Medical implant detachment mechanism and introducer assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10034670-B2
Application number	US-201514961076-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2015
Priority date	Dec 8, 2014
Publication date	Jul 31, 2018
Grant date	Jul 31, 2018

Abstract

A detachment mechanism for an introducer assembly is designed to hold a coupling element of an implantable medical device until its desired release within a patient's vessel. The detachment mechanism includes a body portion having first and second gripper arm elements which grip onto the coupling element of the medical device. The gripper arms are naturally biased into a closed position by means of resiliency of the body element. For this purpose, an actuating device or opening element is provided which includes an enlarged head which can be pulled against tapering internal surface of the body portion of the detachment mechanism in order to force the gripper arms open, thereby to release the medical device from the introducer assembly. The detachment mechanism, being naturally in the closed configuration, reliably holds a medical device to the introducer assembly until it is desired to release the latter into the patient's vessel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A medical implant detachment device for holding and releasing a medical implant in an introducer assembly, the detachment device having a longitudinal axis, a proximal end and a distal end, and including:
a jaw unit including a plurality of jaw elements located at the distal end of the detachment device, the jaw elements having a closed configuration and an open configuration and being configured to be in the closed configuration when unbiased, the jaw elements forming a medical implant coupling chamber designed to receive a coupling element of a medical implant, the jaw unit including an enclosure separate from the coupling chamber and disposed proximally of the coupling chamber;
a jaw opening element disposed in the enclosure of the jaw unit, the jaw opening element having a first, non-biasing, position maintaining the jaw elements in the closed configuration and being longitudinally movable from the first position to a second position, wherein in the second position the jaw opening element biases the jaw elements from the closed configuration to the open configuration; wherein the jaw opening element includes a head member disposed within the enclosure, wherein the plurality of jaw elements are pinched together at a first pinch point, creating a first portion with radially inward outer walls and radially inward inner walls being rounded along the longitudinal axis or being tapering along the longitudinal axis against which the head member is able to press when longitudinally moved to bias the jaw elements into the open configuration, wherein the plurality of jaw elements are pinched together at a second pinch point, creating a second portion with radially inward outer walls and radially inward inner walls, the second pinch point being distal to the first pinch point and between the enclosure and the coupling chamber along the longitudinal axis, wherein the inner walls and the outer walls of the second pinch point open radially outward towards the coupling chamber.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the second position of the jaw opening element is proximal of the first position, and the jaw opening element is retracted proximally in the longitudinal direction to open the jaw elements.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the head member is rounded or spherical.

4. The device according to claim 1 , including an end-stop adjacent the jaw elements.

5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein the end stop is disposed in the enclosure.

6. The device according to claim 1 , including a trigger wire having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the trigger wire being attached to the jaw opening element and the proximal end of the trigger wire being actuatable to retract the jaw opening element proximally in the longitudinal direction from the first position to the second position.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the jaw elements have facing concave inner surfaces.

8. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the concave inner surfaces of the jaw elements are partially spherical.

9. The device according to claim 1 , including two jaw elements, disposed substantially opposite one another.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the detachment device is formed from a cannula, the jaw elements being cut from the cannula.

11. An introducer assembly including:
a medical implant detachment device according to claim 1 ;
a catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end being coupled to the detachment device;
an outer sheath within which the catheter and detachment device are locatable; and
an implantable medical device having a coupling element disposed within the chamber of the jaw elements of the detachment device, the coupling element being held in the chamber by the closed configuration of the jaw elements.

12. The introducer assembly according to claim 11 , wherein the medical device is an embolization coil.

Assignees

• Cook Medical Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Elgård Per
• Torp Allan

Classifications

• A61B2017/00336

  with a protective sleeve, e.g. retractable or slidable · CPC title

• A61B2017/12054

  Details concerning the detachment of the occluding device from the introduction device · CPC title

• A61B2017/00862

  elastic or resilient · CPC title

• A61B2017/00964

  composite · CPC title

• A61B17/1214

  Coils or wires · CPC title