Fracturing calcifications in heart valves
First Claim
1. A device for fracturing calcifications in heart valves comprising:
- an impactor catheter configured for percutaneous delivery to a heart valve;
an impact-producing element disposed at a distal portion of said catheter and operative to vibrate and create a mechanical impact when deployed out of an external housing of said catheter and brought into contact with a calcification at a leaflet of said heart valve;
an energy source operative to vibrate said vibrating impact-producing element so that said impact-producing element fractures the calcification without necessarily removing the calcification from the leaflet; and
an anvil against which the calcification is struck by said impact-producing element, wherein said energy source is located at a proximal portion of said catheter.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A device for fracturing calcifications in heart valves including a catheter (12, 22, 42) configured for percutaneous delivery to a heart valve, an fracture-producing element (14, 26, 46, 64, 66,82, 124, 152) disposed at a distal portion of the catheter and operative to vibrate and mechanically fracture calcifications when brought into contact with a calcification at a leaflet of the heart valve, and an energy source (34, 47, 79, 98, 152) operative to vibrate the fracture-producing element so that the fracture-producing element fractures the calcification without necessarily removing the calcification from the leaflet. The device may further comprise a valvuloplasty balloon (30), an embolic protection net (56) and a protective sleeve (110, 130).
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A device for fracturing calcifications in heart valves comprising:
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an impactor catheter configured for percutaneous delivery to a heart valve; an impact-producing element disposed at a distal portion of said catheter and operative to vibrate and create a mechanical impact when deployed out of an external housing of said catheter and brought into contact with a calcification at a leaflet of said heart valve; an energy source operative to vibrate said vibrating impact-producing element so that said impact-producing element fractures the calcification without necessarily removing the calcification from the leaflet; and an anvil against which the calcification is struck by said impact-producing element, wherein said energy source is located at a proximal portion of said catheter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A device for fracturing calcifications in heart valves comprising:
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an impactor catheter configured for percutaneous delivery to a heart valve; an impact-producing element disposed at a distal portion of said catheter and operative to vibrate and create a mechanical impact when deployed out of an external housing of said catheter and brought into contact with a calcification at a leaflet of said heart valve; an energy source operative to vibrate said vibrating impact-producing element so that said impact-producing element fractures the calcification without necessarily removing the calcification from the leaflet; and an anvil against which the calcification is struck by said impact-producing element, wherein said energy source is located at a distal portion of said catheter.
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19. A device for fracturing calcifications in heart valves comprising:
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an impactor catheter configured for percutaneous delivery to a heart valve; an impact-producing element disposed at a distal portion of said catheter and operative to vibrate and create a mechanical impact when deployed out of an external housing of said catheter and brought into contact with a calcification at a leaflet of said heart valve; and an energy source operative to vibrate said vibrating impact-producing element so that said impact-producing element fractures the calcification without necessarily removing the calcification from the leaflet, wherein said impact-producing element comprises one or more impact-producing arcuate arms that extend from a distal end thereof, said arcuate arms being flexible enough to be deliverable in a retracted state within said external housing, and then upon reaching the valve, said arcuate arms are expandable into the valve.
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Specification