surface of the catheter; and

wherein, when the sleeve is in the first position the first seal exerts a first sealing force on the catheter effecting a first frictional resistance between the housing and the catheter, and when the sleeve is in the second position the second seal of the sleeve exerts a second sealing force on the catheter effecting a second frictional resistance between the housing and the catheter, the second frictional resistance being less than the first frictional resistance.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sheath having a lumen extending along a central axis thereof, the catheter being disposed within the lumen, wherein the housing is disposed around and connected to the sheath, and wherein in the first position, the housing and the sleeve are detached from each other, and in the second position the sleeve is attached to the housing.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a force required to move the sheath relative to the catheter when the sleeve is in the second position is less than a force required to move the sheath relative to the catheter when the sleeve is in the first position.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein, when the sleeve is in the second position, the force required to move the sheath relative to the catheter is reduced by 10% or more.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein, when the sleeve is in the second position, the force required to move the sheath relative to the catheter is reduced by 25% or more.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein, when the sleeve is in the second position, the force required to move the sheath relative to the catheter is reduced by 50% or more.

7. The system of claim 2, where the catheter comprises an increased diameter portion disposed distally of the sleeve in the second position, the increased diameter portion engaging and detaching the sleeve from the housing when the catheter is withdrawn from the sheath.

8. The system of claim 1, where the sleeve comprises a tapered end.

9. The system of claim 2, comprising an expandable prosthesis disposed within the lumen.

10. The system of claim 1, where the first seal comprises at least one disk valve.

11. The system of claim 10, where the at least one disk valve comprises a stretchable opening having a diameter of 1 mm or less.

12. The system of claim 11, where the at least one disk valve comprises a stretchable opening having a diameter of 0.1 mm or less.

13. The system of claim 1, where the first seal comprises a plurality of disk valves.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein an inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the catheter are in frictional engagement with each other.

15. The system of claim 2, where the catheter has an outer diameter that approximates an inner diameter of the lumen of the sheath.

16. The system of claim 1, where the sleeve comprises a lubricious material.

17. The system of claim 16, where the sleeve comprises Teflon.

18. The system of claim 2, where the housing comprises an interlocking mechanism that reversibly interlocks the housing in relation to the sleeve to limit relative movement therebetween.

19. A method of reducing a force necessary to effect movement between a housing and a catheter to which the sheath is sealingly engaged, the method comprising:

providing a delivery device comprising a catheter slideably extending into a housing, the housing comprising a first seal that exerts a first sealing force against an external surface of the catheter that effects a first frictional resistance to relative movement between the catheter and the housing; and

advancing a sleeve over the catheter and through the first seal of the housing, whereby the first seal is decoupled from the catheter and sealingly engages an outer surface of the sleeve, the sleeve at least partially isolating the catheter from the first sealing force, wherein the sleeve comprises a second seal that applies a second sealing force against the external surface of the catheter that effects a second frictional resistance to relative movement between the catheter and the housing, the second frictional resistance being less than the first frictional resistance.

20. A system for delivering and deploying an expandable prosthesis comprising:

a sheath having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen defining an inner surface thereof;

a delivery catheter slideably disposed within the lumen and having an outer surface in frictional contact with the inner surface of the sheath;

an expandable prosthesis disposed on a distal portion of the delivery catheter and within the lumen of the sheath;

a hemostatic device comprising a housing connected to the proximal end of the sheath and a first seal disposed within the housing and sealingly engaging the delivery catheter; and

a deployment assist device comprising a sleeve slideably coupled to the catheter and a second seal disposed within the sleeve that sealingly engages the catheter, the deployment assist device being movable between a first position in which the sleeve is disposed outside of the housing and the first seal is sealingly engaged with an outer surface of the catheter, and a second position in which at least a portion of the sleeve is disposed within the housing between an inner surface of the housing and the outer surface of the catheter, wherein, in the second position, the first seal is sealingly engaged with an outer surface of the sleeve and the second seal is sealingly engaged with the outer surface of the catheter; and

wherein, when the deployment assist device is in the first position the first seal exerts a first sealing force on the catheter effecting a first frictional resistance between the housing and the catheter, and when the sleeve is in the second position the second seal of the sleeve exerts a second sealing force on the catheter effecting a second frictional resistance between the housing, wherein the second frictional resistance is less than the first frictional resistance between the housing and the catheter, thereby reducing a force necessary to effect relative movement between the sheath and the catheter.