Vascular embolism prevention device employing filters
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for preventing embolism and microembolism in a vascular system, said system comprising:
- an elongated support element;
a first filter element with millipores carried by said support element and radially expandable from a closed condition to an open condition;
a second filter element surrounding said support element and radially expandable from a closed condition to an open condition; and
means coupled to at least one of said filter elements for moving said at least one said filter elements between its respective closed and open conditions independently of movements of the other one of said filter elements between its respective closed and open conditions, wherein each of said filter elements has a filter surface structured to prevent passage of particles and permit passage of blood.
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Abstract
A method and system for preventing embolism and optimizing flow to downstream organs in a blood flow circuit incident to performance of a treatment at a location in a blood vessel, by: introducing a first filter element into the blood vessel downstream of the location so that the first filter element obturates the blood vessel; performing the treatment; introducing a second filter element into the blood vessel upstream of the location so that the second filter element obturates the blood vessel; and, after the step of performing a treatment, bringing the first and second filter elements close to one another, radially collapsing the first and second filter elements and withdrawing the first and second filter elements from the blood vessel.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for preventing embolism and microembolism in a vascular system, said system comprising:
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an elongated support element;
a first filter element with millipores carried by said support element and radially expandable from a closed condition to an open condition;
a second filter element surrounding said support element and radially expandable from a closed condition to an open condition; and
means coupled to at least one of said filter elements for moving said at least one said filter elements between its respective closed and open conditions independently of movements of the other one of said filter elements between its respective closed and open conditions, wherein each of said filter elements has a filter surface structured to prevent passage of particles and permit passage of blood. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 23)
an armature of a resiliently deformable material; and
a sheet of filter material secured to said armature and providing said filter surface.
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4. The system of claim 3 wherein said at least one of said filter elements has a generally conical or trumpet shape form with a vertex, said vertex being located adjacent said support element.
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9. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said filter elements comprises a basket of a resiliently deformable material having pores dimensioned to prevent passage of particles and permit passage of blood.
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10. The system of claim 1 wherein:
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said device is adapted to be inserted into a blood vessel of a patient;
said elongated support element has a distal end adapted to be inserted into the blood vessel and a proximal end adapted to be located outside the patient when said device is in use;
said first filter element is located in proximity to said distal end of said elongated support element; and
said second filter element is disposed at a location proximal to said first filter element and is movable relative to said support element.
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11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a displacement member secured to said second filter element for displacing said second filter element relative to said support element.
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12. The system of claim 11 further comprising a sheath surrounding said support element, wherein at least one of said filter elements is movable into said sheath in order to radially contract said at least one of said filter elements into the closed condition.
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23. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for monitoring blood pressure in the vascular system.
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5. A system for preventing embolism and microembolism in a vascular system, said system comprising:
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an elongated support element;
a first filter element with millipores carried by said support element and radially expandable from a closed condition to an open condition; and
a second filter element surrounding said support element and radially expandable from a closed condition to an open condition, wherein;
each of said filter elements has a filter surface structured to prevent passage of particles and permit passage of blood;
each of said filter elements has an outer edge concentric with said support element;
at least one of said filter elements comprises;
an armature of a resiliently deformable material; and
a sheet of filter material secured to said armature and providing said filter surface; and
the material of said armature is an expandable memory metal and said armature is shaped to be in an unstressed state when said one of said filter elements is in the open condition. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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13. A method for preventing embolism and microembolism in a blood flow circuit incident to performance of a treatment at a location in a blood vessel, said method comprising:
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introducing a first filter element into the blood vessel downstream of the location so that the first filter element obturates the blood vessel;
performing the treatment;
introducing a second filter element into the blood vessel upstream of the location so that the second filter element obturates the blood vessel; and
after the step of performing a treatment, bringing the first and second filter elements close to one another, radially collapsing the first and second filter elements and withdrawing the first and second filter elements from the blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method for performing angioplasty comprising:
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aligning a first balloon with an obstruction in a blood vessel, the first balloon being radially outwardly expandable;
interposing a second balloon between the first balloon and the obstruction, the second balloon being annular and radially outwardly expandable;
expanding the first balloon to support the second balloon; and
expanding the second balloon to dilate the obstruction. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
before said expanding steps, aligning a stent with the obstruction; and
wherein said step of expanding the second balloon is carried out to fully expand the stent.
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17. The method of claim 16 wherein said step of aligning the stent includes conveying the stent to the vicinity of the obstruction while the stent is initially retained by the second balloon within the region enclosed by the second balloon, and then advancing the stent away from the region enclosed by the second balloon and into alignment with the obstruction.
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18. The method of claim 16 further comprising trapping, at a location downstream of the obstruction, debris produced during dilation of the obstruction, and removing the debris from the blood vessel.
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19. The method of claim 18 wherein said step of removing is carried out by applying suction upstream of the trapping location.
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20. A system for performing angioplasty comprising:
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a first balloon movable into alignment with an obstruction in a blood vessel, the first balloon being radially outwardly expandable;
a second balloon movable into a position where the second balloon is interposed between said first balloon and the obstruction, said second balloon being annular and radially outwardly expandable;
means coupled to said first balloon for expanding said first balloon to support the second balloon; and
means coupled to said second balloon for expanding said second balloon to dilate the obstruction. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A filter element for use in a blood vessel during angioplasty, said element being made of a flexible, radially compressible, radially expandable material, said element being formed to have a conical configuration when radially expanded and being composed of a plurality of circumferential, curved strips and a plurality of longitudinal struts interconnecting said strips, said strips and struts delimiting filter openings.
Specification