Blood Vessel Occluder And Method Of Use

• US 20080183203A1
• Filed: 01/24/2008
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trinity Health
• Original Assignee: Trinity Health
• Inventors: Hall, John D., Ashbrook, Michael P., Jonkman, Kenneth R., Fitzgerald, Timothy L., Knowlton, Christopher C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,057,503 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/194
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12022 Occluding by internal devices, e.g. balloons or releasable wires plugging an opening in the wall of an organ A61B17/0057; occluders for the cervical canal A61F6/146; vas deferens occluders A61F6/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12036 partial occlusion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1204 temporary occlusion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12109 in a blood vessel
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12113 within an aneurysm
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12136 Balloons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12172 having a pre-set deployed three-dimensional shape methods of manufacturing A61B2017/00526
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1205 Introduction devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/823 Stents, different from stent-grafts, adapted to cover an aneurysm
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9528 for retrieval of stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9534 for repositioning of stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0059 temporary

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for occluding tributary blood vessels inside a principal blood vessel while still allowing blood to flow through the principal vessel. The apparatus has a support structure and associated membrane that can be collapsed for insertion into the principal vessel. Once inserted at the desired location the support is allowed to expand, forcing the membrane to contact the inner walls of the vessel with sufficient force to occlude the openings of the tributary vessels.

Claims

1. A vessel occluder, comprising:

a catheter body;

a support structure having an expanded state and a collapsed state;

an expandable, flexible membrane attached to said support structure, said membrane and support structure forming an internal passage in said expanded state;

whereupon said support structure and said membrane in the collapsed state are inserted along with a portion of said catheter body into a principal vessel and are then caused to regain said expanded state such that the membrane occludes tributary vessels while allowing fluid to flow through said internal passage and through said principal vessel.

2. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 1, wherein said principal vessel has an inner diameter across its lumen and wherein said support structure has an expanded state outer diameter, said expanded state outer diameter being slightly larger than said inner diameter of said principal vessel.

3. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 1, wherein said support structure is a plurality of rings which are collapsible.

4. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 1, wherein said support structure is a braided cage.

5. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 4, wherein said catheter body houses a dilator in mating sliding contact.

6. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 5, wherein said dilator extends through said braided cage.

7. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 6, wherein said braided cage has one end fixed to said catheter body and an opposite end fixed to a sliding ring which slips over said dilator.

13. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 1 wherein all surfaces which contact fluid are treated with a coating of an anti-coagulation agent.

14. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 13, wherein said anticoagulation agent is heparin.

8. A vessel occluder, comprising:

a catheter body defining a first internal passage;

a dilator closely received with said internal passage;

a braided cage secured to one end of said catheter body;

said braided cage having an expanded state and a collapsed state;

said braided cage defining a second internal passage;

said dilator extending through said second internal passage;

said braided cage having another end which is secured to a slip ring that closely encircles an insertion end portion of said dilator;

a flexible membrane attached to only a central portion of said braided cage and spaced from said ends of said cage;

said dilator having a raised annular shoulder at said insertion end portion configured to seat against said slip ring;

an actuator knob linked to said dilator;

whereupon, said actuator knob is used to push said dilator through said catheter body such that said annular shoulder engages said slip ring to stretch said braided cage and said membrane to said collapsed state for insertion into a principal vessel and whereupon said actuator knob is used to release said cage to its expanded position in said principal vessel to occlude with said membrane tributary vessels which would otherwise allow fluid to flow into said principal vessel and while still allowing fluid to flow through said braided cage at said ends through said principal vessel.

9. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 8, wherein said principal vessel has an inner diameter across its lumen and wherein said expanded cage has an outer diameter, said outer diameter of said expanded cage being slightly larger than said inner diameter of said principal vessel.

10. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 8, wherein said membrane is attached to said cage only at opposite ends of said membrane.

11. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 10, wherein said membrane is attached to said cage by an adhesive.

12. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 8, wherein said braided cage is made of a plurality of braided nitinol strands that are set in the expanded state.

15. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 8, wherein the outer diameter of said catheter body is substantially smaller than the lumen of said principal vessel.

16. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 8, wherein said catheter and said dilator are formed of flexible plastic.

17. The vessel occluder as recited in claim 8, wherein said braided cage is made of stainless steel.

18. A method of occluding the flow of blood between tributary vessels and a principal vessel, comprising the steps of:

providing a vessel occluder, said vessel occluder having a catheter body,

a support structure having an expanded state and a collapsed state and

an expandable, flexible membrane attached to said support structure, said membrane and support structure forming an internal passage in said expanded state;

inserting said support structure into a principal vessel in said collapsed state;

while in said collapsed state positioning said support structure and said membrane in said principal vessel at a point where it is desired to block the retrograde flow to tributary vessels; and

expanding said support structure to said expanded state, whereby said membrane is biased against the openings of said tributary vessels with sufficient force to occlude blood flow thereto.

19. The method of occluding the flow of blood between tributary vessels and a principal vessel recited in claim 18, wherein said support structure is a braided cage.

20. The method of occluding the flow of blood between tributary vessels and a principal vessel recited in claim 19, wherein said braided cage is formed of nitinol strands.

21. A vessel occluder, comprising:

a catheter body;

an inner tube closely nested within said catheter body;

an inflation line; and

a balloon cuff defining a passage when inflated.

22. A vessel occluder, comprising:

a catheter body defining a first passage;

an expandable membrane forming a second passage, said first and second passages being in flow communication with one another when said membrane is expanded;

means for expanding said expandable membrane with sufficient force to block an opening in a side wall of a vessel; and

means for collapsing said expandable membrane for inserting and removing said collapsed expandable membrane inside a vessel.