Patent Grant
9468527
The present invention relates generally to a prosthetic cardiac implant having a knotless suture fastening system assembled therewith for securing the valve to a native annulus without requiring suture knots.
Heart valve disease is a widespread condition in which one or more of the valves of the heart fails to function properly. Diseased heart valves may be categorized as either stenotic, wherein the valve does not open sufficiently to allow adequate forward flow of blood through the valve, and/or incompetent, wherein the valve does not close completely, causing excessive backward flow of blood or regurgitation through the valve when the leaflets are supposed to coapt together. Valve disease can be severely debilitating and even fatal if left untreated.
Various surgical techniques may be used to repair a diseased or damaged valve, including securing a cardiac implant to the diseased annulus. Cardiac implants include prosthetic heart valves, valved conduits and annuloplasty rings. In a valve replacement operation, the damaged leaflets are excised and the annulus sculpted to receive a replacement valve. Worldwide, approximately 300,000 heart valve replacement surgeries are performed annually, and about one-half of these patients received mechanical heart valves, which are composed of rigid, synthetic materials. The remaining patients received bioprosthetic heart valve replacements, which utilize biologically derived tissues for flexible fluid occluding leaflets. Prosthetic heart valves may be implanted independently in one of the orifices or annuluses of the heart, or may be coupled to a flow conduit which extends in line with the valve a predetermined distance. For example, valved conduits can be designed for reconstruction of portions of the flow passage above and below the aortic valve, such as the ascending aorta, in addition to replacing the function of the valve itself. Another less drastic method for treating defective valves is through repair or reconstruction, which is typically used on minimally calcified valves. One repair technique that has been shown to be effective in treating incompetence is annuloplasty, in which the deformed valve annulus is reshaped by attaching a prosthetic annuloplasty repair segment or ring to the valve annulus.
In a typical cardiac implant procedure, the aorta is incised and, in a valve replacement operation, the defective valve is removed leaving the desired placement site that may include a fibrous tissue layer or annular tissue. Known cardiac implant techniques include individually passing sutures through the fibrous tissue or desired placement site within the valve annulus to form an array of sutures. Free ends of the sutures are extended out of the thoracic cavity and are spaced apart, sometimes being distributed around a suture organizer. The free ends of the sutures are then individually threaded through a suture-permeable sealing edge of the annuloplasty ring or prosthetic heart valve. Once all sutures have been run through the sealing edge (typically 12 to 18 sutures), all the sutures are pulled up taught and the prosthesis is slid or “parachuted” down until it sits against the target annulus. The cardiac implant is then secured in place by traditional knot tying of the anchoring sutures on the proximal side of the sealing edge. This procedure is time consuming as doctors often use three to ten knots per suture.
During open-heart procedures, the patient is on heart-lung bypass which reduces the patient's oxygen level and creates non-physiologic blood flow dynamics. The longer a patient is on heart-lung bypass, the greater the risk for complications including permanent health damage. Existing techniques for suturing cardiac implants extend the duration of bypass and increase the health risks due to heart-lung bypass. Furthermore, the securing force created by suturing varies significantly because the pre-tensioning of the suture just prior to knot tying is difficult to consistently maintain, even for the same medical professional.
There exists a need for devices and methods that reduce the time required to secure a heart valve repair prosthesis in place. Currently a clinician must tie a multitude of knots in sutures which can take a great deal of time and lengthens the time a patient is on cardio-pulmonary bypass and under anesthesia. Additionally, there exists a need to make it easier to secure a heart valve repair prosthesis (e.g., an annuloplasty ring) in place. Currently, a clinician must work in the limited space near the heart to tie knots in sutures. This is a cumbersome process that benefits from a clinician of great dexterity and patience.
The present invention provides improved knotless suture fasteners and systems for securing a cardiac implant such as an annuloplasty ring or a prosthetic heart valve or valved conduit to a heart valve annulus. The apparatus and methods are particularly well suited for traditional surgery or minimally invasive surgery. The devices disclosed herein eliminate the need for surgical knots thus reducing surgical time and exposure. Further, the devices improve the ease of implantation because the clinician need not tie knots in the limited space in and around the heart. The knotless suture fasteners are simple to deploy and their actuation does not affect suture tension. The implant systems are pre-assembled at the time of manufacture with the cardiac implants. The knotless suture fasteners may be embedded within a pliant sealing edge of the cardiac implant, or they may be positioned on one face of the sealing edge. One embodiment of the knotless suture fasteners includes small tubes having tabs that are spring-biased inward so as to grip onto annulus anchoring sutures passing therethrough upon removal of a restraining device, such as a hypotube inserted within the tubular suture fasteners. Another embodiment includes a bifurcated locking clamp, a biasing member positioned on the outside of the locking clamp, and a retention member positioned between the clamp halves. Regardless of what type of fastener is used, it is positioned adjacent a slit in the sealing edge such that the physician need not pass needles through the sealing edge to engage the implant sutures with the fastener.
A preferred cardiac implant system comprises a cardiac implant having an inner frame arranged around a flow axis through the implant along which blood will flow when implanted from an inflow side to an outflow side of the implant. A pliant sealing edge extends outward from the inner frame and has inflow and outflow faces. The sealing edge also has formed therein a plurality of generally axial slits that open radially outward. A plurality of knotless suture fasteners are distributed around the sealing edge and attached thereto. Each fastener has an axial slot sized to receive a suture facing radially outward, and each fastener is located adjacent one of the axial slits in the sealing edge such that a suture may be passed through the slit and into the axial slot of the fastener. The fasteners have an open state which permits a suture to slide axially therethrough and a closed state which prevents axial movement of the suture in at least one direction. The fasteners may be at least partially embedded into and secured in the sealing edge, or may be positioned on one of the inflow or outflow faces of the sealing edge and attached thereto.
In the aforementioned cardiac implant system, each suture fastener may have an outer wall defining a lumen extending from a proximal end to a distal end and a collapsible wall structure, wherein the collapsible wall structure in the open state does not restrict relative movement between the fastener and a suture therein and the collapsible wall structure in the closed state restricts movement of a suture through the fastener in at least one direction. In this configuration, each fastener further includes a retention member coupled thereto in the open state, the retention member having a hypotube which fits closely within the lumen of the fastener and maintains the collapsible wall structure in its open state, and upon removal of the retention member and hypotube, the fastener converts to the closed state and the collapsible wall structure collapses inward to clamp onto a suture. In an embodiment where the suture fastener is embedded in the sealing edge, a flange extends outward from the outer wall at a proximal end thereof sufficiently large to prevent the fastener from pulling through the pliant sealing ring.
In an alternative embodiment, each suture fastener comprises a bifurcated locking clamp including a pair of substantially similar clamp halves each having an exterior surface and an inner surface facing the inner surface of the other clamp half to form a variable sized slot therebetween. The clamp halves are connected for movement toward or away from one another while being fixed axially with respect to one another, wherein the suture(s) extend through the slot between the inner surfaces of the clamp halves. A biasing member positioned on the outside of the locking clamp has a relaxed size that, in the absence of an object in the slot, urges the inner surfaces of the clamp halves together. Finally, a retention member is positioned between the clamp halves against the force of the biasing member and has a thickness that maintains the slot width large enough to permit passage of a suture therethrough, wherein removal of the retention member permits the biasing member to urge the inner surfaces of the clamp halves together and clamp the suture therebetween. The clamp halves may be molded from a single piece of material with a living hinge on the first circumferential side. The clamp halves are desirably hinged together on a first circumferential side such that the variable sized slot defines a variable sized opening on the side opposite the first circumferential side, and wherein the biasing member comprises a plurality of C-clips arranged around the locking clamp with their free ends located on either side of the variable sized slot opposite the first circumferential side.
For the fasteners disclosed herein, a retention member coupled to the fastener maintains the fastener in the open state and when removed converts the fastener to the closed state, and wherein a plurality of the retention members may be tethered together.
The cardiac implant may be a prosthetic heart valve comprising occluding members that provide one-way flow through the valve movably mounted to move within the inner frame, wherein the pliant sealing edge comprises a sealing ring secured to the outside of the inner frame. There may be only three of the suture fasteners located around the sealing ring. Further, the inner frame may partly extend in an outflow direction to form three cantilevered commissures evenly distributed around the flow axis that support flexible leaflets, and the prosthetic heart valve further includes a plastically-expandable anchoring skirt coupled to the sealing ring and extending from an inflow end thereof, the three suture fasteners being located around the sealing ring intermediate the commissures. Alternatively, the cardiac implant is an annuloplasty ring, wherein the inner frame comprises a structural core and the pliant sealing edge surrounds the core and has a fabric cover. In yet another embodiment, the cardiac implant is a valved conduit, comprising a valve having a conduit coupled thereto and having a sealing edge surrounding the inflow end.
An exemplary method of securing a cardiac implant to a heart valve annulus, comprises:
The cardiac implant may be a prosthetic heart valve, and the inner frame partly extends in an outflow direction to form three cantilevered commissures evenly distributed around the flow axis. The valve also has three flexible leaflets each supported by two of the commissures with a free edge therebetween that coapts with the other flexible leaflet free edges along the flow axis to provide one-way flow through the valve. The pliant sealing edge therefore comprises a sealing ring secured to the outside of the inner frame. The prosthetic heart valve may further include an anchoring skirt coupled to the sealing ring and extending from an inflow end thereof, and the method includes expanding the anchoring skirt below the heart valve annulus, wherein the method of securing the prosthetic heart valve to the annulus consisting only of expanding the anchoring skirt and attaching the three sutures and suture fasteners.
In one aspect of the method described above, each of the suture fasteners is embedded within the sealing edge of the cardiac implant. The implant may alternatively be an annuloplasty ring, wherein the inner frame may comprise a metallic core and the pliant sealing edge comprises a silicone sleeve surrounding the core and a fabric cover over the sleeve. Each fastener preferably includes a retention member such as a retention pin that when coupled to the fastener maintains the fastener in the open state and when removed converts the fastener to the closed state, wherein a plurality of the retention pins are tethered together and the method includes sequentially removing a plurality of retention pins that are tethered together from adjacent fasteners.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention are set forth in the following description and claims, particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts bear like reference numerals.
The invention will now be explained and other advantages and features will appear with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings wherein:
The present invention provides improved systems for securing a cardiac implant to a heart valve annulus using knotless fasteners. The systems described herein each includes a prosthetic implant pre-assembled with the knotless fasteners. The term “pre-assembled” means that the cardiac implants are assembled by the manufacture and packaged along with the suture fasteners which are positioned for deployment. In one version, the suture fasteners are embedded within a sealing edge on the cardiac implant, while in another version the suture fasteners are positioned in contact with a proximal face of the sealing edge. Proximal and distal refer to the opposite directions toward and away, respectively, from a surgeon performing the implant. In either case, because the suture fasteners are pre-assembled with the cardiac implant and positioned for deployment, their installation is greatly facilitated.
The knotless suture fasteners described herein include self-actuating or spring-loaded devices that clamp onto sutures. Passing one or more sutures through the device and then converting it from an open to a closed state causes features to collapse inward and clamp onto the suture(s). The conversion desirably occurs upon removal of an impediment to inward motion of clamping elements, though other spring-loaded configurations are possible. Such self-actuating suture fasteners are preferred over plastically-deformable fasteners which must be crimped over the sutures using forceps or other such compression tools. On the other hand, for added security a portion of the suture fasteners disclosed herein may be deformable so that a user may crimp it onto the sutures—a hybrid fastener. For the purpose of defining terms, the term “self-actuating” suture fastener refers to a spring-biased type of device which does not require crimping, but which, on the other hand, does not exclude a crimpable portion. A “self-actuating” suture fastener is not entirely autonomous, in that there is a trigger prior to the deployment, such as removal of an element or change in temperature, but the term excludes devices that require mechanical crimping using an external tool.
Alternative self-actuating fasteners may be made of a temperature-activated memory material that biases the fastener to its closed configuration when exposed to a selected temperature range, though the control and timing of such devices add complexity. With the temperature-activated memory material in its austenite state, the fastener tabs extend into the inner lumen to their greatest extent, so that the fastener is in a “closed” configuration wherein the tabs block movement of any lengths of suture passing through the inner lumen. The austenite state can be set to occur when the suture fastener is generally unstressed and at human body temperature, so that when deployed in the patient's body it will be remain biased toward its closed configuration.
It should also be understood that a suture fastener that is not at all spring-loaded, but instead is entirely plastically deformable may be used. For example, a rivet-style suture fastener may be positioned adjacent to or embedded within a cardiac implant sealing edge, as with the exemplary self-actuating suture fastener. Although not shown, tools for crimping or actuating such alternative suture fasteners may be included in the implant system. In short, though there are distinct advantages to a self-actuating or spring-loaded fastener, certain aspects of the present application may be exploited while using a fastener that is crimped onto the anchoring sutures, and the disclosure should not be considered limited to one type of fastener or another unless explicit in any one claim.
The term cardiac implant as used herein primarily refers to prosthetic heart valves, valved conduits and annuloplasty rings or segments. However, the suture fastening systems described herein can be used to attach other prostheses such as stents, grafts, stent-grafts, fluid delivery reservoirs, electro-stimulators, or the like. Furthermore, the cardiac implants are desirably secured at a target heart valve annulus, but the suture fastening systems may also be used to attach implants to other anatomical structures such as vessels, organs (e.g., intestine, heart, skin, liver, kidney) or other locations where sutures are typically used to attach the implant.
The implant procedure illustrated is typical of surgical heart valve replacement procedures, where the surgeon initially loops a plurality of individual sutures 24 through the aortic annulus AA so as to form an array of pairs of sutures extending upward out of the operating site. In a conventional surgical procedure, each separate pair of sutures 24 is then passed through a pliant sewing ring of the heart valve. By positioning pairs of sutures 24 around the sewing ring at circumferential locations corresponding to where they pass through the aortic annulus AA, the surgeon can then “parachute” the heart valve down the array of sutures until the sewing ring seats against the aortic annulus AA. Subsequently, the pairs of sutures are tied off on the proximal side of the sewing ring to secure the valve to the annulus. The sewing ring is pliant and conforms to the often uneven annulus, thereby greatly reducing paravalvular leakage. Sewing rings are typically formed of rolled fabric or silicone rubber sponges surrounded by fabric.
In contrast, the present application contemplates a number of configurations of exemplary “side entry” knotless fasteners which both eliminate the necessity to pass a needle through a sewing ring and also eliminate the process of tying the sutures off with knots. This both reduces the possibility of damaging the heart valve with a suture needle, and greatly reduces the time necessary to secure the valve to the annulus.
Each fastener 22 has an open state which permits a suture 24 to slide axially therethrough and a closed or deployed state which prevents axial movement of the suture 24 in at least one direction. In a preferred embodiment, each of the knotless fasteners 22 may be deployed so as to retain the sutures 24 therein, while still permitting the surgeon to slide the heart valve 20 down the array of sutures. The process of engaging each suture 24 with one of the knotless fasteners 22 continues until all of the suture pairs are positioned around the heart valve sealing ring 30, after which time the valve is parachuted down the array of sutures until the sealing ring seats against the aortic annulus AA. The sealing ring 30 may be configured like the sewing rings of conventional valves, such as with rolled fabric or fabric-covered silicone, but no sutures are passed through it and thus it is not called a sewing ring. The sealing ring 30 provides a sealing edge at its outmost extent.
There are desirably between 12-20 knotless suture fasteners 22 distributed around the sealing ring 30. The number of suture fasteners 22 partly depends on the size of the valve 20, with more fasteners being used on larger valves. Furthermore, suture fasteners 22 may be placed at strategic locations, such as adjacent to the commissure posts 42. Preferably, there is one suture fastener 22 aligned with each of the commissure posts 42, and a number of suture fasteners evenly distributed between the commissure posts along the cusps 46. For instance, three suture fasteners 22 may be distributed between the commissure posts 42 such that one of them is centered in each of the cusps 46, for a total of twelve suture fasteners.
Now with reference to
An inner wall of the sealing ring 30 attaches to a stent member 60 also having a fabric covering 62. At the top of the stent member 60, the fabric covering is rolled into a sewing tab 64. An outer edge of one of the valve leaflets 44 is sandwiched between the top edge of the stent member 60 including the sewing tab 64 and a wireform 66 having a fabric covering 68. Sutures hold the components together.
Each fastener 72 has an open state which permits a suture to slide axially therethrough, and a closed or deployed state which prevents axial movement of the suture in at least one direction. More particularly, the exemplary knotless suture fastener 72 has a generally tubular outer wall 86 defining a lumen 88 having a diameter extending from a proximal end 90a to a distal end 90b. The outer wall 86 is interrupted by a collapsible wall structure for contacting and holding a suture length within the lumen 88. The suture enters the fastener 72 through a vertical slit 92 in the outer periphery of the annuloplasty ring 70 and a vertical opening 93 in the fastener. As will be further described below, the collapsible wall structure has an open state that does not restrict relative movement between the fastener 72 and a suture therein and is biased toward a closed or deployed state that restricts distal movement of a suture through the fastener without preventing proximal movement.
As seen in
In a preferred embodiment, an annular planar retention disc 102 is assembled within the annuloplasty ring 70 for securing the suture fasteners 72. The retention disc 102 may be positioned on top of the inner core 80 and within the fabric cover 84, and includes a plurality of apertures for receiving and retaining the suture fasteners 72. By virtue of the retention disc 102, the suture fasteners 72 may be secured within the annuloplasty ring 70 without using the attachment threads 98. The retention disc 102 is desirably a polymer, such as Delrin.
The suture fastener 110 is preferably formed from an elastic material such as a memory material like Nitinol having a collapsible wall structure comprising a pair of tabs 116 cut into a tubular outer wall 118 each of which extends into an inner lumen in the closed state. Each suture fastener 110 further includes a window 120 in the tubular outer wall 118 opposite each of the tabs 116 and into which the respective opposed tab extends in the closed state of the fastener. More particularly, an upper tab 116a extends into an upper window 120 that is opposite from the upper tab. A lower tab 116b extends into a lower window that is formed in the upper tab 116a and not visible in the drawings. The lower window resembles a similar window 122 formed in the lower tab 116b (as shown in an alternative configuration of the tubular fastener in
The suture fastener 152 may be formed from suitable biocompatible material, including, for example, Nickel-Titanium or other shape-memory alloys, stainless steel, titanium, other metals, various plastics, and other biologically-compatible materials. The axial height of the suture fastener 110 may be up to about 3 mm. The diameter of the tubular wall 118 may vary depending on suture size, but is typically between about 1-2 mm. Braided sutures are used to attach prosthetic heart valves to annuluses as opposed to monofilament polypropylene sutures (e.g., Prolene) which are used in other surgical environments. In the United States, suture diameter is represented on a scale descending from 10 to 1, and then descending again from 1-0 to 12-0. A number 9 suture is 0.0012 in (0.03 mm) in diameter, while the smallest, number 12-0, is smaller in diameter than a human hair. Although suture size depends on surgeon preference, typically 1-0 or 2-0 braided sutures are used. In one embodiment, if 1-0 sutures are used the diameter of the suture fastener 110 is approximately 1.5 mm, while if 2-0 sutures are used the diameter is 1.0 mm.
Two rows of small holes 124 are provided around the circumference of the outer wall 118 adjacent the proximal and distal ends thereof for suturing the fastener 110 to a cardiac implant. Alternatively, a retention disc such as shown at 54 in
Each of the fasteners 110 receives a hypotube 114 on the retention pin 112 in its lumen to hold the resilient tabs 116 outward into their open state. In this regard, each retention pin 112 is preferably pre-assembled and packaged along with the cardiac implant to avoid the process of connecting each of the retention pins to an associated fastener in the operating room. The hypotube 114 has an outer diameter that is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the tubular wall of the suture fastener 110, and as such, when inserted in the lumen, the hypotube maintains the tabs 116 flexed outward (straightened) in the axial positions shown in
It should be noted that forming the hypotube 114 of the retention pin 112 to be tubular with an axial slot 136 leading to an inner lumen is only one way to ensure that a suture can enter the lumen of the fastener 110. That is, other configurations include a semi-cylindrical hypotube 114 that occupies space within the fastener 110 to hold the tabs 116 outward while still leaving space for sutures within the fastener lumen. Various configurations are possible, the requirement being only that be hypotube 114 is other than solid and cylindrical.
The hypotube 114 is desirably made of surgical grade metal such as stainless steel so that it maintains its diameter against the inward force of the fastener tabs 116 over potentially long periods of storage time. Further, a metal will better resist gouging by the tabs and can therefore be easily removed from within the fasteners 110. It will be understood by the reader that the hypotube 114 cannot simply be inserted downward through the fastener 110, but instead a thin assembly shaft (not shown) of the same size is first inserted upward to force the tabs 116 outward. Subsequently, the hypotube 114 is pushed downward through fastener 110 so as to displace the assembly shaft without permitting the tabs 116 to spring inward. This can be done manually, but preferably a loading fixture to center the cooperating elements is used. An exemplary loading fixture will be described below.
In use of the suture fastener 110, as seen in
Another option for the suture fasteners disclosed herein (such as the tubular fastener 110) is to provide a plastically-deformable portion in addition to the spring-biased tabs. For example, the upper end of the tubular wall 118 of the suture fastener 110 could be formed of material that is capable of plastic deformation. A crimping tool or other such device can then be lowered to the implant site and used to flatten the top end of the fastener on the anchoring sutures 132 to supplement the spring-biased tabs 116.
In one preferred sequence, the surgeon advances the cardiac implant (such as heart valve 142) until it seats at the target annulus. During this advancement, the free ends of all of the attachment sutures 132 are controlled to prevent slack. Once the cardiac implant reaches the target annulus, the surgeon applies a desired amount of tension to each pair of the attachment sutures 132, and simultaneously displaces the corresponding retention pin 112 in a proximal direction, as seen in
Next,
Now with reference to
Finally,
The present application also contemplates a side-entry suture fastener 250 that has bifurcated clamping halves, as shown in
With reference to
As with the earlier embodiments, an overall exemplary size of the device can be 2 mm in height and diameter, or smaller. The initial design shown here is based on 2-0 sutures, which are commonly used in valve replacement procedures. Furthermore, the dimensions and parameters for materials described above for the earlier embodiments also apply to the fastener 250 of
As seen in
One or more of the C-clips 260 seen in
The C-Clips 260 would most likely be formed from Nitinol wire, although other materials such as stainless steel should not be excluded. For the exemplary embodiment shown, the C-clips 260 are formed from 0.008″ diameter wire and have an outside diameter of 0.079″ (2 mm). The illustrated embodiment incorporates five C-clips 260, though additional C-clips 260 could be added to increase the clamping force. Additionally, the clamping force can be increased significantly by small increases in the wire diameter of the C-clips 260. The bending stiffness of a circular wire is proportional to the 4th power of its diameter, and so increasing the wire diameter from only 0.008″ to 0.010″ increases the clamping force by a factor of 2.4, while an increase to 0.012″ would result in a five-fold increase in clamping force. Thus by changing the number of C-Clips and their wire diameters, large changes in the clamping force can be realized with minimal impact on the device diameter and small changes in device height.
The NiTiCo is up to about 80% stiffer than Nitinol, so the math shows that the diameter of the NiTiCo collar can be about 21% less to achieve the same force (because force roughly goes with wall thickness to the 3rd). As an example, that could reduce the OD of the collar from 2.0 mm for Nitinol to 1.58 mm for NiTiCo. Or, for the same diameter the NiTiCo collar could be ˜80% shorter, since the force is linear with length.
As a first step in the process of deployment, the surgeon laterally displaces one or more sutures 280 toward one of the suture locking devices 250, as seen in
Alternatively, as mentioned above, the fastener 250 may be deployed prior to the valve or annuloplasty ring being advanced to the annulus, as the exemplary fastener permits one-way travel of the sutures therethrough. With reference back to
In an alternative embodiment depicted in phantom in
Further details of such a hybrid prosthetic heart valve 310 and an associated delivery system can be found in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0065729 to Pintor, et al., filed Jun. 23, 2011 and expressly incorporated herein. In the Pintor disclosure, three guide sutures are pre-installed at the aortic annulus and threaded through cusp regions of the prosthetic heart valve. The three guide sutures are primarily used to orient the heart valve rotationally within the aortic annulus such that the leaflets register with the surrounding coronary ostia (in two of the three coronary sinuses). However, the guide sutures also supplement the anchoring function of the expandable anchoring skirt 318. There remains a problem of the time it takes to tie off each of the three guide sutures, which problem is alleviated by the side entry knotless suture fasteners 312, as described in the present application.
The heart valve 310 is mounted on a holder and handle assembly and the three pairs of anchoring sutures are inserted through the slits 322 such that they may be engaged by the fasteners 312. The valve 310 is then advanced down the anchoring sutures until the distal face of the sealing ring 314 contacts the aortic annulus AA, in the position shown in
As described above, the sealing ring 340 features a plurality of radial slits 342 therein which opened to the variable-sized mouth 344 of the bifurcated fastener 330. As before, a plurality of C-clips 346 bias the two halves of the bifurcated fastener 330 toward each other, and a retention pin 348 maintains the mouth 344 open for introduction of anchoring sutures 350. A sequence of displacing the anchoring sutures 350 into the slit 342 and within the mouth 344 of the fastener 330 followed by removal of the retention pin 348 is shown in
The loading fixture 400 includes a lower base member 404, an intermediate platform 406, and an upper cover 408 rotatable about the platform. The base member 404 defines a plurality of load stations 410 circumferentially spaced around a central axis, each including independently moving blocks 412 having thin mandrels 414 projecting upward therefrom. As seen in the sectional view of
The intermediate platform 406 and upper cover 408 are secured over the base member 404 using a central bolt 426. Removal of the bolt 426, upper cover 408, and intermediate platform 406 exposes the plurality of upstanding mandrels 414 onto which suture fasteners 110 can be manually placed. The intermediate platform 406 goes over the base member 404 and the two are keyed together to prevent relative rotation. The upper cover 408 is then secured over the intermediate platform 406 with the bolt 426. The upper cover 408 cooperates with the intermediate platform 406 for step-wise rotation thereover, as will be described.
Each load station 410 further includes a lead-in cavity 430 formed in the upper cover 408 as seen in
It should be noted that this loading procedure is necessitated by the one-way nature of the collapsible wall structure on the suture fastener 110. That is, each suture fastener 110 may be easily pushed downward onto the mandrel 414, which forces the collapsible wall structure outward. However, the fasteners 110 could not otherwise be pushed upward directly onto the hypotube 114 because of the configuration of the collapsible wall structure. This will be clear from inspection of the exemplary fasteners 110 as described above with reference to
In any event, displacing the mandrel 414 from within the fasteners 110 transfers the inward force exerted by the elastic tabs 116 to the hypotube 114, which temporarily secures the fastener onto the retention pin 112. Additionally, after expulsion of the mandrel 414 from the fastener 110, the spring 416 pushes the block 412 and mandrel 414 upward, thus elevating the gripping portion 113 of the retention pin 112 above the level of the cover 408, enabling easy removal. As seen in
In one embodiment, the fastener loading fixture 400 includes the same number of load stations 410 as the number of fasteners 110 that will be assembled into the cardiac implant. Furthermore, the loading fixture 400 accommodates multiple fasteners 110 having retention pins 112 that are tethered together, such as described above with reference to
While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description and not of limitation. Therefore, changes may be made within the appended claims without departing from the true scope of the invention.
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/834,356, filed Jun. 12, 2013.
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