Device and accessories for a percutaneous endoscopic access and ablation systems

Inventors

Dando, Jeremy • Quill, Jason • Kumar, Ram • Ibrahim, Tamer • Vanney, Guy • McLevish, Al • OWENS, Aaron

Assignees

Atricure Inc

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods for therapeutically treating tissue. The devices and methods are suitable for minimally invasive surgery or open surgical procedures. More particularly, methods and devices described herein permit accessing and/or treating areas of tissue with a therapeutic device.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a medical device for accessing a region of tissue with a shaft having a distal end and a proximal end, and a passage extending therethrough. The shaft includes a distal section adjacent to the distal end and a flexible section proximally spaced from the distal section. A dilator extends through the shaft and has an atraumatic tip extending through the distal end, along with a locking hub configured to removably lock with a handle.

A handle at the proximal end includes an actuator and a locking mechanism, wherein the actuator and locking mechanism are rotatable along the same axis. A steering member couples the actuator to the distal section such that movement of the actuator controls deflection of the distal section, with deflection limited to a first plane. The locking mechanism secures the distal section in an arcuate shape by setting the actuator.

The shaft further includes a proximal section that is flexible and limited to bend in a second plane, wherein the second plane is perpendicular to the first plane. The document also describes a surgical device adapted for vacuum source coupling to coagulate soft tissue, having an elongate member with a lumen fluidly coupleable to the vacuum source. The device includes a tissue heating element adjacent a side wall within the elongate member and an opening through the side wall exposing the tissue heating element so that, when placed against tissue, the tissue heating element coagulates soft tissue at the opening.

The surgical device is used with an electroanatomic mapping system and includes navigation elements configured to produce virtual images. A first navigation element produces a first virtual image representing at least a portion of the elongate member, and a second navigation element produces a second virtual image representing an orientation of the opening relative to the housing. The document also describes vacuum-assisted tissue engagement to coagulation using the exposed heating element at the sidewall opening, and integration of the device’s geometry into electroanatomic mapping via virtual catheter and virtual indicator concepts.

Claims Coverage

The partial content contains two independent claims, each directed to different aspects of the disclosed system: a steerable percutaneous access device with constrained-plane steering and a vacuum coagulation surgical device integrated with an electroanatomic mapping system via virtual images. Each independent claim defines multiple main inventive features that constrain geometry, actuation, locking, and mapping-visible virtual representations.

Across the independent claims, the key claim coverage centers on a shaft with steering constrained to a first plane while a proximal section flexes in a perpendicular second plane, and on a vacuum-coupled soft-tissue coagulation device with an exposed heating element at a sidewall opening that is integrated into electroanatomic mapping through navigation elements producing virtual images of the device portion and the opening orientation.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications