Method for treating and repairing mitral valve annulus

• US 8,328,798 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2007
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ValveCure, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Quantumcor, Inc.
• Inventors: Witzel, Thomas, Hauck, Wallace N, Osth, John A., Tu, Hosheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Peffley, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): FOWLER, DANIEL WAYNE
• Application Number:
  US11/749,005
• Publication Number:
  US 20080091191A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,037 Days
• Field of Search: 606 41- 52
• US Class Current: 606/41
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00214 Expandable means emitting energy, e.g. by elements carried thereon
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00369 Heart valves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00898 Alarms or notifications created in response to an abnormal condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1435 Spiral

Abstract

A catheter system for repairing an annular organ structure of a patient, comprising: intimately contacting the annular organ structure by a tissue-contactor member having energy-delivering elements; and delivering tissue-shrinkable energy at the annular organ structure through the elements, wherein the tissue-shrinkable energy is applied at a distance wirelessly from the elements sufficient to shrink and tighten the organ structure. Tissue-shrinkable energy is infrared energy, ultrasound energy, focused ultrasound energy, ultrasound energy, radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, electromagnetic energy, laser energy, or a combination thereof.

Claims

1. A method for operating a system to tighten and stabilize a target zone of a collagenous tissue within a patient'"'"'s body, comprising the steps of:

providing a device configured to deliver tissue-shrinkable energy to a target zone comprising an annular organ structure of a heart valve within a patient'"'"'s body via a catheter comprising a flexible tissue contactor member comprising energy-delivering elements, wherein said flexible tissue contactor member is configured to compressively confine an inner wall of said annular organ structure between a distal end of said flexible tissue contactor member and a proximal end of said flexible tissue contactor member, and wherein said flexible tissue contactor member is located at a distal tip of said catheter and inside at least one lumen of said catheter extending between said distal tip and a proximal end where said flexible tissue contactor member is deployed out of said at least one lumen;

introducing said catheter through to a site of said annulus;

deploying said flexible tissue-contactor member;

positioning said tissue-contactor member to compressively confine said inner wall of said annulus;

advancing said energy-delivering elements to contact tissue of said annulus; and

,

delivering a tissue-shrinkable energy to said target zone wirelessly, wherein said tissue-shrinkable energy is provided noninvasively from outside a body of the patient, wherein said tissue-shrinkable energy is sufficient to shrink and tighten said annular organ structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said annular organ structure is selected from a group consisting of a mitral valve, a tricuspid valve, a pulmonary valve, an aortic valve, and a venous valve.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said annular organ structure is a sphincter annulus or a valvular annulus.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said tissue-shrinkable energy is selected from a group consisting of, radiofrequency energy, and microwave energy, and any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said tissue-shrinkable energy is ultrasound energy.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible tissue-contactor member comprises a means for releasably anchoring onto the annulus of said target zone.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said distal end of said flexible tissue contactor member and said proximal end of said flexible tissue contactor member are radially enlarged.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible tissue contactor member comprises an inflatable balloon comprising a radially enlarged proximal region, a middle region, and a radially enlarged distal region, said method further comprising the step of:

providing a liquid in fluid communication with said flexible tissue contactor member to inflate said flexible tissue contactor member.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible tissue contactor member comprises a hyperbolic shape with a neck region adapted for positioning said neck region at about said inner wall of said annular organ structure, wherein said plurality of energy-delivering elements are positioned about said neck region, said method further comprising the step of:

positioning said neck region at about said inner wall of said annular organ structure.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible tissue contactor member comprises a portion on a Y axis and a C-shaped end unit in an X-Z plane approximately perpendicular to said Y axis, wherein said plurality of energy-delivering elements are located on an outer tissue-contacting surface of said C-shaped end-unit, wherein a segment between at least two of said plurality of energy-delivering elements comprises elastic biomaterial with longitudinal expandability, said method further comprising the step of:

positioning said elastic biomaterial to expand and contract along said annular organ structure in synch with a natural movement of said annular organ structure.

11. A method for operating a system to tighten and stabilize a target zone of a collagenous tissue within a patient'"'"'s body, comprising the steps of:

providing a device configured to deliver tissue-shrinkable energy to a target zone comprising an annular organ structure of a heart valve within a patient'"'"'s body via a flexible tissue contactor member comprising energy-delivering elements, wherein said flexible tissue contactor member is configured to compressively confine an inner wall of said annular organ structure between a distal end of said flexible tissue contactor member and a proximal end of said flexible tissue contactor member;

introducing said catheter through to a site of said annulus;

deploying said flexible tissue-contactor member;

positioning said tissue-contactor member to compressively confine said inner wall of said annulus;

advancing said energy-delivering elements to contact tissue of said annulus;

delivering a heat-shapeable biomaterial at said target zone; and

delivering a tissue-shrinkable energy to said target zone wirelessly through said energy-delivering elements located outside said patient'"'"'s body, wherein said tissue-shrinkable energy is provided noninvasively from outside a body of the patient, wherein said tissue-shrinkable energy is sufficient to shrink and tighten said annular organ structure.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of:

immobilizing said heat-shapeable biomaterial at about said target zone.