Arteriovenous shunt having a flow control mechanism

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9067050-B2
Application number	US-201213435371-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2012
Priority date	Mar 30, 2012
Publication date	Jun 30, 2015
Grant date	Jun 30, 2015

Abstract

An arteriovenous shunt assembly including a shunt and a pull wire operated flow control mechanism. The shunt has a tubular body that defines a fluid passageway between a first end and a second end thereof The pull wire mechanism includes a portion disposed around the tubular shunt in at least one loop. The at least one loop may be selectively tightened or loosened remotely from the shunt to regulate the rate of blood flow through the tubular shunt.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An arteriovenous shunt assembly comprising:
a tubular shunt having a fluid passageway between open first end second ends thereof;
a flow control mechanism that includes a pull wire having a distal portion disposed circumferentially around the tubular shunt in at least one loop; and
a subcutaneous control port containing ends of the pull wire and an opening for percutaneous access to the ends of the pull wires, wherein pulling on at least one of the ends of the pull wire causes the pull wire to selectively tighten around the tubular shunt and radially constrict the tubular shunt, thereby reducing the rate of blood flow permitted through the fluid passageway of the tubular shunt.

2. The arteriovenous shunt assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tubular shunt includes graft material having a plurality of self-expanding stents attached thereto.

3. The arteriovenous shunt assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one loop of the distal portion of the flow control mechanism is disposed around an outer surface of the tubular shunt.

4. The arteriovenous shunt assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one loop of the distal portion is a series of spaced apart loops disposed around the tubular shunt.

5. The arteriovenous shunt assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one loop of the distal portion of the flow control mechanism is positioned approximately at the longitudinal midpoint of the tubular shunt.

6. The arteriovenous shunt assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flow control mechanism also includes an elongated shaft defining a first lumen for slidingly receiving a first elongated leg of the wire and a second lumen for slidingly receiving a second elongated leg of the wire, the elongated shaft having a distal end segment coupled to an inside surface of the tubular shunt and a proximal end coupled to the subcutaneous control port.

7. The arteriovenous shunt assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second ends of the tubular shunt have a larger outer diameter than a middle portion of the tubular shunt.

8. A method for forming a connection between a first body vessel and a second body vessel for controlling blood flow through the connection, the method comprising the steps of:
intravascularly delivering a shunt assembly in its collapsed configuration to a tissue tract formed between the first vessel and the second vessel, the shunt assembly including a tubular shunt that defines a fluid passageway between a first end and a second end thereof and a flow control mechanism coupled to the shunt, wherein the flow control mechanism includes a continuous pull wire having a distal portion disposed around the tubular shunt in at least one loop;
positioning the tubular shunt through the tissue tract;
deploying the tubular shunt to an expanded configuration;
pulling on an end of the pull wire to tighten the at least one loop of the distal portion to radially constrict the tubular shunt and thereby reduce the rate of blood flow permitted through the fluid passageway of the tubular shunt; wherein the step of pulling on an end of the pull wire includes forming a small incision through the patient's skin in order to access ends of the wire; and pulling on at least one of the ends of the wire.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein first vessel is an artery and the second vessel is a vein adjacent to the artery.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the artery is a femoral artery in a leg and the vein is a femoral vein in the leg, and the step of longitudinally shifting the flow control mechanism provides treatment for COPD.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of deploying the tubular shunt includes retracting a sheath of a delivery system.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one loop of the distal portion is disposed within a track formed within an outer surface of the tubular shunt.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one loop of the distal portion is a series of spaced apart loops disposed around the tubular shunt.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one loop of the distal portion is positioned approximately at the longitudinal midpoint of the tubular shunt.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the flow control mechanism also includes an elongated shaft defining a first lumen for slidingly receiving a first elongated leg of the wire and a second lumen for slidingly receiving a second elongated leg of the wire, the elongated shaft having a distal end segment coupled to an inside surface of the tubular shunt.

Assignees

• Gallagher John
• Mccaffrey Gerry
• Medtronic Vascular Inc

Inventors

• Gallagher John
• Mccaffrey Gerry

Classifications

• A61B2017/1107

  for blood vessels · CPC title

• A61F2/07

  Stent-grafts · CPC title

• A61F5/004

  remotely adjustable · CPC title

• A61F2002/072

  Encapsulated stents, e.g. wire or whole stent embedded in lining · CPC title

• A61M5/16813

  by controlling the degree of opening of the flow line · CPC title