ANCHOR HAVING FILL PORT FOR USE WITH AN IMPLANTABLE THERAPY DELIVERY ELEMENT

• US 20100174240A1
• Filed: 01/06/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Wells, Patrick D., Baudino, Michael D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,192,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/175
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0558 Anchoring or fixation means therefor

Abstract

An anchor for securing a therapy delivery element in a desired location within a living body is disclosed. The anchor includes an anchor body having a space, which may be a main channel, to receive the therapy delivery element. A fill port is provided in the anchor body to introduce an adhesive into the space when the therapy delivery element is positioned within the space. In one embodiment, the fill port is coupled to a fill port extension that transfers the adhesive from a dispenser located a distance from the fill port into the space. Multiple fill ports, any of which may be coupled to a respective fill port extension, may be provided to introduce the adhesive at various locations of the space. One or more of the fill ports may extend into multiple side channels to introduce the adhesive at various locations of the space.

Claims

1. An anchor for securing a therapy delivery element in a desired location within a living body, comprising:

an anchor body having a space to receive the therapy delivery element; and

a fill port provided in the anchor body to introduce an adhesive into the space when the therapy delivery element is positioned within the space.

2. The anchor of claim 1, further comprising a fill port extension having a first end coupled to the fill port, a second end to receive the adhesive, and an intermediate portion to transfer the adhesive to the fill port, whereby the second end may be located a distance from the fill port when the adhesive is dispensed.

3. The anchor of claim 2, wherein the fill port extension includes a connector to receive a dispenser containing the adhesive.

4. The anchor of claim 2, wherein the anchor body includes one or more channels, and wherein the adhesive is pre-loaded into at least one of the fill port extension and the one or more channels.

5. The anchor of claim 1, further comprising multiple channels between the fill port and the space to introduce the adhesive into the space.

6. The anchor of claim 1, wherein the fill port is threaded to engage complementary threads of a dispenser containing the adhesive.

7. The anchor of claim 1, further including multiple fill ports in the anchor body, each to introduce the adhesive into the space.

8. The anchor of claim 7, further including a respective fill port extension coupled to each of the multiple fill ports.

9. The anchor of claim 7, wherein the space comprises a main channel that includes first and second ends and wherein a first of the multiple fill ports is located proximate to the first end and a second of the multiple fill ports is located proximate to the second end.

10. The anchor of claim 7, wherein the space comprises a main channel and a first of the multiple fill ports is on one side of the main channel and a second of the multiple fill ports is on an opposite side of the main channel.

11. The anchor of claim 1, further comprising at least one element to couple the anchor to the living body.

12. The anchor of claim 1, wherein the space includes an enlarged portion to receive the adhesive when the therapy delivery element is located within the space.

13. The anchor of claim 1, wherein the anchor body includes at least one of an RFID tag and a radio-opaque marker.

14. A method for securing a therapy delivery element within a living body, comprising:

providing an anchor adapted to receive the therapy delivery element;

positioning the anchor relative to the therapy delivery element;

providing the anchor with at least one fill port to transfer adhesive into a space between the anchor and the therapy delivery element; and

introducing the adhesive into the space via the at least one fill port so that the adhesive affixes the anchor to the therapy delivery element.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

coupling a dispenser containing the adhesive to the at least one fill port; and

transferring the adhesive from the dispenser to the space via the at least one fill port.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the space comprises a channel, and wherein introducing the adhesive comprises introducing the adhesive along a least a portion of a length of the channel.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein introducing the adhesive comprises introducing the adhesive to multiple points along the channel.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing multiple channels extending from one or more of the at least one fill port to the space; and

introducing the adhesive into the space via the multiple channels.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the space comprises a main channel, and further comprising introducing the adhesive at opposite ends of the main channel via respective ones of the multiple channels.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing a fill port extension that is connected to the fill port; and

introducing the adhesive into the space via the fill port extension from a dispenser located at a distance from the fill port.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein introducing the adhesive includes pre-loading at least one of the anchor and the fill port extension with adhesive.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein providing the anchor includes providing a retention member, forming the anchor around the retention member, and pre-loading the adhesive into the anchor outside of the space before the anchor is positioned relative to the therapy delivery element, and wherein introducing the adhesive includes removing the anchor from the retention member after the anchor is in position relative to the therapy delivery element.

23. A system to deliver therapy to a living body, comprising:

a therapy delivery device;

a therapy delivery element extending from the therapy delivery device to deliver therapy to the living body;

an anchor to receive the therapy delivery element;

a fill port extending from a surface of the anchor to a location where the anchor contacts the therapy delivery element, the fill port to transfer adhesive to the location to affix the anchor to the therapy delivery element after the anchor has been situated in a selected position relative to the therapy delivery element.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the location comprises a channel, and wherein the fill port transfers adhesive along at least a portion of a length of the channel.

25. The system of claim 23, further including a fill port extension providing a conduit to transfer the adhesive to the fill port from a dispenser that is located at a distance from the fill port.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the fill port extension is removably coupled to the fill port.