Vascular and aortic grafts with telescoping sheath and deployment methods thereof

Inventors

Palermo, Thomas J.

Assignees

Aquedeon Medical Inc

Abstract

A vascular connector deployment tool may include a handle, an elongated mandrel extending distally from the handle, a vascular connector disposed coaxially about the mandrel, a retractable sheath assembly including an outer sheath telescopically deployed over an inner sheath and an actuator on the handle that is configured to selectively retract the outer sheath and the inner sheath relative to the mandrel. The sheath assembly is configured to constrain the vascular connector against the mandrel in an insertion profile. A distal transition between the outer sheath and the inner sheath visually indicates position of the vascular connector.

Core Innovation

A vascular connector deployment tool is provided for deploying an expandable vascular connector having a proximal circumferential portion and a distal circumferential portion over an elongated mandrel. The vascular connector is expandable from a first insertion diameter to a second deployed diameter, and includes a structure configured to hold the vascular connector securely inside a blood vessel and a graft in a deployed state. The deployment tool includes a retractable sheath assembly that constrains the vascular connector against the outer surface of the mandrel in an insertion profile during insertion.

The retractable sheath assembly includes a translucent retractable outer sheath telescopically deployed over a retractable inner sheath that is visible through the outer sheath. A distal transition between the outer sheath and the inner sheath visually indicates position of the vascular connector, enabling visualization of the deployment state. The configuration constrains the vascular connector against the mandrel in the insertion profile and provides a visual indicator of connector location during deployment.

Deployment is performed using a single actuator on the handle configured as a slider with longitudinal range of motion in a slot on the handle. The slider is mechanically coupled to both the outer sheath and the inner sheath so that, initially, only the outer sheath retracts relative to the mandrel to expose and expand the distal circumferential portion from the first insertion diameter to the second deployed diameter. Subsequently, the outer sheath and the inner sheath retract relative to the mandrel together to expose and expand the proximal circumferential portion from the first insertion diameter to the second deployed diameter, including visual confirmation based on the translucent outer sheath and the visible inner sheath.

Claims Coverage

The partial document includes two independent claims: one to a vascular connector deployment tool and one to a method for implanting a vascular connector. Across these independent claims, four main inventive features are recited.

Across the independent claims, the core claim coverage centers on an expandable vascular connector mounted on an elongated mandrel, constrained by a translucent telescoping outer sheath over a visible inner sheath that provides visual position indication, and deployed by a single handle slider actuator that first retracts only the outer sheath to expand the distal circumferential portion and then retracts both sheaths to expand the proximal circumferential portion. The method claim further requires visualization of the distal transition and securing the distal portion in a first lumen, with an associated lumen-based sequence for securing the connector in deployed state.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications