LAA Repositioning Catheter Suction Anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for addressing blood clot formation in the left atrial appendage (LAA) are either complex, dangerous, or fail to provide a simple and safe method for closure and evagination of the LAA, often resulting in tissue damage and clot formation.
Innovation Solution
A catheter-based device with a suction channel and fastening means, such as clips or loops, is used to reposition the LAA by applying suction to hold the appendage and then securing it with a fastening accessory, preventing return to its original position without penetrating the atrial wall, and optionally using biocompatible filling materials to fill voids created.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If permanently-implanted occluders are introduced transseptally and anchored by fixation barbs, then the LAA can be occluded to reduce clot formation risk, but the procedure presents severe dangers from perforation of the cardiac wall
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of anchoring the occluder device into the cardiac wall using fixation barbs (inward anchoring), the invention inverts the approach by anchoring the LAA itself to the cardiac wall using deployable tissue anchors. This reverses the direction of force application and eliminates the need for barbs that penetrate the occluder device, thereby reducing perforation risk while maintaining secure anchoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the fixation barbs from the occluder device design. By eliminating these sharp anchoring elements that cause cardiac wall perforation, the device achieves secure anchoring through alternative means (deployable tissue anchors) that do not require penetrating barbs, thus resolving the contradiction between reliable occlusion and perforation risk.
2Reliability
If deployable tissue anchors are used to draw tissue radially inwardly to close the LAA, then the LAA can be closed, but the procedure is long and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple functions into a single integrated device: the occluder body, the deployable tissue anchors, and the delivery catheter system are combined into one unified apparatus. This integration allows the device to perform both occlusion and anchoring functions simultaneously, simplifying the overall procedure while maintaining effective LAA closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The tissue anchors are pre-loaded and positioned on the occluder device before delivery to the LAA. This preliminary preparation allows for rapid deployment and anchoring once the device reaches the target location, reducing procedural time and complexity while ensuring effective closure.
3Reliability
If clips are located extraluminally and require open-chest surgery for application, then the LAA can be occluded, but the procedure becomes more invasive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for open-chest surgery by designing a completely transseptal delivery system. The occluder device with integrated anchors is delivered through minimally invasive catheter-based access, removing the requirement for surgical exposure of the LAA and significantly reducing surgical invasiveness while maintaining effective occlusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a delivery catheter as an intermediary tool to transport the occluder device through the septum and into the LAA. This intermediary mechanism enables minimally invasive delivery of the occlusion system, avoiding the need for open-chest surgery while ensuring precise placement of the device for effective LAA occlusion.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If anticoagulant therapies are used to manage blood clot formation, then clot risk can be reduced, but significant complications occur in 1-2% of patients a year
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the need for long-term anticoagulant therapy by providing a mechanical solution (occluder device) that physically isolates the LAA from the left atrium. This eliminates the source of clot formation in the LAA, thereby removing the requirement for anticoagulant medications and their associated complications while still preventing thrombus formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the harmful effect of anticoagulant therapy complications into a benefit by providing a mechanical occlusion solution. By physically preventing clot formation through LAA isolation rather than using pharmacological intervention, the device transforms the harm of medication side effects into the benefit of a safer, complication-free prevention approach.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe and effective repositioning of the LAA, reducing the risk of clot formation by covering it with non-thrombogenic endocardium and avoiding tissue damage, while allowing for aspiration of blood clots and secure fixation without sharp instruments.
Implementation Method 1
a suction channel terminating in or near said tip
Data Source
AI summary
A device for manipulating the left atrial appendage (LAA) of a heart, including:an elongated and hollow guide instrument which is shaped and sized to be transvascularly and transseptally introducible into the left atrium (LA);a suction channel passing through the guide instrument, the suction channel terminating with a concave holder, wherein the suction channel and the concave holder are shaped and sized to be enclosed within a lumen of the guide instrument during the transvascular and transseptal introduction into the LA and to forwardly extend from the lumen of the guide instrument after reaching the LA, and wherein the concave holder is configured to radially expand;a loop fastener shaped and sized to be enclosed within the lumen of the guide instrument during the transvascular and transseptal introduction into the LA and to forwardly extend from the lumen of said guide instrument.