Off-center tissue anchors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9907547-B2
Application number	US-201515104467-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 2, 2015
Priority date	Dec 2, 2014
Publication date	Mar 6, 2018
Grant date	Mar 6, 2018

Abstract

A tissue anchor ( 200, 258, 300 ) includes a shaft ( 122 ), a tissue-coupling element ( 128 ), and a flexible elongate tension member ( 202 ). The tissue-coupling element ( 128 ) includes a wire ( 150 ), which is shaped as an open loop ( 154 ) having more than one turn when the tissue anchor ( 200, 258, 300 ) is unconstrained. The tension member ( 202 ) includes a distal portion ( 204 ) that is fixed to a site ( 206 ) on the open loop ( 154 ), a proximal portion ( 208 ), which has a longitudinal segment ( 209 ) that runs alongside at least a portion ( 210 ) of the shaft ( 122 ), and a crossing portion ( 212 ), which (i) is disposed between the distal and the proximal N portions ( 204, 208 ) along the tension member ( 202 ), and (ii) crosses at least a portion of the open loop ( 154 ) when the tissue anchor ( 200, 258, 300 ) is unconstrained. The tissue anchor ( 200, 258, 300 ) is configured to allow relative axial motion between the at least a portion ( 210 ) of the shaft ( 122 ) and the longitudinal segment ( 209 ) of the proximal portion ( 208 ) of the tension member ( 202 ) when the tissue anchor ( 200, 258, 300 ) is unconstrained.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Apparatus for delivery in a constrained state within a deployment tool, the apparatus comprising a tissue anchor, which comprises:
a shaft;
a tissue-coupling element, which comprises a wire, which is shaped as an open loop having more than one turn when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool; and
a flexible elongate tension member, which includes (a) a distal portion that is fixed to a site on the open loop, (b) a proximal portion, which has a longitudinal segment that runs alongside at least a portion of the shaft, and (c) a crossing portion, which (i) is disposed between the distal and the proximal portions along the flexible elongate tension member, and (ii) crosses at least a portion of the open loop when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool,
wherein the tissue anchor is configured to allow relative axial motion between the at least a portion of the shaft and the longitudinal segment of the proximal portion of the flexible elongate tension member when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool,
wherein the longitudinal segment of the proximal portion of the flexible elongate tension member is coupled in sliding communication with the at least a portion of the shaft when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool, and
wherein the tissue anchor comprises one or more annular elements, which are disposed around the at least a portion of the shaft, and couple the flexible elongate tension member in the sliding communication with the at least a portion of the shaft when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the open loop is shaped as a spiral when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the spiral is shaped as an elliptical spiral when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the site is on an outermost turn of the open loop when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a radius of the flexible elongate tension member is less than a radius of the wire.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the radius of the flexible elongate tension member is less than 50% of the radius of the wire.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool and the flexible elongate tension member is tensioned straight, if the tissue-coupling element and the flexible elongate tension member were to be projected onto a plane that is perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the shaft, an angle between (a) the flexible elongate tension member and (b) a tangent to the open loop at the site would be between 70 and 90 degrees.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shaft comprises a sealing element.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shaft has a central longitudinal axis that is straight when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shaft and the tissue-coupling element are integral to one another.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of the wire is at least 0.09 mm2 and no more than 2.9 mm2.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the site on the open loop is a first site on the open loop, and wherein, when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool and the flexible elongate tension member is tensioned straight:
the open loop surrounds a center point,
the wire extends from a distal end of the shaft at a second site on the open loop, and
if the tissue-coupling element and the flexible elongate tension member were to be projected onto a plane that is perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the shaft, an angle between the first and the second sites, having a vertex at the center point, would be between 130 and 180 degrees.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the angle is between 150 and 180 degrees.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12 , the second site is at a radially-outer end of the open loop when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool:
the open loop surrounds a center point, and
(a) a site distance between the site and a distal end of the shaft is greater than (b) a center-point distance between the center point and the distal end of the shaft, when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool:
the open loop has a greatest lateral dimension, measured perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the shaft, and
the at least a portion of the open loop crossed by the crossing portion has a length that equals at least 50% of the greatest lateral dimension.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the length of the at least a portion of the open loop crossed by the crossing portion equals at least 75% of the greatest lateral dimension when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the wire extends from a distal end of the shaft at a radially-outer end of the open loop when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a proximally-facing surface defined by the tissue-coupling element is concave when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

20. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a proximally-facing surface defined by the tissue-coupling element is convex when the tissue anchor is unconstrained by the deployment tool.

21. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises one or more tethers, which are fixed to the flexible elongate tension member.

22. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the tissue anchor is a first tissue anchor, and
wherein the apparatus further comprises:
a second tissue anchor, which is separate and distinct from the first tissue anchor; and
one or more tethers, which are configured to couple (a) the flexible elongate tension member to (b) the second tissue anchor.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22 , wherein the one or more tethers are fixed to (a) the flexible elongate tension member and (b) the second tissue anchor.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22 , wherein the one or more tethers are (a) fixed to the second tissue anchor and (b) not fixed to the shaft of the first tissue anchor.

25. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the tissue anchor is a first tissue anchor, and
wherein the apparatus further comprises a second tissue anchor, which is separate and distinct from the first tissue anchor, and
wherein the flexible elongate tension member is coupled to the second tissue anchor.

26. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the tissue anchor comprises a head connected to a proximal portion of the shaft,
wherein the head is shaped so as to define a passage in which the proximal portion of the flexible elongate tension member is slidably disposed,
wherein the flexible elongate tension member

Assignees

• 4Tech Inc

Inventors

• Gilmore Michael
• Denti Paolo
• Mullins John
• Murphy Charlotte
• Lynn Kevin
• Guidotti Andrea
• Vanermen Hugo
• Campbell Thomas

Classifications

• A61B2017/0419

  H-fasteners · CPC title

• A61F2230/0091

  helically-coiled or spirally-coiled, i.e. having a 2-D spiral cross-section · CPC title

• A61B2017/00615

  Implements with an occluder on one side of the opening and holding means therefor on the other · CPC title

• A61B2017/00632

  Occluding a cavity, i.e. closing a blind opening · CPC title

• A61B17/00234

  for minimally invasive surgery (A61B17/0218, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence) · CPC title