Expandable body cavity liner device

Abstract

The present invention is an aneurysm treatment device for treating aneurysms of various shapes and sizes.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION DATA[0001]This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 107,689, filed Mar. 27, 2002, the priority of which is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120, and the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, as though set forth in full.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention deals with a system for treating a vascular cavity. More specifically, the present invention is directed to vascular cavity liners and vascular cavity neck bridges.[0003]While the present discussion proceeds with respect to aneurysms, it will be appreciated that it can be applied to other vascular cavities (such as vessels, lumens, etc.) as well. An aneurysm or vascular malformation is a localized stretching or distension of an artery due to a weakening of the vessel wall. For example, “berry” aneurysms, i.e., small spherical distensions, occur in the vessels of the brain. The distension—often referred to as the aneurysm sac—is...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

At present, the treatment of aneurysms with drugs is substantially ineffective.

For example, there is a risk of overfilling the sac and consequent embolic agent migration into the parent vessel.

Overfilling of the sac also generates additional pressure in the aneurysm.

Deploying the balloon within the aneurysm can be rather difficult due to the high rates of blood flow through the aneurysm.

Elastic balloons have exhibited problems with respect to performance and have not been used endovascularly in some time.

This aneurysm filling technique also has its problems.

As the balloon is filled, the operator must be very careful not to overfill the balloon due to possible risk of rupturing the aneurysm.

Accordingly, the balloon may be too small, potentially resulting in the release of the balloon from the aneurysm into the blood stream.

Furthermore, the balloon often does not mold or shape to the odd-shaped contours of the aneurysm leaving room for blood to continue flowing through the aneurysm, or generating undesired pressure on the aneurysm wall.

For example, while the aneurysm liner concept is intuitively attractive, it has posed a number of technical challenges.

One primary challenge involves the difficulty in producing a material that is robust enough to contain embolic material without inhibiting the ability of the embolics to conform to the aneurysm geometry itself, rather than the geometry of the liner.

For example, the elastic materials discussed above generally require to much force to deform, and inelastic materials that deform readily do not have adequate memory to conform to the aneurysmal wall.

Different types of aneurysms also present different challenges.

For example, aneurysms which have a particularly wide opening between the aneurysm sac and the parent vessel (“wide neck aneurysms”) present difficulties concerning the retention of embolic materials.

Specifically, wide neck aneurysms make if very difficult to maintain the embolics, or occlusive materials, within the aneurysmal sac.

Of course, should the embolic material enter the parent vessel, it poses an undesirable risk of occlusion in the parent vessel.

Some current aneurysm liner concepts are inadequate in treating larger aneurysms.

However, these mesh materials are difficult to use in treating aneurysms larger than, for example, twelve millimeters in diameter.

Such mesh materials result in an assembly which is too bulky when collapsed down onto the catheter for delivery.

In other words, the amount of materials required to fill a relatively large aneurysm is very difficult to collapse down into a constrained, low profile, delivery configuration small enough to be delivered and deployed without excess friction on the walls of the delivery catheter or other delivery lumen.

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