Apparatus for treating a heart valve, in particular a mitral valve
First Claim
1. Apparatus for treating a heart valve, comprising:
- at least two anchoring elements configured to be anchored in at least one of an annulus of a valve to be treated and a heart wall next to the annulus in such a way that the at least two anchoring elements are spaced apart from each other, the anchoring elements each having a support surface; and
at least one linking element comprising a central branch having two ends and two side branches respectively extending downward from said two ends, wherein the side branches are longer than the central branch, and wherein the linking element has at least one receptacle directly adjacent to one end of the central branch and also directly adjacent to a corresponding side branch, the receptacle being configured to receive and retain a respective support surface when the linking element is in an interconnection position;
one of the side branches having a first portion configured to selectively engage the support surface of one of the at least two anchoring elements at the interconnection position and having an end configured to contact tissue at the interconnection position, and the other side branch having a first portion configured to selectively engage the support surface of the other of the at least two anchoring elements at the interconnection position and having an end configured to contact tissue at the interconnection position.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for treating a heart valve apparatus includes at least two anchoring elements designed to be anchored at the annulus and/or heart wall of the valve to be treated. Each anchoring element has a support surface. At least one linking element includes a central branch and two curved side branches, one of which is designed to be engaged on the support surface of an anchoring element, while the other is designed to be engaged on the support surface of another anchoring element, the linking element then being designed to be pivoted to a position such that the anchoring elements interconnect and in which the ends of the central branch are located in the vicinity of the support surfaces.
158 Citations
30 Claims
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1. Apparatus for treating a heart valve, comprising:
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at least two anchoring elements configured to be anchored in at least one of an annulus of a valve to be treated and a heart wall next to the annulus in such a way that the at least two anchoring elements are spaced apart from each other, the anchoring elements each having a support surface; and at least one linking element comprising a central branch having two ends and two side branches respectively extending downward from said two ends, wherein the side branches are longer than the central branch, and wherein the linking element has at least one receptacle directly adjacent to one end of the central branch and also directly adjacent to a corresponding side branch, the receptacle being configured to receive and retain a respective support surface when the linking element is in an interconnection position; one of the side branches having a first portion configured to selectively engage the support surface of one of the at least two anchoring elements at the interconnection position and having an end configured to contact tissue at the interconnection position, and the other side branch having a first portion configured to selectively engage the support surface of the other of the at least two anchoring elements at the interconnection position and having an end configured to contact tissue at the interconnection position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. Apparatus for treating a heart valve, comprising:
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first and second anchoring elements each having an anchoring part configured to be inserted into tissue, and having an extending part configured to extend from tissue, wherein the anchoring part comprises a plurality of helical turns, and wherein the extending part comprises a plurality of helical turns including a turn at an axial end of the respective anchoring element that is spaced apart from the other turns of the extending part, the turn at the axial end having a support surface; and a linking element configured to selectively engage the turns at the axial ends of the first and second anchoring elements such that engagement between the linking element and the turns at the axial ends brings the two anchoring elements closer together, wherein the linking element further comprises two intermediate portions, one intermediate portion being directly adjacent to a central branch and also directly adjacent to a first side branch, and the other intermediate portion being directly adjacent to the central branch and also directly adjacent to a second side branch, wherein the side branches are longer than the central branch, and wherein each intermediate portion forms a receptacle configured to receive the respective turns at the axial end of the first and second anchoring elements. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification