Catheter Handle Suture-Wire Layout for Tangled-Free Implant Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suture-wire elements used for deploying heart implants, particularly for treating mitral valve regurgitation, face challenges in managing sections with differing mechanical properties, leading to tangling and complexity in deployment, especially in minimally invasive procedures.
Innovation Solution
A suture-wire management device integrated into a catheter handle, featuring an enclosure with inner and outer grooves for winding and constraining different sections, along with a rotatable cap for sequential dispensing, facilitates smooth deployment of a heart implant with a bridging element.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a long suture-wire element with sections of differing materials is used for intravascular delivery, then the element can be advanced through the vasculature from one access point to another, but the element becomes cumbersome to manage and prone to tangling
Solution Approach 1:
The suture-wire element is divided into distinct sections with different materials and properties: a stiff wire section for advancing through the vasculature and a flexible suture section for deployment. The management device further segments the storage into separate grooves for each section, allowing independent control and reducing tangling during handling and deployment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the suture-wire element is stored side by side in the catheter lumen, then both ends can be accessed, but the different mechanical properties make deployment complex
Solution Approach 1:
The management device provides different storage environments for different sections: the wire section is stored in an outer groove that accommodates its stiffness, while the suture section is stored in an inner groove that accommodates its flexibility. This localized differentiation allows each section to be managed according to its specific mechanical properties, simplifying the overall deployment process.
3Reliability
If the suture-wire element is kept sterile during advancement, then contamination is prevented, but the element must be smoothly fed through the vasculature without tangling
Solution Approach 1:
The suture-wire element is pre-coiled and stored in the management device before deployment, with the wire section and suture section arranged in separate grooves. This preliminary organization ensures that when deployment begins, the elements can be smoothly dispensed in the correct sequence without tangling, while the enclosed storage maintains sterility until the moment of use.
Data Source
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Figure 2A
AI summary
Delivery systems, methods and associated devices for management of an elongate element having sections with differing mechanical properties, in particular, for management of a loop of suture-wire element extending proximally from a delivery catheter for deployment of a heart implant. Such management devices can include an inner feature (e.g. outward facing groove or series of tabs) along an inner circle about which a suture can be coiled and an outer feature (e.g. inward facing groove or tabs) to engage and constrain a wire section having increased stiffness within a coil having a larger diameter than the coiled suture. Such devices can be provided separately or can be integrated within a handle of the delivery catheter. Methods of loading suture-wire management devices and utilizing such devices during deployment of an implantable anchor are also described herein.