Robotic delivery system for cardiac implants
Inventors
Wallace, Daniel T. • Schuh, Travis • Tanner, Neal • NIXON, THOMAS • Hayes, Evelyn • Gregg, Peter
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12310688-B2
Publication Date
2025-05-27
Expiration Date
Abstract
A system for delivery of cardiac implants includes a catheter having a handle assembly including a cable control assembly. The handle assembly further includes a tubular body assembly extending distally from the handle assembly and deflectable by operation of the cable control assembly. The system also includes a robot having a linear displacement platform and a carriage coupled to the linear displacement platform. The carriage includes a drive motor assembly and is at least one of linearly displaceable along the linear displacement platform and rotatable relative to the linear displacement platform. The handle assembly is coupled to the carriage such that the cable control assembly interfaces with the drive motor assembly of the carriage to facilitate operation of the cable control assembly by the robot.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a system for delivery of a cardiac implant that combines a catheter and a robot to actuate catheter mechanisms while also providing alternative manual operation. The catheter includes a handle assembly with a cable control assembly and a furl assembly, and a tubular body assembly extending distally from the handle assembly and deflectable by operation of the cable control assembly. The tubular body assembly includes a sheath, an inner tubular body, and a rotor configured to interface with the cardiac implant, and a sheath retraction assembly coupled to the proximal end of the tubular body assembly that selectively retracts the sheath.
The furl assembly is configured to rotate the rotor of the tubular body, enabling an actuation path in which furl rotation drives rotor rotation. The robot includes a linear displacement platform and a carriage coupled to the linear displacement platform, where the carriage includes a drive motor assembly and is at least one of linearly displaceable along the linear displacement platform and rotatable relative to the linear displacement platform. The catheter handle assembly couples to the carriage such that the cable control assembly interfaces with the drive motor assembly of the carriage to facilitate operation of the cable control assembly by the robot.
The system further supports alternative operation through a manual pull wire assembly that interfaces with the cable control assembly. In this configuration, the cable control assembly must be disengaged from the carriage of the robot to operate the cable control assembly with the manual pull wire assembly, and the catheter mechanisms remain cable-control operable for deflection and rotor actuation while sheath retraction is selectively controlled.
Claims Coverage
The provided claim set contains four independent claims. Across these independent claims, the main inventive features concern a catheter/robot delivery system with cable-controlled catheter deflection and rotor actuation via a furl assembly, selectively retractable sheath via a sheath retraction assembly, and alternative manual operation via a manual pull wire assembly with required disengagement from the robot, plus refinements that specify drive and mechanical sub-structures for sheath retraction and rotor rotation.
Robot and catheter coupling for cable control with manual pull wire alternative
A system in which the handle assembly couples to the carriage such that the cable control assembly interfaces with the drive motor assembly of the carriage to facilitate operation of the cable control assembly by the robot, wherein the cable control assembly interfaces with the manual pull wire assembly to facilitate alternative operation of the cable control assembly by the manual pull wire assembly, and wherein the cable control assembly must be disengaged from the carriage of the robot to operate the cable control assembly with the manual pull wire assembly.
Selective sheath retraction via lead screw and guide shafts
A system in which the sheath is linearly displaceable along the inner tubular body such that a distal end of the sheath is displaceable relative to a distal tip of the inner tubular body, and wherein the sheath retraction assembly includes the sheath, a sheath nose block coupled to a proximal end of the sheath, one or more guide shafts, a sheath mount block coupled to and supporting the sheath nose block, the one or more guide shafts extending through the sheath mount block, and a lead screw coupled to the sheath mount block and configured to drive the sheath mount block along the one or more guide shafts in response to rotation of the lead screw.
Furl-driven rotor rotation via capstan gear
A system in which the furl assembly includes a capstan gear coupled to the rotor such that rotation of the capstan gear results in rotation of the rotor.
Coordinated multi-carriage control for deflection, sheath retraction, and furl/rotor actuation
A system in which the cable control assembly is a first cable control assembly operable to deflect a first portion of the tubular body assembly and the handle assembly includes a second cable control assembly operable to deflect a second portion of the tubular body assembly, wherein the carriage is a first carriage, the robot includes a second carriage coupled to the linear displacement platform and including a second drive motor assembly, and the sheath retraction assembly is operable to selectively retract the sheath by rotation of a lead screw, the lead screw includes a lead screw gear driven by a motor gear box of the first carriage, the furl assembly includes a capstan gear coupled to a rotor such that rotation of the capstan gear results in rotation of the rotor, and the capstan gear is driven by a motor gear box of the second carriage.
Across the independent claims, the core coverage is a robotic-delivery catheter system for a cardiac implant that uses a robot-controlled cable control assembly with alternative manual pull wire operation that requires disengagement from the robot. The claims further cover furl assembly-driven rotor rotation, selective sheath retraction, and refinements specifying lead screw-driven sheath mount motion and coordinated actuation across one or more carriages with distinct cable control assemblies.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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