FENESTRATION TEMPLATE FOR ENDOVASCULAR REPAIR OF AORTIC ANEURYSMS

• US 20130296998A1
• Filed: 05/01/2013
• Published: 11/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bolton Medical, Inc. (Terumo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: University of Washington
• Inventors: Leotta, Daniel F., Starnes, Benjamin
• Granted Patent: US 9,811,613 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/07 Stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/89 the wire-like elements comprising two or more adjacent rings flexibly connected by separate members
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/95 Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts
• 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 2240/002 Designing or making customized prostheses
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2240/005 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/10 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/386 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/30 Anatomical models G09B23/281 - G09B23/288 take precedence

Abstract

To provide simple yet accurate stent graft fenestration, a patient-specific fenestration template is used as a guide for graft fenestration. To generate the fenestration template, a patient'"'"'s medical imaging data such as CT scan data may be used to generate a 3-D digital model of an aorta lumen of the patient. The aorta lumen may encompass one or more branch vessels, which may be indicated on the 3-D digital model. Based on the 3-D digital model or a segment thereof, the fenestration template may be generated, for example, using 3-D printing technology. The fenestration template may include one or more holes or openings that correspond to the one or more branch vessels. To fenestrate a stent graft, the fenestration template is coupled to the stent graft so that the holes or openings on the fenestration template indicate the fenestration locations.

Claims

1. A fenestration template device for an aortic graft, comprising:

a physical model representing a section of a patient'"'"'s aorta having one or more branch vessel openings, the physical model comprising a wall defining a lumen and having one or more openings in the wall representing the one or more branch vessel openings of the patient'"'"'s aorta.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the physical model is generated using a three-dimensional (3-D) printing technology.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the physical model is generated based at least in part on a 3-D digital model of the patient'"'"'s aorta.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more openings in the wall are indicative of locations of one or more fenestrations on the stent graft when the fenestration template device is coupled with the aortic graft.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the physical model is disposable.

6. A method for fenestrating a stent graft to be used in treating a patient, comprising:

obtaining a fenestration template generated based at least in part on a 3-D digital model of an aorta lumen of the patient, the fenestration template comprising one or more openings corresponding to one or more branch vessels encompassed by the aorta lumen; and

generating one or more fenestrations on the stent graft according to the fenestration template.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fenestration template is generated using an additive prototyping technology.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the 3-D digital model is generated based at least in part on imaging data of the patient.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the one or more fenestrations on the stent graft includes coupling the fenestration template with the stent graft and identifying locations of the one or more fenestrations based at least in part on the one or more openings of the fenestration template.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein coupling the fenestration template with the stent graft includes positioning the stent graft at least partially inside a lumen of the fenestration template.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein coupling the fenestration template with the stent graft includes positioning the fenestration template at least partially inside a lumen of the stent graft.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the one or more fenestrations on the stent graft includes adjusting the relative positions of the fenestration template and/or the stent graft to avoid placing a fenestration on a stent strut.

13. A computer-implemented method for generating a patient-specific fenestration template, comprising:

receiving imaging data of a patient;

generating, based at least in part on the imaging data, a 3-D digital model of an aorta lumen of a patient, the aorta lumen encompassing one or more branch vessels;

causing generation of a fenestration template based at least in part on the 3-D digital model.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the imaging data includes at least CT scan data, ultrasound data, or MRI data.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein generating the 3-D digital model of the aorta lumen includes providing indications of the one or more branch vessels on the 3-D digital model based at least in part on the imaging data.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein causing generation of the fenestration template includes converting the 3-D digital model to a solid object model format suitable for 3-D printing.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein further comprising:

generating a second 3-D digital model based at least in part on the 3-D digital model and causing the generation of the fenestration template based at least in part on the second 3-D digital model.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the fenestration template comprises one or more openings corresponding to the one or more branch vessels.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the fenestration template is manufactured using 3-D printing technology.

18. A method for treating aortic aneurysm, comprising:

obtaining a stent graft comprising one or more fenestrations generated using a fenestration template, the fenestration template generated based on a 3-D digital model of an aorta lumen of a patient; and

deploying the stent graft in the aorta lumen of the patient such that the one or more fenestrations accommodate one or more branch vessels encompassed by the aorta lumen.