Tissue Ligation Snare Loop Assembly for Left Atrial Appendage Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for closing the left atrial appendage, such as suturing or stapling, are invasive and carry risks, and existing occlusion devices do not effectively prevent blood flow, necessitating the development of minimally invasive or intravascular techniques for safer thrombus prevention in atrial fibrillation patients.
Innovation Solution
The development of closure devices with a snare loop assembly and suture loop mechanism that can be advanced minimally invasively to encircle and ligate the left atrial appendage, featuring a releasable snare and locking elements for secure tissue closure, allowing for temporary or permanent occlusion without open-heart surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If open-heart surgery with suturing is used to close the left atrial appendage, then effective thrombus prevention is achieved, but patient risk and invasiveness increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The closure device is divided into separate components: an elongate body for delivery, a snare loop assembly for encircling the appendage, a suture loop for ligation, and a locking mechanism for securing. This segmentation allows minimally invasive delivery while achieving effective closure, resolving the contradiction between reliability and patient risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The snare loop assembly acts as an intermediary mechanism between the delivery system and the tissue. It enables the operator to encircle and control the left atrial appendage before applying the suture loop, providing a safe intermediate step that reduces direct tissue manipulation and patient risk while ensuring proper positioning for effective thrombus prevention.
2Productivity
If stapling method is used to close the appendage base, then closure is achieved, but tissue fragility causes rupture risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the stapling mechanical system with a snare loop and suture ligation system. Instead of using staples that may rupture fragile tissue, the flexible snare loop encircles the appendage and the suture loop provides gradual, distributed ligation force that accommodates tissue fragility while achieving secure closure.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If occlusion devices are used to fill the appendage, then minimally invasive approach is achieved, but blood flow prevention effectiveness is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The snare loop assembly is designed to be dynamically adjustable during deployment. The operator can expand and contract the loop to precisely encircle the left atrial appendage, then secure it with the locking mechanism. This dynamic adjustment capability ensures effective blood flow occlusion while maintaining minimally invasive access, resolving the contradiction between invasiveness reduction and occlusion effectiveness.
4Device complexity
If a fixed snare configuration is used, then device simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to different tissue sizes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The snare loop assembly incorporates a dynamic configuration that allows expansion and contraction. The loop can be adjusted to accommodate different sizes of left atrial appendages while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure. This dynamic capability provides versatility without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The snare loop's physical parameters (diameter, shape) can be changed during deployment to match the specific anatomy of the patient's left atrial appendage. This parameter adjustment allows the same device to adapt to various tissue sizes and configurations while keeping the basic device design simple.
Data Source
AI summary
Described here are closure devices and methods for ligating tissue, such as the left atrial appendage. The closure devices may comprise a snare loop assembly comprising a snare and a suture loop releasably attached thereto. The snare may be releasable from an elongate body of the closure device. In some instances, the closure device may comprise one or more markers to allow a user to determine whether the snare loop assembly is twisted.