43 results about "Cardiac wall" patented technology

A sequence of images acquired consecutively in time at fixed time intervals is received, the images comprising image data of at least part of a heart having a heart wall, identifying, in each image, at least part of the heart wall and defining, in each image, at least one vector point on the identified heart wall. The method further comprises determining motion of the vector point over time, based on the sequence and receiving a first reference related to the heart. Based on the tracking of the vector point and the first reference, a motion vector is determined indicating motion of the vector point relative to the reference.

A system is provided for generating and displaying a sequence of three-dimensional (3D) graphics that illustrate motion of the heart over a cardiac cycle. The system generates a start heart wall mesh and an end heart wall mesh that represent a start geometry and an end geometry of a heart wall derived from a start 3D image and an end 3D image. The system then generates one or more an intermediate heart wall 3D meshes based on an intermediate geometry of the heart wall. An intermediate geometry is interpolated based on the start geometry and the end geometry factoring a start time of a start heart wall mesh, an end time of the end heart wall mesh, and an intermediate time for the intermediate heart wall mesh. The system then displays in sequence representations the heart wall 3D meshes to illustrate the motion.

A method for localizing the source of an arrhythmia within a heart wall is disclosed. The method involves accessing an indication of the source location of the arrhythmia within the endocardium. A normal vector is generated that is normal to the endocardium at the source location in the direction of the epicardium layer. An activation vector indicating the direction of electrical force of the heart during an initial stage of depolarization is determined. The depth angle between the normal vector and the activation vector is determined, and the depth of the source location within the heart wall is indicated based on a depth angle.

Valvular implants and blood vessel closure devices herein are configured to be positioned in the heart and to block regurgitant blood flow from the heart into blood vessels supplying blood to the heart. The valvular implants can have a cover, a membrane, a valve, a resilient frame, and / or other features. Some valvular implants can have anchors to be positioned in the blood vessels, such as in pulmonary veins, and can anchor the implant to the heart wall. Various embodiments of covers and / or membranes act as valves contracting and expanding, to alternately permit and block blood flow. The valvular implants can cover one or more blood vessels, such as one, two, three, or four pulmonary veins, and can also be configured and implanted to block an appendage to the heart, such as the left atrial appendage.

An introducer sheath for use in hybrid procedures on the heart includes a shaft having a distal balloon which is inflated inside the heart wall. A proximal collar is slidable along the shaft and locked to anchor the sheath to the wall of the heart. The sheath has markings visible to both the naked eye and under fluoroscopy to aid in judging the depth of insertion.

A cardiovascular analysis application receives patient echocardiograms as video segments and performs an analysis for cardiovascular health based on factors related to an ejection fraction and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy based on the images in the video segment and spatiotemporal features extracted from the images through several heartbeat cycles on the video segments. The models are trained on a corpus of previous echocardiograms including labels indicative of the ejection fraction and physiological markers associated with HCM, such as the cardiac wall thickness and clarity. Based on a correspondence with the model, a result is rendered indicative of whether the patient video segment has an insufficient ejection fraction and whether a presence of HCM is exhibited.

Disclosed are various configurations of electrodes with accompanying extensions and wires configured to be attached at or near the left atrium of a heart to allow the device to be held snug against the endocardium and out of the blood flow for low energy defibrillation of the atria in response to atrial fibrillation or other atrial arrhythmias. The portion of the lead internal to the atrium (e.g., the left atrium) is restrained against the endocardium of the left atrium by way of a restraint mechanism. In one example, the electrode is configured to attach to the atrial septum, with wires containing memory-shaped metal to keep the wires against the heart wall. In yet another example, the electrode is configured to be part of a mitral valve device.

Disclosed are devices, systems, and methods for determining the dipole densities on heart walls. In particular, a triangularization of the heart wall is performed in which the dipole density of each of multiple regions correlate to the potential measured at various located within the associated chamber of the heart. To create a database of dipole densities, mapping information recorded by multiple electrodes located on one or more catheters and anatomical information is used. In addition, skin electrodes may be implemented. Additionally, one or more ultrasound elements are provided, such as on a clamp assembly or integral to a mapping electrode, to produce real time images of device components and surrounding structures.

A cardiac electrode assembly. The inventive electrode assembly includes an active fixation device, such as a helical electrode configured to screw into the myocardium or a vessel wall. The invention also includes an array of two or more reversed tines. The reverse tines bear against the heart wall or vessel wall and inhibit unwanted distal motion of the electrode assembly. Various deployment devices that aid in the installation of the inventive electrode assembly are also described.

A method of estimating a value associated with heart wall tension. The method comprises: using motion data recorded with a sensor in communication with the heart to identify motion in the heart; and estimating a value associated with heart wall tension based on the identified motion in the heart. The motion in the heart that forms the basis of the estimation may be a vibration in the heart wall. A heat monitoring system for carrying out the method of estimating a value associated with heart wall tension comprises a sensor configured to be placed in communication with the heart in order to identify motion in the heart; and a data processing device arranged to receive motion data from the sensor and to then carry out the steps of the method.

The present invention provides a system and method for navigating within the heart and attaching to the heart wall to perform injection of one or more agents into tissue. The system includes an outer catheter, an intermediate catheter slidably disposed within the lumen of the outer catheter, and a needle catheter slidably disposed within the lumen of the intermediate catheter. The intermediate catheter includes a vacuum hood attached to the distal end of the intermediate catheter so that the radiopaque distal tip of the intermediate catheter extends into the vacuum hood. The vacuum hood includes at least two radiopaque features, and the spatial relationship of the radiopaque features is visually changed under fluoroscopy when the vacuum hood is under a sealed vacuum.

A system may display a graphic of a heart that provides an indication of a target zone and an avoidance zone for implantation of the lead. The system may identify a location of the lead based on the location electrocardiogram, display on the graphic an indication of identified location; and determine whether the identified location is at an appropriate implantation site based on the location electrocardiogram. The system may, when the identified location is an appropriate implantation site, output an indication that the lead is at an appropriate implantation site. The system may, for each of one or more of tunneling electrocardiograms, determine whether the lead is at an effective position within the heart wall based on the tunneling electrocardiogram; and when the lead is at an effective position, output an indication that the lead is at an effective position.

An anchor assembly is configured to implant a cardiac anchor into a heart wall of a patient to anchor a suture configured to extend from a valve leaflet of the heart as an artificial chordae. The anchor assembly can include an anchor hub defining an open interior and a helical coil extending distally from the anchor hub and having a sharpened tip configured to embed the helical coil into the heart wall upon rotation of the helical coil. A spring can be disposed within the open interior of the anchor hub. Compressing the spring distally can create an open space within the open interior of the anchor hub for a suture extending through the anchor hub to slide freely and releasing compression on the spring can cause the spring to expand in a proximal direction to clamp the suture within the open interior of the anchor hub.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of medical devices for delivering artificial chordae tendineae in a patient. A system for adjusting tension in an artificial chordae tendineae includes an artificial chordae tendineae coupleable between a clip and an anchor. The clip is engageable with a leaflet of a heart valve while the anchor is engageable with a papillary muscle or heart wall. The anchor includes a body portion, and a locking portion coupleable with the artificial chordae tendineae and configured to allow movement of the artificial chordae tendineae in a first direction while preventing movement of the artificial chordae tendineae in a second direction opposite the first direction. An actuator is coupled to the locking portion for selectively releasing the locking portion to enable selective movement of the artificial chordae tendineae in the second direction.

The valve implant and vascular closure device of this article are configured to be positioned in the heart and block the blood of backflow from the heart into the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. The valve implant may have a cover, a film, a valve, an elastic frame and / or other features. Some valve implants may have anchors positioned in blood vessels, such as in the pulmonary veins, and the implant may be anchored to the heart wall. Various embodiments of the cover and / or film act as valves that contract and expand to alternately allow and block blood flow. The valve implant may cover one or more blood vessels, such as one, two, three or four pulmonary veins, and may also be configured and implanted to block the appendages of the heart, such as the left atrial appendage.

Ablation device including a probe structure 10 having a proximal end 12 and a distal end 14. Probe structure 10includes a tubular first catheter 16, a tubular second catheter 18 surrounding the first catheter and a tubular guide catheter extending within the first catheter 16. The first catheter 16 carries a cylindrical ultrasonic transducer 20 adjacent its distal end. The transducer 20 is connected to a source of electrical excitation. The ultrasonic waves emitted by the transducer 20 are directed at the heart wall tissue. Once the tissue reaches the target temperature, the electrical excitation is turned on and off to maintain the tissue at the largest temperature. Alternatively, the transducer 20 is subjected to continuous excitation at one power level and upon the tissue reaching the target temperature, the power level of the continuous excitation is switched to a second lower power level.

The present invention relates to a direct puncture adjustable mitral valve repair device, belonging to the technical field of medical devices. It comprises an atrial septum anchoring device 1, a coronary sinus great cardiac vein or heart wall anchoring device 2 and a stretching line; a stretching line is arranged between the atrial septum anchoring device 1 and the coronary sinus great cardiac vein or heart wall anchoring device 2; the atrial septum anchoring device 1 is provided with a structure for adjusting the position of the stretching line. The present invention overcomes the defects of the prior art, and the position and angle of the stretching line are adjusted during the implantation of the device to obtain the best shortened anterior-posterior diameter of the heart, thereby improving mitral valve regurgitation. A one-way locking anchor is attached to the stretching line that tightens the atrium to prevent the stretching line from loosening and falling off, and plays the role of locking after stretching and shortening the anterior-posterior diameter of the atrium; the fixed end of the coronary sinus great cardiac vein or heart wall anchoring device adopts a barbed anchor or a spring anchor to prevent damage to the atrial wall or blood vessels, increase the contact area with the tissue, enhance stability, and promote tissue endothelialization.

A method for localizing the source of an arrhythmia within a heart wall is disclosed. The method involves accessing an indication of the source location of the arrhythmia within the endocardium. A normal vector is generated that is normal to the endocardium at the source location in the direction of the epicardium layer. An activation vector indicating the direction of electrical force of the heart during an initial stage of depolarization is determined. The depth angle between the normal vector and the activation vector is determined, and the depth of the source location within the heart wall is indicated based on a depth angle.

An apparatus for at least partially restoring regurgitation in a heart valve includes at least one subvalvular device including a subvalvular portion defining a longitudinal axis and positioned proximate a subvalvular heart wall adjacent a heart valve. An anchor portion is adjacent to and longitudinally spaced from the subvalvular portion. A connector neck is longitudinally inserted between and attached to the subvalvular portion and the anchor portion. The connector neck longitudinally penetrates a base of the first valve leaflet and at least one of the annulus of the heart valve at a created puncture site. A fastener is selectively connected to the at least one subvalvular device. The fastener penetrates at least one of the first valve leaflet and the second valve leaflet to hold the at least one leaflet in place relative to the at least one subvalvular device.

The application provides a heart wall thickness monitoring device, which comprises a medical catheter in direct contact with a heart wall, an impedance measuring instrument and a computing processing device storing a calibration matrix, wherein the medical catheter is used for generating an electric signal and measuring a contact pressure value of the medical catheter in direct contact with the heart wall; the impedance measuring instrument is electrically connected with the medical catheter and is used for converting the electric signal into an impedance value; the computing processing device is electrically connected with the medical catheter and the impedance measuring instrument, receives the contact pressure value and the impedance value, and finds a data group closest to the contact pressure value and the impedance value in the calibration matrix, and the heart wall thickness in the data group is the monitored heart wall thickness. The application realizes the problem of low-cost real-time monitoring of the tissue thickness of a target ablation site in an ablation operation process, and based on the real-time monitored tissue thickness, the ablation energy and the ablation duration of the medical catheter in the ablation process can be determined, so that the operation safety and the ablation treatment effect are improved.

Described here are wireless monitoring devices, systems, and methods for estimating one or more physiological parameters of a patient. These devices and systems may measure or receive a signal waveform transmitted through one or more of fluid and a physiological structure of a patient. This measured signal waveform may be processed to generate waveform parameter data used to estimate a physiological parameter such as blood velocity, heart wall thickness, and the like.

Ablation device including a probe structure 10 having a proximal end 12 and a distal end 14. Probe structure 10 includes a tubular first catheter 16, a tubular second catheter 18 surrounding the first catheter and a tubular guide catheter extending within the first catheter 16. The first catheter 16 carries a cylindrical ultrasonic transducer 20 adjacent its distal end. The transducer 20 is connected to a source of electrical excitation. The ultrasonic waves emitted by the transducer 20 are directed at the heart wall tissue. Once the tissue reaches the target temperature, the electrical excitation is turned on and off to maintain the tissue at the largest temperature. Alternatively, the transducer 20 is subjected to continuous excitation at one power level and upon the tissue reaching the target temperature, the power level of the continuous excitation is switched to a second lower power level.

A method for localizing the source of an arrhythmia within a heart wall is disclosed. The method involves accessing an indication of the source location of the arrhythmia within the endocardium. A normal vector is generated that is normal to the endocardium at the source location in the direction of the epicardium layer. An activation vector indicating the direction of electrical force of the heart during an initial stage of depolarization is determined. The depth angle between the normal vector and the activation vector is determined, and the depth of the source location within the heart wall is indicated based on a depth angle.

This utility model discloses a dual-disc, one-piece biodegradable foramen ovale occluder for atrial septum. The occluder includes a first disc, a second disc, and an occluding part. The first and second discs are connected to the two ends of the occluding part. The first, second, and occluding parts are one-piece molded and biodegradable. Both the first and second discs are elastic components that can automatically return to their original shape. The plane containing the edge of the first disc is a first plane, and the plane containing the edge of the second disc is a second plane. The angle between the axis of the occluding part and the first plane is an acute angle, and / or the angle between the axis of the occluding part and the second plane is an acute angle. The occluder is a one-piece biodegradable component, which can avoid long-term complications and safety hazards caused by metal remaining in the body. Furthermore, the first and / or second discs are inclined relative to the occluding part, thereby allowing the first and second discs to adapt to different shapes of heart wall structures and improving the occlusion effect.

The present application relates to a stepwise-clamping type valve prosthesis including a frame body and a clamping member. The frame body has a channel allowing blood to flow therethrough. The clamping member includes a first clamping member and a second clamping member. One end of the first clamping member is connected to the frame body, and the other end of the first clamping member is a free end. The second clamping member is connected to the first clamping member. The clamping member has three states in sequence from being restricted to being fully released. In the first state, the first clamping member and the second clamping member are both restricted and restricted. In the second state, the second clamping member is restricted, and the first clamping member extends in a radial direction of the frame body and is capable of reaching a position between a valve leaflet and a heart wall. In the third state, the second clamping member protrudes from the first clamping member and extends in a circumferential direction of the frame body and abuts against an outer surface of the frame body, so that an autologous valve leaflet and adjacent tissues are capable of being clamped between the second clamping member, the first clamping member, and the frame body. The contact area between the valve prosthesis and the autologous tissues can be increased, the position stability of the valve prosthesis in the heart can be improved, and the success rate of the operation can be increased.

A system is provided for generating and displaying a sequence of three-dimensional (3D) graphics that illustrate motion of the heart over a cardiac cycle. The system generates a start heart wall mesh and an end heart wall mesh that represent a start geometry and an end geometry of a heart wall derived from a start 3D image and an end 3D image. The system then generates one or more an intermediate heart wall 3D meshes based on an intermediate geometry of the heart wall. An intermediate geometry is interpolated based on the start geometry and the end geometry factoring a start time of a start heart wall mesh, an end time of the end heart wall mesh, and an intermediate time for the intermediate heart wall mesh. The system then displays in sequence representations the heart wall 3D meshes to illustrate the motion.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a catheter assembly for augmenting separation between the parietal and visceral pericardium of a patient's heart. The catheter assembly generally includes an outer catheter, an inner catheter, and a balloon. The outer catheter includes a first lumen and a second lumen, and an aperture in a wall of the outer catheter is in fluid communication with the second lumen. The inner catheter is operable to be received and translated within the first lumen of the outer catheter, and the inner catheter comprises a radiofrequency emitter tip adapted to emit radiofrequency energy. The balloon is sealed to an external surface of the outer catheter, and an interior of the balloon is in fluid communication with the second lumen via the aperture such that the balloon is operable to be inflated via the second lumen.

The utility model discloses a slave-end auxiliary subsystem of a vascular intervention robot for a cardiac ablation operation. The slave-end auxiliary subsystem comprises a control unit I for adjusting the rotation angle of a grab handle; the sliding table assembly I is used for adjusting the extending position of the guide pipe; the control unit II is arranged at the front end of the control unit I and is used for leading out the side catheter through a clamping grab handle so as to adjust the curvature of the tip end of the catheter; the supporting piece is arranged on the base and used for supporting the grab handle leading-out guide pipe in space; wherein the control unit I is provided with a force sensor for detecting the stress of the catheter in real time. The utility model provides a vascular intervention robot slave end auxiliary subsystem for a cardiac ablation operation, which can detect the stress of a catheter in real time through a force sensor in the ablation operation treatment process, control the tip of the catheter to automatically follow the cardiac pulsation to perform corresponding actions, and realize the accurate following of the movement of the heart wall.

The invention relates to a one-way valve implant. The valve implants and vascular closure devices herein are configured to be positioned in a heart and block regurgitated blood from the heart into a blood vessel supplying blood to the heart. The valve implant may have a cap, a membrane, a valve, a resilient frame, and / or other features. Some valve implants may have anchors positioned in a blood vessel, such as in a pulmonary vein, and may anchor the implant to a heart wall. Various embodiments of the cap and / or membrane act as valves that contract and expand to alternately permit and occlude blood flow. The valve implant may cover one or more blood vessels, such as one, two, three or four pulmonary veins, and may also be configured and implanted to occlude an appendage of the heart, such as the left atrial appendage.