This invention relates to medical devices, such as vascular filters to be used in a body lumen, such as a blood vessel, with improved strength and flexibility. A filter according to the invention includes a proximal frame section, a distal section and a flexible thin membrane with perfusion holes of a diameter that allows blood to pass, but prevents the movement of emboli downstream.
Both sections can be collapsed into a small diameter delivery catheter and expanded upon release from this catheter. The membrane has a proximal entrance mouth, which can be expanded, or deployed, substantially to the same size as the body lumen. It is attached to the proximal frame section, which has the function to keep the mouth of the membrane open and prevent the passing of emboli between the body lumen wall and the edge of the filter mouth.
In order to have a good flexibility, the membrane is made extremely thin. Normally this would create the risk that the membrane could tear easily, which could cause problems because emboli and pieces of the membrane would then be carried downstream from the filter site.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,258 discloses a retrieval basket for catching small particles, made from a slotted tube preferably made of Nitinol, a titanium nickel shape memory alloy. The pattern of the slots allows expansion of the Nitinol basket and by shape setting (heat treatment in the desired unconstrained geometry) this basket is made expandable and collapsible by means of moving it out or into a surrounding delivery tube.
In principle, a distal filter is made of such an expandable frame that defines the shape and enables placement and removal, plus a filter membrane or mesh that does the actual filtering work.
Sometimes the expandable frame and the mesh are integrated and made from a single material, for example Nitinol, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,205 or US Published Application No. 2002/0095173. These filters do not have a well-defined and constant size of the holes where the blood flows through, because of the relative movement of the filaments in the mesh. This is a disadvantage, because the size of emboli can be very critical, e.g. in procedures in the carotid arteries. Further the removal of such a filter, accompanied by a reduction of the diameter, may be critical because emboli can be squeezed through the mesh openings with their changing geometry.
A much better control of the particle size is achieved with a separate membrane or filter sheath, which has a well-defined hole pattern with for example holes of 100 microns, attached to a frame that takes care of the correct placement and removal of the filter.
WO 00/67668 discloses a Nitinol basket that forms the framework of the filter, and a separate polymer sheath is attached around this frame. At the proximal side, the sheath has large entrance ports for the blood and at the distal side a series of small holes filters out the emboli. This system, however, has some major disadvantages. First of all, the closed basket construction makes this filter frame rather rigid and therefore it is difficult to be used in tortuous arteries. At a curved part of an artery, it may even not fit well against the artery wall and will thus cause leakage along the outside of the filter.
Another disadvantage of such filters is there is a high risk of squeezing-out the caught debris upon removal, because the struts of the framework force the debris back in the proximal direction, while the volume of the basket frame decreases when the filter is collapsed. Further the construction makes it very difficult to reduce the profile upon placement of the filter. This is very critical, because these filters have to be advanced through critical areas in the artery, where angioplasty and/or stenting are necessary. Of course the catheter that holds this filter should be as small as possible then. In the just described filter miniaturization would be difficult because at a given cross section there is too much material. The metal frame is surrounded by polymer and in the center there is also a guide wire. During angioplasty and stenting, the movements of the guide wire will create further forces that influence the position and shape of the filter, which may cause problems with the proper sealing against the artery wall. This is also the case in strongly curved arteries.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,062, a frame is placed proximal and a distal polymer filter membrane has the shape of a bag, attached to one or more frame loops, forming an entrance mouth for the distal filter bag. Here the bag is made of a very flexible polymer and the hole size is well defined. Upon removal, the frame is closed, thus closing the mouth of the bag and partly preventing the squeezing-out of debris. This is already better than for the full basket design, which was described above, where the storage capacity for debris of the collapsed basket is relatively small. The filter bag is attached to the frame at its proximal end and sometimes to a guide wire at its distal end. Attachment to the guide wire can be advantageous, because some pulling force may prevent bunching of the bag in the delivery catheter.
It may be clear that it is easier to pull a flexible folded bag through a small diameter hole, than to push it through. However, the deformation of the bag material should stay within certain limits.
If the filter is brought into a delivery sheath of small diameter, collapsing the frame and pulling the bag into the delivery sheath causes rather high forces on the connection sites of filter to frame and/or guide wire. While the metal parts of the frame slide easily through such a delivery sheath, the membrane material may have the tendency to stick and in the worst case it may even detach from the frame and tear upon placement or during use, because of too much friction, unlimited expansion, crack propagation etc.
The connection of the filter bag to the frame is rather rigid, because of the method of direct attachment. Additional flexibility, combined with a high strength attachment spot would also be advantageous.
Methods for making kink resistant reinforced catheters by embedding wire ribbons are described in PCT/US93/01310. There, a mandrel is coated with a thin layer of encapsulating material. Then, a means (e.g. a wire) for reinforcement is deposited around the encapsulating material and eventually a next layer of encapsulating material is coated over the previous layers, including the reinforcement means. Finally the mandrel is removed from the core of the catheter.
Materials for encapsulating are selected from the group consisting of polyesterurethane, polyetherurethane, aliphatic polyurethane, polyimide, polyetherimide, polycarbonate, polysiloxane, hydrophilic polyurethane, polyvinyls, latex and hydroxyethylmethacrylate.
Materials for the reinforcement wire are stainless steel, MP35, Nitinol, tungsten, platinum, Kevlar, nylon, polyester and acrylic. Kevlar is a Dupont product, made of long molecular highly oriented chains, produced from poly-paraphenylene terephalamide. It is well known for its high tensile strength and modulus of elasticity.
In U.S. application Ser. No. 09/537,461 the use of polyethylene with improved tensile properties is described. It is stated that high tenacity, high modulus yarns are used in medical implants and prosthetic devices. Properties and production methods for polyethylene yarns are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,374 describes very low creep, ultra high modulus, low shrink, high tenacity polyolefin fibers having good strength retention at high temperatures, and methods to produce such fibers. In an example, the production of a poststretched braid, applied in particularly woven fabrics is described.
In US Published Application No. 2001/0034197, oriented fibers are used for reinforcing an endless belt, comprising a woven or non-woven fabric coated with a suitable polymer of a low hardness polyurethane membrane, in this case to make an endless belt for polishing silicon wafers. Examples are mentioned of suitable yarns like meta- or para-aramids such as KEVLAR, NOMEX OR TWARON; PBO or its derivatives; polyetherimide; polyimide; polyetherketone; PEEK; gel-spun UHMW polyethylene (such as DYNEEMA or SPECTRA); or polybenzimidazole; or other yarns commonly used in high-performance fabrics such as those for making aerospace parts. Mixtures or blends of any two or more yarns may be used, as may glass fibers (preferably sized), carbon or ceramic yarns including basalt or other rock fibers, or mixtures of such mineral fibers with synthetic polymer yarns. Any of the above yarns may be blended with organic yarns such as cotton.
The present invention provides novel medical devices, such as vascular filters, with improved strength and flexibility and methods for their manufacture. These filters have a proximal frame section and a distal section, which can be collapsed into a small diameter delivery catheter and expanded upon release from this catheter. The proximal section is made as a frame of a relatively rigid material compared to the material of the distal section, for example a metal, and the distal section is provided with a flexible thin membrane, with perfusion holes in filter devices, of a diameter that allows blood to pass, but prevents the passage of emboli. The distal filter membrane has a proximal entrance mouth, which has almost the same size as the body lumen of a patient when the filter is deployed. The membrane is attached to the proximal section, which has the function to keep the mouth of the distal filter open and to prevent the passing of emboli between the body lumen wall and the edge of the filter mouth.
In order to have a good flexibility and a minimized crossing profile upon delivery, the membrane is made extremely thin. Tearing of the membrane is prevented by embedding in the filter membrane thin filaments of a material with high strength in the longitudinal direction, but high flexibility upon bending. Such a filter membrane with embedded filaments can have extreme flexibility and elasticity in certain directions, combined with limited deformation, high strength and prevention of crack propagation through the membrane material. Further, the filaments can be attached to the proximal frame section in such a way that the connection points act as hinges and as additional safety for the case that the membrane material might come loose from the frame.
The embedded filaments can include elements that help to give the membrane a desired shape after deployment.
The surface of the membrane filter may be coated with an additional material that improves the properties, for example the biocompatibility, drugs release or any other desired property, which the membrane itself does not offer.
The thus reinforced membranes can also be manufactured without holes for use for parts of catheters, inflatable parts, balloon pumps, replacement of body tissues, repair of body parts and functional parts like artificial valves and membranes, where minimal thickness and/or high strength are required.
Fibers are used not only as reinforcement for the membranes, but are also used as pulling fibers for the extraction the device from a delivery catheter or for retrieval, or retraction, of the device into a removal sheath. The frames can be used in temporary devices like a removable temporary stent, dilator, reamer, occlusion device for main artery or side artery, a housing for a graft, a valve, a delivery platform for drugs, radiation or gene therapy, or any other device that has to be placed and removed after some time. Applications are not restricted to arteries, but are meant for all body lumens.
Further, the invention provides a method for producing devices such as filters by dipping on a removable mold. According to this method, thin filaments of a material with high strength in the longitudinal direction, but high flexibility upon bending, are embedded in the filter membrane. The fibers are preferably less stretchable than the membrane material. The resulting composite membrane can have extreme flexibility and elasticity in certain directions, combined with limited deformation, high strength and prevention of crack propagation through the membrane material. Another function of the embedded filaments is that they help to give the membrane a desired shape after deployment.
a is a detail view of a portion of the third embodiment in the operation stage of
b is a detail view similar to that of
a and 36b are detail views of a modified form of construction of a portion of the embodiment of
The advantages of the invention will become more apparent after reference to the following detailed description.
In the present specification, filters with improved flexibility and smaller profile are described. Such a filter basically has a proximal frame for expansion and contraction and, attached thereto, a thin filter bag that is made of two basic materials. One material is the highly flexible filter membrane itself, with a pattern of holes for allowing flow of blood particles below a well defined size, and the other material is a reinforcement made of fine fibers with high axial strength but thin enough to be flexible upon bending. The reinforcement is integrated with the membrane to create a composite structure with very flexible membrane areas where the blood is filtered and extremely strong reinforcement fibers that take up excessive forces to prevent the membrane from tearing even in response to pulling forces, and act as flexible hinges at the points of attachment to the proximal frame and/or to a guide wire. All of the fibers disclosed herein can consist of, or include Dyneema® fibers, manufactured by DSM High Performance Fibers, a subsidiary of DSM N.V. These are superstrong polyethylene fibers. The fibers can also be combined with fibers or wires of other materials, such as Nitinol, to help control the expanded shape of the filter
These fibers can be embedded in the membrane by a dipping or spraying process or they can be attached with glue, stitching, a solvent for the membrane material, heat, welding etc.
In order to achieve a better connection between the reinforcement fibers and the membrane material, the fibers may first be coated with a material that adheres well to the membrane material, for example with the same material as the membrane.
The fibers can be made of any strong and tough material, preferably a material with a modulus of elasticity that is higher than that of the surrounding membrane. The fibers can be made of round, flat or different shaped mono-filaments or multi-filaments and can include metal elements, for example titanium or Nitinol, carbon, boron, glass, or polymers, for example ultra high molecular weight polymers with extreme tensile strength and high modulus.
The fibers not only reinforce the membrane, but also can be used to control the final geometry, prevent crack propagation, act as hinges at the place of attachment to the frame and prevent loss of the membrane or parts of it.
Because the reinforcement the membrane itself can be made much thinner than known membranes, the crossing profile of the composite filter can be much lower than for a single polymer membrane, even if the reinforcement fibers are thicker than the membrane itself.
A method according to the invention for making a reinforced filter is carried out by first providing a paraffin mold having the desired shape of the expanded, or deployed, filter bag. Then the mold is covered with a polymer skin, which will subsequently detach easily from the membrane polymer. This paraffin mold, covered with the polymer skin, is dipped in a solution of polymer and solvent until a layer of membrane polymer is created. After that step, the frame is placed around the mold and reinforcement fibers, possibly coated, are then mounted to the frame at the hinge sites and laid over the surface of the mold. Another dipping step in the solution of polymer and solvent ensures full embedding of the fibers into the growing membrane polymer layer. Finally, the perfusion hole pattern is laser drilled into the membrane and the last step is the removal of the paraffin by melting it out in warm water. The polymer skin can then be easily detached from the inside of the filter membrane and pulled out
With the use of a paraffin mold it is possible to make complicated or very simple designs, because there is no need to remove a relatively large mandrel from the filter after it has been made. This would be complicated if the mandrel was for example a metal or polymer part, which had to be pulled through some openings at the proximal side.
Paraffin is of course not the only material that can be used for a mold. Any material that can be brought into the desired shape and can be dipped directly or after application an intermediate layer may be used. Examples are meltable materials or materials that easily dissolve in water, like salt or sugar crystals. Other examples are fine grains in a vacuum bag or an inflated balloon which is deflated after dipping. It is also possible, for certain filter embodiments, to use a mold that can be safely removed without being melted, dissolved, or deformed.
Fibers are also used for enabling the removal of an expandable device by pulling the device into a removal sheath.
The principles of the disclosed invention become clear from the following description of the figures. Identical parts in different figures are given the same reference number.
However, dipping of the paraffin mold directly into the polyurethane has been found to not give the best results. Therefore, paraffin mold is first covered with a thin sheet 402 of polyvinyl alcohol. The polyvinyl alcohol is a thin sheet that can be stretched after wetting with water and pulled tight around the paraffin and then tied together with a small clip or wire 403. Then, the resulting assembly is dipped a few times in a solution of polyurethane in tetrahydrofuran, thus building a layer of polyurethane of, e.g., 3 microns in thickness at the right side of the dipping line.
At the distal end, i.e., the right-hand end, of the assembly, all fibers come together in a guide ring or tube 430, where they are held in correct position for the further dipping operation.
This construction is extremely strong and still very flexible. The 5 micron thick membrane with the reinforcement fibers 428 fits easily in a delivery catheter of only 0.9 mm inner diameter and adapts to all sizes of arteries between 1 and 8 mm diameter.
The central guide wire 443 extends to the left from connector 444 through the membrane and frame 420, including the uncut part of tubing 425. Within connector 444, fibers 428 are wrapped around, and secured to, guide wire 443. To remove the filter from a delivery catheter, guide wire 442 is pushed from its proximal end (not shown-to the left in
The fibers are so well embedded in the polyurethane membrane that in case the membrane detaches from a Nitinol frame strut, the membrane will still have a strong connection to the frame and can be collapsed and removed from the patient safely.
In case of a tear in the membrane, for example starting from a 100 micron hole, this membrane may tear further, but only until the tear meets a fiber. There the tear will stop, and the membrane can be removed safely and completely as well. Of course this situation is very undesirable and the loss of some entrapped emboli may be the consequence, but at least the removal of the filter itself would not cause problems.
After a medical procedure has been performed, the Nitinol frame can be collapsed to close the mouth of the filter and entrapped emboli cannot leave this closed filter bag anymore. The hinges guarantee now that the filled bag hangs at the distal end of the removal catheter and still can move easily through curved arteries.
The reinforcement fibers can be used not only for their high tensile strength. They can also be combined with memory metal wires, or filaments, made, for example, of Nitinol wires that can be shape set to almost any desired shape by heat treatment. Such wires may be embedded in or attached to the membrane to guarantee a smooth folding/unfolding of the membrane. An example is an embedded Nitinol wire that helps to give the mouth of the filter membrane a smooth geometry that fits well to the artery wall. Such a Nitinol wire for shape control can be combined with a more flexible, but stronger, fiber, which is used to protect the membrane against incidental overload, tear propagation or any of the described problems in non-reinforced membranes.
The orientation and number of the reinforcement fibers is not limited and can vary with the desired application.
In
A guide wire 453 is fastened to fiber 452 at at least one point at the distal end of the filter and extends through the filter to a proximal end thereof (not shown—to the left in
The pattern with crossing reinforcement fibers gives the filter membrane different elastic properties and gives the benefit of an improved, but limited axial elasticity.
The pattern of filter holes, preferably cut by laser, can be made in zones between the fibers to avoid damaging the fibers.
However, if the pattern of reinforcement fibers is very fine, the holes may just be cut without regard for the locations of these fibers. There will then still be enough reinforcement left, because adjacent crossing, parallel or angled uncut fibers can take over some forces via the embedding material of the membrane itself.
The conical filter shape has the following advantages. If this filter has a maximum, expanded, diameter of 8 mm and is placed in an artery of 8 mm diameter, all holes will be free from the artery wall and blood can flow through all holes. As soon as particles of debris, like emboli, are entrapped, they will tend to collect at the most distal tip, leaving the more proximal holes open.
The area of the conical surface of the cone relates to the cross-sectional area of the artery as the length of the cone edge from base to tip relates to the radius of the artery. Preferably, the total surface area of the holes should be at least equal to the cross-sectional area of the artery in order to guarantee an almost undistorted blood flow. This is the case if the ratio of the total surface area of the cone surface to the total hole surface area is smaller than the ratio of the cone surface area to the cross-sectional area of the artery, or, in other words, the total surface are of the holes is at least equal to the cross-sectional area of the artery.
For an artery having an inner diameter of 8 mm, a total number of 6400 holes each with a 100 micron diameter is needed for the same surface area. Of course, the type of flow through small 100 micron diameter holes is different from the undistorted flow through an open artery. However, because the wall thickness of a reinforced membrane according to the invention can be extremely small, the length of a hole (for example only 5 microns) ensures a much better flow than compared to a 100 micron hole in a thick membrane.
A filter made in conical shape will also have enough free holes if it is used in arteries with smaller diameter. The holes that touch the artery wall will not contribute to the flow, but the remaining free holes still have the same surface area as the actual cross section of the smaller artery.
Filters according to this invention are so much more flexible than existing filters that they can be made longer without creating problems in strong curves. Therefore they can have greater storage capacity for emboli.
If the reinforced membrane and the filter frame are mounted to each other without overlap, as in
Here, at a specific cross section of the Nitinol frame near the attachment points 429, the Nitinol frame, the membrane, the fibers and a central guide wire 453 all take their part of the available cross section in the delivery sheath. It depends on the demands if this is allowable, or if a design should be chosen without overlap, where frame and membrane are separated by the fiber hinges, thus reducing the size.
The construction of Nitinol frame 420 has certain advantages. Production of the frame is very simple, the guide wire is kept in the center, and the filter can be pulled out of the delivery sheath by pushing on guide wire 453 from the left to exert a pulling force on fiber 452 and membrane 451.
During removal of the filter from an artery, the longitudinal spokes 426 of frame 420 just have to pull the struts 427 of the zigzag section into a removal sheath.
However, such a frame can also have some disadvantages. In strongly curved arteries the guide wire will bend and it will cause forces that may deform the zigzag struts. Eventually the contact with the wall of the artery is not optimal then, which is undesirable.
Another disadvantage is that axial movements of the guide wire, for example caused by the angioplasty/stenting procedure can influence the position of the filter. It would be better if the guide wire could move freely over at least a certain axial length plus in radial and tangential directions within the entire cross section of the filter, without exerting any force on the expanded frame.
In
Guide wire 461 runs through the filter and ends at distal section 462. Fastened to guide wire 461 are stops 463 and 464 that have a larger diameter than the guide wire itself. These stops are connected tightly to the guide wire by any known technique. At the distal tip of filter 460, a ring 465 is fastened to the filter and guide wire 461 can slide freely through ring 465, until stop 463 touches ring 465.
At the proximal side of stop 464, a second slide ring 466 is mounted around guide wire 461 to allow guide wire 461 to slide freely therethrough. Slide rings 465 and 466 are given a smooth shape with rounded edges to let the move easily in associated sheaths and in the artery.
The filter membrane 470 is connected directly to slide ring 465 and reinforcement fibers 471 are also attached tightly to ring 465. At the other side, reinforcement fibers 471 are connected to an expandable frame 480 at connection points 481, possibly together with the membrane material itself.
Expandable frame 480 is provided with points of attachment 482 at its proximal side, which are needed to pull the frame back into a removal sheath, such as sheath 490 in
If the guide wire is moved through the filter in the proximal direction, i.e., to the left in
If the guide wire is moved through the filter in the distal direction, i.e., to the right in
With the construction of slide rings 465 and 466 on guide wire 461, the guide wire can be rotated around its length axis without influencing the position and shape of the filter and its frame.
All of these degrees of freedom enable the operator to use guide wire 461 for angioplasty/stenting procedures without influencing the shape and position of the distal filter. This is extremely important.
Further, this design allows the length of Nitinol frame 480 to be shortened and thus it makes the filter more flexible and more easily usable in strongly bent arteries and arteries with limited space for the filter, in view of the high degree of flexibility of membrane 470 and fibers 471 and 483. In a strongly curved artery, guide wire 461 may even touch the inner wall of frame 480, without exerting relevant forces on the filter. Even with a strongly bent guide wire, the filter will still maintain its full contact with the artery wall and guarantee a safe functioning of the device for a wide range of artery diameters and geometries.
As can be seen from a comparison of
Another advantage is that debris in the blood will less likely adhere to the thin fibers than to the proximal side of parts 425 and 426 of
An example would be a composite fiber made of a Nitinol filament core, surrounded by a multifilament ultra high molecular weight highly oriented polymer. The Nitinol can be used to give some shape control to the wire, for example to prevent adjacent fibers from becoming entangled. The polymer multifilament, besides having high strength and low strain, can have for example anti-thrombogenic agents embedded therein.
In
The force F1, applied to guide wire 461, is transferred by stop 464 to slide ring 466, which distributes the force to fibers 483 that are now pulling on the proximal side 482 of frame 480.
The wire ends can be attached by any technique that is available, for example by putting them through respective holes 484 in frame 480, and securing them by a knot 485 on the inside surface of the frame. The proximal tips 486 of frame 480 have been formed in such a way that they are slightly curved inside with a conical top angle that is larger than the top angle of the cone, described by the stretched fibers 483, just before the parts 486 enter into removal sheath 493. This is done to prevent these proximal sections from becoming stuck at the distal end 494 of the removal sheath.
With the tapered shape of frame 480, the tension force in fibers 483 will easily make it possible to slide the removal sheath over the frame until it is completely covered by this sheath. Filter membrane 470, eventually filled with embolic debris, does not have to be pulled into this sheath completely. It can extend from the distal end 494 while the whole device is removed from the artery.
a and 36b are side views of an alternative embodiment 510 of the filter frame, in its expanded and collapsed shapes, respectively. This embodiment is shorter than the embodiment of
The fact that the filter frame is not subjected to a pushing force during deployment from, or retraction into, a sheath enables a further downscaling of the frame struts and thus a miniaturization of the delivery profile of the device. This is also enhanced by the fact that the guide wire does not influence the shape and position of the filter upon angioplasty and stenting, so the frame itself can now also be made lighter.
In
The elongated struts forming frame 520 can be shape set into almost any desirable angle. A part of the struts may be parallel with the length axis of the filter, while another part or parts may be angled inside or outside, as needed for smooth removal of the device. Outside angled tips may even help to anchor the frame in the blood vessel for more axial stability.
The fibers 483 will easily move with distal end 531 of tube 530 and, dependant on the length of these fibers, the most distal position of tube end 531 can be chosen. This positioning of a tube inside or beyond the frame 520 opens the possibility of flushing and/or suction through it in order to move debris either deeper into the distal end of the filter or to suction debris out of the filter. Flushing with certain liquids can also help to make the debris smaller. An additional treatment device can also be inserted through tube 530 inside the filter. This additional treatment device can be any means for inspection, measuring or all kinds of treatments like breaking up of clots by mechanical means, laser, ultrasonics, etc. Also additional retrieval devices may be brought into the filter through tube 530. Of course, tube 530 may be the same tube as the removal sheath, in order to save components and to reduce operating time.
Normally it can be expected that the major part of the debris will collect most distally, leaving the most proximal holes open for blood flow. This can be improved by providing additional reservoir 472, which is connected to the conical section 473 by a portion 474. If the diameter of reservoir 472 is half the maximum diameter of the frame, the surface area that remains free for blood flow between the wall of the full reservoir and the artery wall is still 75% of the maximum surface area of the artery. The capacity of reservoir 472 can be chosen so that the closure of filter holes in section 473 by abundant debris is most unlikely. Additional flushing and/or suction as described with references to
The shape and diameter of reservoir 472 will be dependent on the expected diameter and geometry of the artery that will be treated. The shape of reservoir 472 can be determined by embedded fibers. The membrane may for example be elastic, while the fibers can have a limited stretchability. Dependent on the pressure inside the reservoir, the diameter of the membrane can be made to vary until it reaches a certain predetermined value, when the embedded fibers reach their strain limit. Such embedded diameter limiting fibers will have a more or less tangential orientation.
Frames as shown in
A filter according to the invention, particularly because of the flexibility of the fibers, allows an element, such as tube 530 of
Membranes according to the invention can be used, without holes, as skin for grafts, stents, heart valve tissues, etc.
The following Figures show a device bearing certain similarities to that shown in
The start of a procedure according to the invention is shown in
The next step is the introduction of a filter into the external carotid artery. Customarily, the external carotid artery may have a tortuous course and its location is established initially by the use of a combination of a guide wire 600 and a sheath 10, which may have a diameter of 3Fr. Guide wire 600 can be radiolucent and non-traumatic and can be positioned with the sheath accurately within the external carotid artery.
After this position has been established, guide wire 600 can be withdrawn and a filter 601 carried by a guide wire 2 having a distal extension 2′ is placed in the external carotid artery 66 through sheath 10. Then sheath 10 is withdrawn to deploy, or expand, filter 601 in order trap any debris from the subsequent angioplasty procedure while allowing at least a limited blood flow past filter 601. This procedure is shown in
At this stage, blood flow is antegrade, i.e., in the normal forward flow direction, in CCA 70, ICA 64 and ECA 66.
Filter 601 preferably has any of the forms shown in attached FIGS. 7 and 28-39.
Sheath 10 is withdrawn from the patient's body to assure that space is available in sheath 68 for subsequent insertion of other catheters.
In the next part of the procedure, as shown in
Catheter 604 typically carries a stent deployment balloon that is expanded after catheter 604 has been properly positioned, to expand and deploy stent 606 in order to alleviate the blockage caused by obstruction 62. Initially, the balloon carried by catheter 604 is deflated.
The blood flow continues to be antegrade.
Then, as shown in
After inflation of balloon 72 to block blood flow in CCA 70 around sheath 68 (blood flow within sheath is prevented by sealing the proximal end of sheath 68), the balloon carried by catheter 604 is expanded to expand and deploy stent 606 in a manner to compress and at least partially disintegrate obstruction 62. The resulting debris tends to be trapped between filter 601 in ECA 66, balloon 72 and and the balloon on catheter 602.
The balloon carried by catheter 604 is then deflated after stent deployment. It is to be noted that, ordinarily, retrograde flow would cease when CCA 70 is blocked. However, in the apparatus described, upon partial withdrawal of catheter 604, it can be utilized to perform low grade suction from outside the body of stagnant blood and debris in the area between the ICA, CCA and blocking balloon 72. Specifically, suction can be applied by a suction device connected to the proximal end of catheter 604, from a location outside of the patient's body, as shown in
The presence of filter 601 in ECA 66 will markedly diminish retrograde flow and can serve to prevent a flow from ECA to ICA. Thus, it acts as a partial obstruction. For practical purposes, any retrograde flow from ICA 64 to ECA 66 will result in trapping of debris in filter 601.
Then, angioplasty stent catheter 604, or the above-mentioned non-tapered sheath, is withdrawn from the patient's body and, as shown in
Sheath 610 can now be withdrawn or left in.
After both filters are safely deployed and are stable, antegrade flow is allowed to resume by deflating balloon 72.
If the patient is hemodynamically stable and has no evidence of stroke objectively determined by well known techniques such as transcranial doppler of the brain and clinical evaluation, each filter can be withdrawn using its respective introductory sheath to end the procedure. This is done, as shown in
According to a further feature of the invention, suction may be applied to ICA 64 through sheath 610 after angioplasty catheter 604 has been withdrawn from the patient's body, i.e., at the stage shown in
Suction can also be applied directly through sheath 68.
Introduction of all illustrated components into the arteries can be effected according to conventional techniques through a conventional manifold.
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
This is a continuation-in-part of allowed U.S. application Ser. No. 10/304,067, filed on Nov. 26, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,214,237, issued on May 8, 2007, which is itself a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/803,641, filed on Mar. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,502, issued on Nov. 26, 2002, the entire disclosures of which applications and patents are incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims the benefit of the filing dates of the following U.S. Provisional Applications: No. 60/412,071, filed Sep. 19, 2002; No. 60/417,408, filed Oct. 9, 2002; and No. ______, filed Nov. 1, 2002.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60412071 | Sep 2002 | US | |
60417408 | Oct 2002 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10891152 | Jul 2004 | US |
Child | 11745839 | US | |
Parent | 10304067 | Nov 2002 | US |
Child | 10891152 | US | |
Parent | 09803641 | Mar 2001 | US |
Child | 10304067 | US |