Leadless Pacemaker Retrieval Snare Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pacemakers face issues such as unsightly bulges, erosion, infection, and complex connection malfunctions, while leadless pacemakers have difficulties with navigation and retrieval due to long delivery catheters and the need for separate systems for delivery and retrieval.
Innovation Solution
A catheter system with a retriever in the form of a grasper or snare that can engage and release a leadless pacemaker, allowing for torque transmission and independent detachment, facilitating bedside loading and reducing tissue trauma, and enabling the use of a single system for both delivery and retrieval of different pacemaker configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pacemakers use subcutaneous pulse generators with leads, then electrical stimulation can be provided to the heart, but the pulse generator creates unsightly bulges and is prone to erosion, infection, and connection malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pulse generator and electrodes into a single integrated leadless pacemaker unit that is implanted directly in the heart chamber, eliminating the need for separate pulse generator and lead components. This merging removes the interface between components that is prone to infection and connection failures, while maintaining the electrical stimulation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the pulse generator from its conventional subcutaneous location and places it directly inside the heart chamber, removing it from the problematic subcutaneous environment that is susceptible to infection and erosion. This extraction eliminates the harmful factors associated with subcutaneous implantation while preserving the pacing function.
2Ease of operation
If leadless pacemakers are delivered via long delivery catheters, then the pacemaker can be implanted in the heart, but navigation becomes difficult and the system footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the delivery system into modular components including a delivery catheter, retriever, and docking cap that can be assembled and used in sequence. This segmentation allows for a shorter, more manageable delivery catheter while maintaining the ability to deliver and retrieve the pacemaker effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs a single catheter system that serves multiple functions: delivery of the pacemaker, retrieval of the pacemaker, and loading/unloading operations. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate long delivery and retrieval catheters, reducing the overall system footprint and improving ease of operation.
3Reliability
If separate systems are used for delivery and retrieval of leadless pacemakers, then each function can be optimized, but the procedure complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a single catheter system that serves multiple functions: delivery of the pacemaker, retrieval of the pacemaker, and loading/unloading operations. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate delivery and retrieval systems, reducing procedural complexity and cost while maintaining reliability through optimized design for each function within the unified system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines delivery and retrieval capabilities into a single integrated catheter system, merging two previously separate systems into one. This reduces the number of components and procedures needed, simplifying the overall process while maintaining the reliability of both delivery and retrieval functions through careful design of the multi-functional system.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for delivering and retrieving a leadless pacemaker. In one implementation, a leadless pacemaker has a docking end, and the docking end has a docking projection extending from a surface. A docking cap has a body defining a chamber. A retriever has sheaths extending with lumens distally from the chamber. A snare extends between the lumens forming a first snare loop pointing in a first direction and a second snare loop pointing in a second direction with a docking space formed therebetween. The snare is movable between an engaged position and a disengaged position by translating the first snare wire and the second snare wire within the first snare lumen and the second snare lumen. The engaged position includes the first snare wire and the second snare wire tightened around the docking projection within the docking space.