Apparatus and method for advancing catheters or other medical devices through a lumen

Inventors

Sardesai, Rajendra Gurudas • PANCHOLY, SAMIR BIPIN • Patel, Tejas Madhusudan

Assignees

Vasoinnovations Inc

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods are disclosed that help deliver catheters or other medical devices to locations within a patient's body. The device includes a transporter catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a first balloon located at the distal end, substantially at a tip of the transporter catheter, and at least a second balloon located between the distal end and the proximal end of the transporter catheter. The first balloon is an orienting balloon and the second balloon is an anchor balloon. The transporter catheter may include a single lumen or more than one lumen. The transporter catheter may include a shaft including an inner layer and an outer layer, the inner layer may be made of a material more flexible than the material of the outer layer. The outer layer may also include a braided-wire assembly, said braided-wire assembly being formed by braiding a plurality of flat wires or circular wires. The braided-wire assembly may wrap around the inner layer. The transporter catheter may include a shaft that may include a plurality of segments of varying degrees of hardness. The degree of hardness of the segment of the shaft of the transporter catheter located between the first balloon and the second balloon may be less than the degree of hardness of the segment of the shaft between the second balloon and the proximal end of the catheter.

Core Innovation

The disclosed invention concerns a system for transporting a prosthetic device through a patient's vasculature using an outer catheter and a transporter catheter located inside at least one lumen of the outer catheter. The transporter catheter includes a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, a guidewire lumen, and a first balloon formed adjacent to the distal end. The first balloon is configured for holding the prosthetic device in place and, when fully expanded, slidably engages a wall inside the patient's vasculature.

The transporter catheter further includes at least one second balloon formed on the shaft between the first balloon and the proximal end. The second balloon is configured to non-slidably engage and anchor the transporter catheter to an inner surface of the lumen of the outer catheter when pressurized. During pushing and torqueing of the transporter catheter to advance the outer catheter, the pushing and torqueing result in applying a pull force on the outer catheter inside the patient's vasculature, including a component pulling a wall of the outer catheter away from a wall of the patient's vasculature.

In embodiments of the system, the second balloon acts as a stopper that prevents the first balloon from moving proximally into the lumen of the outer catheter in a distal portion of the outer catheter when the transporter catheter is positioned and advanced to deliver the prosthetic device. The system is steerable using a steering mechanism formed on the transporter catheter and/or the outer catheter, and the transporter catheter, outer catheter, and prosthetic device are configured for advancement as a single unit through the vasculature. Prosthetic heart valve examples are described with a valve crimped on a balloon location between the orienting and anchoring balloons.

Claims Coverage

The provided independent claims are clm-00001, clm-00010, and clm-00019. Across these independent claims, the core inventive theme comprises four inventive features: the dual-balloon transporter/outer-catheter arrangement, advancement using pushing and torqueing that generates pull-force action on the outer catheter wall, a steering mechanism on the transporter catheter and/or outer catheter, and a stopper function of the second balloon to prevent proximal movement of the first balloon within a distal portion of the outer catheter.

The independent claims cover a steerable catheter delivery system with a transporter catheter inside an outer catheter lumen that uses a first balloon to hold and slidably engage, and one or more second balloons to non-slidably anchor and act as a stopper. Advancement is achieved by pushing and torqueing the transporter catheter, which applies pull force to the outer catheter wall, and the system is configured for advancement as a single unit with the prosthetic device.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications