Methods and Apparatus for Endovascular Heart Valve Replacement Comprising Tissue Grasping Elements

• US 20120041550A1
• Filed: 10/26/2011
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sadra Medical, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Salahieh, Amr, Hildebrand, Daniel, Saul, Tom
• Application Number:
  US13/282,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20120041550A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/2.36
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2412 with soft flexible valve members, e.g. tissue valves shaped like natural valves check valves with flexible valve members in general F16K15/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2418 Scaffolds therefor, e.g. support stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/243 Deployment by mechanical expansion
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2433 using balloon catheter
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2436 Deployment by retracting a sheath
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2439 Expansion controlled by filaments
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/86 Stents in a form characterised by the wire-like elements; Stents in the form characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/885 comprising a coil including a plurality of spiral or helical sections with alternate directions around a central axis
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9528 for retrieval of stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0014 using shape memory or superelastic materials, e.g. nitinol
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0019 operated at only one temperature whilst inside or touching the human body, e.g. constrained in a non-operative shape during surgery, another temperature only occurring before the operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0057 stretchable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0008 Fixation appliances for connecting prostheses to the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0033 made by longitudinally pushing a protrusion into a complementary-shaped recess, e.g. held by friction fit
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0058 soldered or brazed or welded
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0083 using hook and loop-type fasteners
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/005 Rosette-shaped, e.g. star-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0054 V-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0078 hyperboloidal
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0017 differing in yarn density
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0039 : differing in diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0048 : differing in mechanical expandability, e.g. in mechanical, self- or balloon expandability
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/006 : modular
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0069 : Sealing means

Abstract

A method for endovascularly replacing a patient'"'"'s heart valve including the following steps: endovascularly delivering an anchor and a replacement valve supported within the anchor to a vicinity of the heart valve in a collapsed delivery configuration, the anchor having grasping elements adapted to grasp tissue in a vicinity of the heart valve; expanding the anchor, thereby rotating the grasping elements; and grasping the tissue with the rotating grasping elements.

Claims

1. A method for endovascularly replacing a patient'"'"'s native heart valve, the method comprising:

delivering an expandable anchor and a replacement valve to a vicinity of the native heart valve, wherein leaflet engagement elements extend distally from the anchor at a location which is proximal to a distal end of the anchor;

sandwiching native valve leaflets between the distally extending leaflet engagement elements and the anchor; and

expanding the anchor from a collapsed delivery configuration to an expanded configuration to secure the anchor within the native heart valve; and

positioning a proximal end of the anchor further from a left ventricle than the distal end of the anchor;

wherein the replacement valve allows the flow of blood through the replacement valve in a first configuration and prevents the flow of blood through the valve in a second configuration.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein expanding the anchor from a collapsed delivery configuration to an expanded configuration comprises allowing the anchor to self-expand to thereby sandwich the native valve leaflets between the distally extending leaflet engagement elements and the anchor.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the leaflet engagement elements extend generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the expandable anchor when the anchor is in the expanded configuration.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the expandable anchor and the replacement valve are delivered as two separate elements, the method further comprising deploying the expandable anchor and the replacement valve in the vicinity of the native heart valve in two different steps.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising engaging the expandable anchor and the replacement valve after they are deployed in the vicinity of the native heart valve to secure the replacement heart valve to the expandable anchor.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the replacement heart valve comprises an expandable support structure and replacement valve leaflets, and wherein engaging the expandable anchor and the replacement valve in the vicinity of the native heart valve comprises coupling the expandable anchor and the expandable support structure to secure the replacement heart valve to the expandable anchor.