Annuloplasty Implants With Multi-Anchor Tethering Without Line-of-Sight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical procedures for remodeling tissues, such as annuloplasty, face challenges when there is no line-of-sight to the target, particularly in procedures involving anchors for heart valves or other anatomical structures.
Innovation Solution
The use of an implant with multiple anchors slidably coupled to a tether, facilitated by a delivery system including a catheter device and anchor driver, which allows for the advancement and anchoring of these anchors, even in situations without direct visibility, using a series of cartridges and a tensioning mechanism to contract tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional anchors are used for tissue remodeling procedures, then the procedure can be performed with simpler equipment, but the procedure cannot be performed when there is no line-of-sight to the target
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is divided into multiple discrete anchors that can be independently deployed along the tether. Each anchor can be positioned and activated separately, allowing the system to navigate and anchor in complex geometries without requiring direct visual access to all target sites simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
A catheter-based delivery system serves as an intermediary mechanism that transports anchors to the target site through the vasculature or body cavities. This intermediary delivery approach enables placement in obscured areas by using the catheter as a guided pathway rather than requiring direct visual access.
2Reliability
If multiple anchors are used to contract tissue effectively, then the tissue remodeling efficacy is improved, but the device complexity and procedure difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple anchors are combined onto a single tether, allowing them to be deployed as a coordinated system rather than individually. This merging approach maintains reliable multi-point anchoring while simplifying the deployment process through unified manipulation of the tether.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchors are designed with dynamic deployment characteristics, allowing them to be advanced and activated in sequence along the tether. This dynamic approach enables controlled tissue contraction while maintaining ease of operation through progressive rather than simultaneous deployment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If anchors are slidably coupled to the tether for flexible positioning, then the adaptability to target geometry is improved, but the precision of anchor placement may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The anchors are pre-positioned at specific intervals along the tether during manufacturing, establishing predetermined spacing and orientation. This preliminary positioning ensures manufacturing precision is maintained while the sliding coupling allows final adaptability to the specific target geometry during implantation.
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter device includes a flexible tube and an extracorporeal unit. The tube has a distal opening that is configured to be transluminally advanced into a subject, and a proximal end. The extracorporeal unit is coupled to the proximal end, and includes (i) a body, and (ii) a series of cartridges, distributed along a proximal-distal axis of the body, with a distalmost cartridge being closest to the proximal end of the tube. A series of anchors includes a leading anchor and other anchors, each anchor being (i) housed by a corresponding cartridge, with the leading anchor housed by the distalmost cartridge, and (ii) coupled to a tether such that the tether extends along the body, parallel with the proximal-distal axis. Other embodiments are also described.