Minimally Invasive Heart Valve Deployment

Catheter system for precise, sequential placement of prosthetic heart valves using a delivery catheter that allows controlled step-by-step expansion and release of the valve. The catheter has separate sleeves and a stent holder to retain the valve. It has a manipulator with a protrusion that unlocks and moves sleeves to release the valve in stages. This allows sequential expansion and detachment of the valve after insertion. The catheter also has features like alignment markers and springs to aid positioning and release.

Source

Delivering side-deliverable transcatheter prosthetic heart valves using supports and actuators to facilitate deployment into the native annulus. The delivery system has a control catheter and a removable supra-annular support. The valve is compressed and loaded in a catheter. At the target site, the valve is deployed and the supra-annular support transitions to stabilize the valve during seating in the annulus. This prevents the valve from collapsing or falling into the annulus. The control catheter is then detached. The supra-annular support can be a tether or rigid member. The support can be coupled to the valve at the proximal supra-annular region. The distal supra-annular region is fixed in the expanded valve configuration. This stabilizes the valve during deployment. The support can

Source

A sheath for delivering prosthetic devices like heart valves into the body that expands locally when a device is inserted and then collapses back to its original size afterwards. The sheath has an inner liner made of a spiral-wound sheet that can expand by sliding segments of the sheet past each other. An outer layer is bonded to the sheet. The local expansion allows larger devices to be passed through the sheath without excessive force or damage to blood vessels. The segmented spiral design allows controlled expansion and retraction.

Source

Balloon-expandable prosthetic heart valve that can be used for a variety of purposes, including prosthesis, cardiac, and heart surgery. The valve includes a stent, a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, the cuff and the plurality of leaflets forming a valve assembly, and a delivery device having an inner shaft and an expandable balloon transitionable between a deflated state and an inflated state, the delivery device having a hub with one or more receivers to accept the one or more retention tabs.

Source

A delivery system for implanting heart valves like mitral valves that enables less invasive and more efficient valve replacement procedures compared to traditional open-heart surgery. The system uses a reusable access sheath with interchangeable catheters that can be inserted through a small incision. The catheters carry the valve prosthesis components. A handle seals over the catheter exit to maintain hemostasis. The access sheath can be bent to navigate the heart anatomy. This reduces the number of catheters needed compared to multi-catheter systems. The reusable sheath and handle simplify the procedure compared to single-use catheter sets. The interchangeable catheter design allows customization for different valve sizes.

Source

Delivery system for implanting a prosthetic tricuspid valve to replace a diseased native tricuspid valve. The delivery system allows accessing the right atrium, bending the shaft to angles of up to 125 degrees and 30 degrees, and recapturing the valve after implantation. The system houses the valve in a crimped state in a capsule that engages the deployed valve. This allows evaluating valve function before release. The capsule bends with the valve to maintain contact. The shaft can bend in two planes.

Source

Minimally invasive implantation of prosthetic mitral valves to replace native mitral valves without open heart surgery. The prosthetic valves have compressible frames that can be delivered through catheters into the heart and then expand to capture the native mitral valve leaflets. The frames have ventricular anchors that extend outside the main body and can capture the leaflets. This allows secure fixation of the prosthetic valve without relying solely on radial friction. The compressible frames also reduce mitral regurgitation by reshaping the mitral annulus.

Source

A prosthetic mitral valve delivery system that allows easy and precise positioning and anchoring of the valve in the native anatomy. The delivery system has an outer sheath with a reduced diameter section. The prosthetic valve has an atrial skirt, ventricular skirt, and a tab connected to the ventricular skirt. When the outer sheath retracts, it releases the atrial and ventricular skirts to self-expand. Further retraction releases the tab tip to expand and form a window between the atrial skirt and tab tip. The tab base remains constrained. Additional retraction removes the base constraint, causing the tab tip to close the window. This sequential self-expansion and constraint release allows controlled positioning of the valve components. The system reduces the risk of valve misplacement and improves anchoring compared to collapsible valves that expand all at once.

Source

A folded, double-walled heart valve prosthesis that can be delivered through small catheters for transcatheter valve replacement. The valve has a unique folded design with an outer wall, inner wall, and transition region between them. The folded configuration allows compact delivery, and expanding the outer wall expands the inner wall to deploy the valve. The double-walled structure isolates valve geometry from the outer support. The folded design reduces valve size for delivery, allows separating valve geometry from the support, and provides structural integrity.

Source

Transcatheter valve delivery system that improves the TAVR procedure for a matched prosthetic valve design and has several design features that enable the precise placement and deployment of the prosthetic valve specially designed for the TAVR procedure. The system includes structural features to improve the TAVR procedure for a matched prosthetic valve design, including loading of the valve at the distal end of the catheter by reducing the diameter of the prosthetic valve from an expanded to a collapsed condition, and structure features that promote preferable folding and orientation of the valve leaflets when the prosthetic valve is reduced in diameter from the expanded configuration to the collapsed configuration as the valve is introduced into the distal end of the catheter.

Source

A prosthetic heart valve that can be delivered through less invasive percutaneous techniques by compressing or folding the valve during delivery then transitioning it to an expanded operating configuration once in place. The valve has a stent, leaflets, and a flexible sleeve connecting them. The valve can transform from a delivery configuration with the leaflets outside the stent to an operating configuration with the leaflets inside the stent by pushing the leaflets into the stent as the sleeve inverts. This allows a smaller delivery profile. The valve can be anchored by outward force on the native valve annulus when expanded.

Source

Safe and controlled replacement of heart valves using expandable prosthetic valves that can be precisely delivered and secured in place. The method involves expanding the prosthetic valve inside a support structure positioned on the native valve. This frictionally secures the leaflets between the support and prosthetic valves. The support structure can be delivered separately or as part of the prosthetic valve delivery catheter. The support structure is expandable and can have features like peaks that align with native valve leaflet tips to facilitate securement. This prevents the prosthetic valve from ejecting quickly and allows precise positioning. It also prevents further valve dilatation. The support structure is later disconnected from the delivery catheter once secured.

Source

Prosthetic heart valve with reinforced, variable thickness leaflets that improve durability and reduce delivery profile compared to conventional tissue leaflets. The leaflets have a skeleton reinforcement material to enhance strength and resistance to tearing. The leaflets also have a thickness that decreases from the belly edge to the free edge. This allows the leaflet to better withstand stresses near the belly while reducing collapsed volume for delivery.

Source

Catheter system for delivering prosthetic heart valves to mitral and tricuspid valves using anchoring devices to secure the valves in place. The delivery catheter has sections that bend around the native valve annulus to position the valve near the commissures. The catheter can also adjust height and angle to align with the annulus plane. This allows accurate placement of the anchoring device and valve without pushing the valve into the left atrium. The anchoring device forms a stable docking site for the valve. A sheath catheter system with nested housings is provided to enclose the delivery catheter.

Source

Prosthetic heart valve that can be compressed and expanded for transcatheter delivery. The valve has distal, proximal, and septal subannular anchoring elements to secure it in a native valve annulus. The septal element extends below the annulus to stabilize the valve against rotation. This anchoring configuration allows the valve to be side-loaded into a catheter for delivery instead of fully compressing it radially. It is released from the catheter to expand and anchor in the annulus. The septal element pinning the native leaflet prevents dislodgement.

Source

A transcatheter prosthetic mitral valve and delivery system for minimally invasive treatment of mitral valve insufficiency and stenosis. The prosthetic valve has a collapsible wire frame with a stent part and a mesh part that complement each other. The frame has features for conformation and anchoring. The leaflets are made of natural or synthetic materials that can switch between open and closed positions. The delivery system can access the mitral valve retrograde from the left ventricle or antegrade from the left atrium. The delivery system captures and immobilizes the native valve leaflets during deployment to stabilize the prosthetic valve at the ventricular level. The frame provides optimal apposition, sealing, and stabilization at the annulus and atrial floor.

Source

Heart valve replacement system for minimally invasive transcatheter replacement of diseased mitral valves without open heart surgery. The system uses a multi-stage, multi-lumen delivery catheter to guide and secure a prosthetic mitral valve in place. The delivery catheter has components like a docking sheath, valve chamber sheath, and locking catheter to precisely position the prosthesis. The prosthesis has a collapsible stent with fixation members implanted in the mitral annulus. The delivery catheter expands and releases the prosthesis over the fixation members. This prevents displacement and leakage. The system aims to address challenges like instability, paravalvular leakage, and LVOT occlusion in transcatheter mitral valve replacement.

Source

Delivering a valve prosthesis to replace a diseased native heart valve using a tethered anchor system. The anchor is deployed around the native valve chordae and leaflets. The tether extends through the native valve annulus and out of the heart. A guidewire is advanced through the native valve annulus and the anchor. The valve prosthesis is delivered over the guidewire and expanded inside the anchor and native valve. The tether is then released to allow the prosthetic valve to fully expand and secure in place. The anchor provides initial fixation while the prosthetic valve is deployed. The tether allows the anchor and prosthetic valve to be delivered separately and sequentially.

Source

Catheter system for transvascular implantation of prosthetic heart valves with self-expanding anchoring systems that can be implanted with minimal invasion and reduced risk to the patient. The catheter has a flexible, bendable distal section to navigate through the aorta without damaging the vessel walls. It also has a mechanism to retract the valve into the catheter if it is improperly positioned for repositioning rather than attempting to remove it.

Source

Percutaneously implantable prosthetic heart valves that can be deployed through minimally invasive procedures. The valves use collapsible stents with docking structures that allow percutaneous delivery and expansion in the heart. The stents have flexible wires and posts that can be compressed for delivery on catheters, then expanded and rotated into position. Valves are attached to the stents with features to distribute stress for durability. The delivery systems allow retrieval and repositioning of partially deployed valves.

Source