Atrial stretch measurement for atrial fibrillation prevention

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019159686-A1
Application number	US-201816179669-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 2, 2018
Priority date	Nov 29, 2017
Publication date	May 30, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A stretch-measurement probe includes an elongate outer sleeve, expansion feature associated with a distal portion of the outer sleeve, and an elongate inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve. The expansion feature is configured to allow a longitudinal distance between a proximal end of the outer sleeve and the distal end of the outer sleeve to be varied.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A stretch-measurement device comprising:
an elongate outer sleeve; an expansion feature associated with a distal portion of the outer sleeve; and an elongate inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve; wherein the expansion feature is configured to allow a longitudinal distance between a proximal end of the outer sleeve and a distal end of the outer sleeve to be varied.

2 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , further comprising a means for removing the stretch-measurement device that allows for removal of the stretch-measurement device from outside of a patient when the stretch-measurement device is implanted at least partially within the patient.

3 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the expansion feature comprises a flexible spring.

4 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the expansion feature and the outer sleeve are a unitary form.

5 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the expansion feature is formed at least in part by a cut in the outer sleeve.

6 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the outer sleeve is at least partially transparent.

7 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end of the outer sleeve comprises one or more stretch indicator markings.

8 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein a proximal end of the inner rod comprises one or more stretch indicator markings.

9 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the inner rod is fixed to the outer sleeve at an attachment point of the outer sleeve.

10 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 9 , wherein the expansion feature is positioned between the attachment point of the outer sleeve and a distal end of the outer sleeve.

11 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first sensor element associated with a distal end of the outer sleeve; and a second sensor element associated with a distal end of the inner rod.

12 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 11 , wherein one of the first and second sensor elements comprises a magnet, and the other of the first and second sensor elements comprises a Hall effect sensor.

13 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 11 , wherein one or more of the first and second sensor elements is configured to provide a voltage signal indicating a distance between the first and second sensor elements.

14 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 1 , further comprising a pull-release wire disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve and between the outer sleeve and the inner rod.

15 . The stretch-measurement device of claim 14 , wherein the pull-release wire is coupled to a handle at a proximal end of the pull-release wire.

16 . An implantable device for monitoring atrial stretch comprising:
electrically-conductive material configured to be sensed by a monitor device through a chest wall; and means for securing the implantable device to a surface of an atrium of a heart.

17 . The implantable device of claim 16 , further comprising a magnet.

18 . The implantable device of claim 16 , further comprising:
a biocompatible housing; radio-frequency identification (RFID) circuitry disposed within the housing; an antenna; and non-volatile data storage configured to store identification information associated with the implantable device; wherein the RFID circuitry is configured to facilitate transmission of the identification information wirelessly through the chest wall.

19 . The implantable device of claim 16 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises a conductive coil.

20 . The implantable device of claim 16 , further comprising a sensor element configured to sense one or more other implantable devices disposed in proximity thereto.

21 . A method of monitoring stretching of an organ, the method comprising:
suturing an outer sleeve of a stretch-measurement probe to a surface of an atrium of a heart of a patient at a first attachment point of the outer sleeve, the stretch-measurement probe comprising an inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve; suturing the outer sleeve to the surface of the atrium at a second attachment point of the outer sleeve, the second attachment point being longitudinally spaced from the first attachment point by a first distance; disposing the stretch-measurement probe in a chest access channel in a chest of the patient; and when the surface of the atrium has stretched, thereby causing an expansion feature of the stretch-measurement probed to expand between the first and second attachment points such that the second attachment point becomes longitudinally spaced from the first attachment point by a second distance that is greater than the first distance, determining an amount of stretch associated with surface of the atrium based at least in part on a relative movement of a proximal portion of the outer sleeve with respect to a proximal portion of the inner rod.

22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising closing a chest cavity of the patient prior to said determining the amount of stretch.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said suturing the outer sleeve to the surface of the atrium at the first attachment point comprises passing a suture through an opening in the expansion feature and around a wire disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve.

24 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising removing the stretch-measurement probe from the chest of the patient through the chest access channel while the chest of the patient is substantially closed.

25 . The method of claim 24 , further comprising pulling a pull-release wire disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve prior to said removing the stretch-measurement probe.

26 . The method of claim 24 , wherein said removing the stretch-measurement probe comprises pulling the stretch-measurement probe through the chest access channel.

27 . A method of monitoring stretching of an organ, the method comprising:
implanting a plurality of electrically-conductive markers on a surface of an atrium of a heart of a patient; closing a chest cavity of the patient; approximating a monitor device to a chest of the patient; detecting the plurality of electrically-conductive markers using the monitor device; and determining location information associated with the plurality of electrically-conductive markers using the monitor device.

28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the plurality of electrically-conductive markers comprises three electrically-conductive markers.

29 . The method of claim 27 , wherein implanting the plurality of electrically-conductive markers comprises suturing the plurality of electrically-conductive markers to the surface of the atrium.

30 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising adhering the monitor device to the chest of the patient.

31 . An atrial stretch monitoring system comprising:
a plurality of electrically-conductive markers configured to be implanted on a surface of an atrium of a heart; and a monitor device configured to detect locations of the plurality of electrically-conductive markers through a chest wall when the electrically-conductive markers are implanted on the surface o

Assignees

• Edwards Lifesciences Corp

Inventors

• Bak-Boychuk Gregory
• Rowe Stanton J

Classifications

• A61B5/746

  Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms · CPC title

• A61B5/1107

  Measuring contraction of parts of the body, e.g. organ or muscle · CPC title

• A61B2562/08

  Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips · CPC title

• A61B2562/0261

  Strain gauges · CPC title

• A61B5/07

  Endoradiosondes · CPC title