| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080228032 | CARDIAC VISUALIZATION DEVICES AND METHODS - Devices and methods for facilitating transvascular, minimally invasive and other “less invasive” surgical procedures generally include a sheath with an expandable balloon at the distal end, an inflation lumen for expanding the balloon, and a device passage lumen for allowing passage of one or more surgical instruments. The sheath is configured to house at least one visualization device such that an optical element of the device is positioned to view the surgical site. In some embodiments, instruments may be passed through the sheath, with the distal balloon partially or fully circumscribing or encircling the instruments. Any suitable instrument(s) may be passed through sheaths of the invention, such as a surgical clip applier for repairing a heart valve, an ablation member for treating atrial fibrillation, one or more pacemaker leads, a coronary sinus access device or the like. | 09-18-2008 |
| 20080234704 | DELIVERY DEVICES AND METHODS FOR HEART VALVE REPAIR - Devices, systems and methods facilitate positioning of a cardiac valve annulus treatment device, thus enhancing treatment of the annulus. Methods generally involve advancing an anchor delivery device through vasculature of the patient to a location in the heart for treating the valve annulus, contacting the anchor delivery device with a length of the valve annulus, delivering a plurality of coupled anchors from the anchor delivery device to secure the anchors to the annulus, and drawing the anchors together to circumferentially tighten the valve annulus. Devices generally include an elongate catheter having at least one tensioning member and at least one tensioning actuator for deforming a distal portion of the catheter to help it conform to a valve annulus. The catheter device may be used to navigate a subannular space below a mitral valve to facilitate positioning of an anchor delivery device. | 09-25-2008 |
| 20080234728 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR HEART VALVE REPAIR - Devices and methods provide enhanced treatment of a cardiac valve annulus. Methods generally involve contacting an anchor delivery device with the valve annulus and releasing a plurality of coupled anchors from the anchor delivery device to secure the anchors to the annulus. Anchors, which in some embodiments are super-elastic or shape memory self-securing anchors, are then drawn together to tighten the annulus. Devices generally include an elongate catheter having a housing at or near the distal end for releasably housing a plurality of coupled anchors. The housing may be flexible, may conform to a valve annulus, and in some embodiments may be coupled with an expandable member to enhance contact of the housing with annular tissue. In one embodiment, self-securing anchors lie approximately flat within the delivery device housing, allowing anchors with relatively large deployed shapes to be housed in and deployed from a relatively narrow delivery device. | 09-25-2008 |
| 20080243150 | DELIVERY DEVICES AND METHODS FOR HEART VALVE REPAIR - Devices, systems and methods facilitate positioning of a cardiac valve annulus treatment device, thus enhancing treatment of the annulus. Methods generally involve advancing an anchor delivery device through vasculature of the patient to a location in the heart for treating the valve annulus, contacting the anchor delivery device with a length of the valve annulus, delivering a plurality of coupled anchors from the anchor delivery device to secure the anchors to the annulus, and drawing the anchors together to circumferentially tighten the valve annulus. Devices generally include an elongate catheter having at least one tensioning member and at least one tensioning actuator for deforming a distal portion of the catheter to help it conform to a valve annulus. The catheter device may be used to navigate a subannular space below a mitral valve to facilitate positioning of an anchor delivery device. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080294177 | METHODS AND DEVICES FOR TERMINATION - Devices and methods used in termination of a tissue tightening procedure are described. Termination includes the cinching of a tether to tighten the tissue, locking the tether to maintain tension, and cutting excess tether. In procedures involving anchors secured to the tissue, the tether is coupled to the anchors and the tissue is tightened via tension applied to the anchors by cinching the tether. In general, the devices and methods can be used in minimally invasive surgical procedures, and can be applied through small incisions or intravascularly. A method for tightening tissue by fixedly coupling a first anchor to a tether and slidably coupling a second anchor to the tether, securing both anchors to the tissue, applying tension to the tether intravascularly, fixedly coupling the tether to the second anchor, and cutting the tether is described. The tissue to be tightened can comprise heart tissue, in particular heart valve annulus tissue. Various devices and methods for locking the tether in place and cutting excess tether are described. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20090043380 | Coatings for promoting endothelization of medical devices - A unique method and coatings are provided for promoting tissue encapsulation of medical devices, especially before antiproliferative drug therapy within a body of a patient in order to prevent excessive restenosis and while avoiding thrombosis (including late stage/stent thrombosis). The method involves delaying the activation of restenosis suppressing (i.e. antiproliferative) drugs in the vicinity of the medical device until a thin layer of geometrically streamlined tissue has deposited itself upon the device. Coatings of one or more layer that provide an aligned scaffolding (i.e. via aligned fibers or aligned grooves) may be used in the method to encourage tissue deposition and/or to delay elution of drug(s) stored beneath or within. The delay phase prior to degradation, erosion, and/or absorption of the coating to release an active drug should last until an optimal amount of controlled restenosis has provided a thin endothelial layer to encapsulate the device. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20100049213 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR TERMINATION - Devices and methods for locking and/or cutting tethers during a tissue modification procedure are described. In some variations, a tether may be used to tighten or compress tissue by bringing two pieces or sections of the tissue together. The tether, which may be under tension, may be locked to maintain the tension, and excess tether may be severed, using one or more of the devices and/or methods. The devices and/or methods may be used, for example, in minimally invasive procedures. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100049225 | Atherectomy devices and methods - The devices and methods generally relate to treatment of occluded body lumens. In particular, the present devices and method relate to removal of the occluding material from the blood vessels as well as other body lumens. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100082098 | DELIVERY DEVICES AND METHODS FOR HEART VALVE REPAIR - Devices, systems and methods facilitate positioning of a cardiac valve annulus treatment device, thus enhancing treatment of the annulus. Methods generally involve advancing an anchor delivery device through vasculature of the patient to a location in the heart for treating the valve annulus, contacting the anchor delivery device with a length of the valve annulus, delivering a plurality of coupled anchors from the anchor delivery device to secure the anchors to the annulus, and drawing the anchors together to circumferentially tighten the valve annulus. Devices generally include an elongate catheter having at least one tensioning member and at least one tensioning actuator for deforming a distal portion of the catheter to help it conform to a valve annulus. The catheter device may be used to navigate a subannular space below a mitral valve to facilitate positioning of an anchor delivery device. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100094314 | TETHER TENSIONING DEVICES AND RELATED METHODS - Devices, methods, and kits for tensioning tethers during a tissue modification procedure are described. In some variations, a tether coupled to anchors embedded in tissue may be tensioned to provide a cinching effect that tightens or compresses the tissue by bringing two pieces or sections of the tissue together. In certain variations, the tether may then be locked (e.g., to maintain the tension), and/or excess tether may be severed. The devices, methods, and/or kits may be used, for example, in minimally invasive procedures. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100198056 | Diagnostic catheters, guide catheters, visualization devices and chord manipulation devices, and related kits and methods - Described herein are devices, methods and kits for assessing and/or enhancing the accessibility of a subvalvular space of a heart, accessing the subvalvular space of the heart (e.g., to provide access for one or more other devices), and/or positioning one or more devices in the subvalvular space of the heart. The devices described herein may, for example, comprise catheters that may be used to manipulate one or more chordae tendineae, diagnostic catheters having different sizes and/or shapes (e.g., different curvatures), guide catheters having different sizes and/or shapes (e.g., different curvatures), and visualization catheters. In some variations, the devices, methods, and/or kits may be used to visualize a target site, such as a subannular groove of a heart valve. In certain variations, the devices, methods, and/or kits may be used to manipulate chordae tendineae to provide additional space in a ventricle of a heart (e.g., enhancing the accessibility of the ventricle). | 08-05-2010 |
