Methods and apparatuses for deploying minimally-invasive heart valves
First Claim
1. A method of deploying a prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
- advancing a catheter shaft into a patient'"'"'s body, the catheter shaft having a deployment mechanism and a prosthetic heart valve disposed along a distal end portion thereof, the prosthetic heart valve comprising an expandable stent body made from a nickel-titanium alloy and a plurality of leaflet-forming membranes made from pericardium, the prosthetic heart valve releasably coupled to the deployment mechanism, the prosthetic heart valve positioned within an outer tube during advancement into the patient'"'"'s body, the deployment mechanism comprising an actuation shaft and a plurality of retaining bars for retaining the stent body relative to the catheter shaft, wherein the actuation shaft is movable relative to the retaining bars for applying expansion and contraction forces to the stent body;
advancing the catheter shaft relative to the outer tube for expelling the prosthetic heart valve from the outer tube;
expanding the prosthetic heart valve from a fully contracted configuration to an initial expanded configuration and into contact with surrounding tissue at an implantation site in the patient'"'"'s body;
contracting the prosthetic heart valve from the initial expanded configuration to a partially contracted configuration by moving the actuation shaft relative to the retaining bars for applying a contraction force to the stent body while the prosthetic heart valve remains expelled from the outer tube;
modifying a position of the prosthetic heart valve relative to the implantation site; and
expanding the prosthetic heart valve from the partially contracted configuration to a fully expanded configuration by moving the actuation shaft relative to the retaining bars for applying an expansion force to the stent body, the stent body having an outer diameter in the fully expanded configuration that is greater than an outer diameter in the initial expanded configuration;
wherein proximal and distal end portions of the stent body remain rotationally fixed relative to the catheter shaft while expanding and contracting the prosthetic heart valve.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for delivering and deploying a self-expandable heart valve to a site of implantation such as the aortic annulus includes a deployment mechanism that engages the valve and regulates the rate of expansion of both the proximal and distal ends thereof. The heart valve may be a rolled-type valve and the deployment mechanism may include a plurality of distal fingers and a plurality of proximal fingers that engage the outer layer of the heart valve. Controlled radial movement of the fingers regulates the unwinding of the rolled heart valve. The deployment mechanism may include an umbrella structure that forces the rolled valve outward into its fully expanded configuration. Alternatively, a gear shaft that engages one or more gear tracks on the valve may be utilized to regulate expansion of the valve.
220 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of deploying a prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
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advancing a catheter shaft into a patient'"'"'s body, the catheter shaft having a deployment mechanism and a prosthetic heart valve disposed along a distal end portion thereof, the prosthetic heart valve comprising an expandable stent body made from a nickel-titanium alloy and a plurality of leaflet-forming membranes made from pericardium, the prosthetic heart valve releasably coupled to the deployment mechanism, the prosthetic heart valve positioned within an outer tube during advancement into the patient'"'"'s body, the deployment mechanism comprising an actuation shaft and a plurality of retaining bars for retaining the stent body relative to the catheter shaft, wherein the actuation shaft is movable relative to the retaining bars for applying expansion and contraction forces to the stent body; advancing the catheter shaft relative to the outer tube for expelling the prosthetic heart valve from the outer tube; expanding the prosthetic heart valve from a fully contracted configuration to an initial expanded configuration and into contact with surrounding tissue at an implantation site in the patient'"'"'s body; contracting the prosthetic heart valve from the initial expanded configuration to a partially contracted configuration by moving the actuation shaft relative to the retaining bars for applying a contraction force to the stent body while the prosthetic heart valve remains expelled from the outer tube; modifying a position of the prosthetic heart valve relative to the implantation site; and expanding the prosthetic heart valve from the partially contracted configuration to a fully expanded configuration by moving the actuation shaft relative to the retaining bars for applying an expansion force to the stent body, the stent body having an outer diameter in the fully expanded configuration that is greater than an outer diameter in the initial expanded configuration; wherein proximal and distal end portions of the stent body remain rotationally fixed relative to the catheter shaft while expanding and contracting the prosthetic heart valve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of deploying a prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
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introducing a prosthetic heart valve and a deployment mechanism into a patient'"'"'s vasculature, the prosthetic heart valve comprising an expandable stent body made from a nickel-titanium alloy and a plurality of leaflet-forming membranes made from pericardium, the prosthetic heart valve being releasably coupled to a deployment mechanism, and the deployment mechanism being coupled to a distal end portion of a catheter shaft, the deployment mechanism including a plurality of retaining bars for maintaining at least a portion of the stent body rotationally fixed relative to the catheter shaft; percutaneously advancing the distal end portion of the catheter shaft, along with the prosthetic heart valve and the deployment mechanism, through the patient'"'"'s vasculature, the prosthetic heart valve positioned within an outer tube during advancement for maintaining the prosthetic heart valve in a contracted configuration; positioning the prosthetic heart valve at a first position at an implantation site; expelling the prosthetic heart valve from the outer tube such that the entire prosthetic heart valve is positioned distal to a distal end of the outer tube; expanding the prosthetic heart valve from the contracted configuration at least to an initial expanded configuration such that the prosthetic heart valve contacts surrounding tissue at the first position; contracting the prosthetic heart valve from the initial expanded configuration to a partially contracted configuration via actuation of the deployment mechanism, wherein the contraction occurs while the prosthetic heart valve remains positioned distal to the distal end of the outer tube; repositioning the prosthetic heart valve by moving the prosthetic heart valve from the first position within the patient'"'"'s body to a second position at the implantation site while the prosthetic heart valve is in the partially contracted configuration; and expanding the prosthetic heart valve from the partially contracted configuration to a fully expanded configuration greater than the initial expanded configuration such that the prosthetic heart valve contacts surrounding tissue at the second position; wherein proximal and distal end portions of the stent body are rotationally fixed relative to the catheter shaft while expanding and contracting the prosthetic heart valve. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of deploying a prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
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percutaneously advancing a distal end portion of a catheter shaft, a prosthetic heart valve, and a deployment mechanism through a patient'"'"'s vasculature, the deployment mechanism being coupled to the distal end portion of the catheter shaft, and the prosthetic heart valve being releasably coupled to the deployment mechanism via a plurality of metallic retaining components, the prosthetic heart valve positioned within an outer tube during advancement for maintaining the prosthetic heart valve in a contracted configuration; positioning the prosthetic heart valve at an implantation site; expelling the prosthetic heart valve from the outer tube; while the prosthetic heart valve is distal to the outer tube, controllably expanding the prosthetic heart valve to an expanded configuration by actuating the deployment mechanism; contracting the prosthetic heart valve from the expanded configuration to a fully contracted configuration by actuating the deployment mechanism; and retrieving the prosthetic heart valve from the patient'"'"'s body while the prosthetic heart valve is in the fully contracted configuration; wherein proximal and distal end portions of the prosthetic heart valve are rotationally fixed relative to the catheter shaft while expanding and contracting the prosthetic heart valve. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification