US6682474B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Expandable cardiac harness for treating congestive heart failure
Assignee: Paracor Medical Inc
•
Filing: 2001-09-10
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Granted: 2004-01-27
•
Expires: 2021-09-10
Abstract
Abstract A cardiac harness for treating congestive heart failure is disclosed. The harness applies elastic, compressive reinforcement on the left ventricle to reduce deleterious wall tension and to resist shape change of the ventricle during the mechanical cardiac cycle. Rather than imposing a dimension beyond which the heart cannot expand, the harness provides no hard limit over the range of diastolic expansion of the ventricle. Instead, the harness follows the contour of the heart throughout diastole and continuously exerts gentle resistance to stretch. Also disclosed is a method of delivering the cardiac harness to the heart minimally invasively.
Inventors
- 👤 Lilip Lau
- 👤 Bill Hartigan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 15:12
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F2/00; A61F2/02; A61F2/24; A61F2/2478; A61F2/2481; A61M; A61M60/00; A61M60/10; A61M60/122; A61M60/126; A61M60/148; A61M60/165; A61M60/191; A61M60/40; A61M60/424; A61M60/438; A61M60/80; A61M60/855; A61M60/871; A61M60/873; A61M60/882; A61N; A61N1/00; A61N1/02; A61N1/04; A61N1/05; A61N1/0587; A61N1/18; A61N1/32; A61N1/36; A61N1/362; A61N1/3627; A61F2/0063; A61F2002/0072; A61F2002/2484; A61M2205/00; A61M2205/02; A61M2205/0266; A61M2205/33; A61M2205/3303; A61M2205/35; A61M2205/3507; A61M2205/3523; A61M2205/82; A61M2205/8206; A61M2205/8237; A61M2205/8243; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49995
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
33 words
A cardiac harness, comprising: a plurality of spring elements comprising shape memory material, said spring elements interconnected such that said harness expands during diastole without imposing a diastolic dimensional limit on the heart.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
33 words
A cardiac harness, comprising: a plurality of spring elements comprising shape memory material, said spring elements interconnected such that said harness expands during diastole without imposing a diastolic dimensional limit on the heart.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The cardiac harness of claim 1 , wherein the harness is configured so that at least one of the spring elements is continuously deformed when the harness is placed on a human heart.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The cardiac harness of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of interconnected spring elements are configured to exert a force resisting deformation, and the force increases as deformation increases.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The cardiac harness of claim 1 , wherein each of the spring elements is configured to be substantially unidirectinally elastic so that the spring is elastic in a first direction and is substantially inelastic in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
105 words
An apparatus for reducing wall stress in a patient's heart during at least a portion of the cardiac cycle, the apparatus comprising a cardiac harness having a plurality of springs, the plurality of springs being wrapped about at least a portion of a patient's heart and being configured to exert an inwardly-directed force on an exterior wall of the heart, the force increasing as deformation of the springs increases, said springs being comprised of a metallic material and interconnected such that the elastic limit of the springs is not exceeded during use and the springs do not dimensionally limit diastolic expansion of the left ventricle.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
105 words
An apparatus for reducing wall stress in a patient's heart during at least a portion of the cardiac cycle, the apparatus comprising a cardiac harness having a plurality of springs, the plurality of springs being wrapped about at least a portion of a patient's heart and being configured to exert an inwardly-directed force on an exterior wall of the heart, the force increasing as deformation of the springs increases, said springs being comprised of a metallic material and interconnected such that the elastic limit of the springs is not exceeded during use and the springs do not dimensionally limit diastolic expansion of the left ventricle.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the springs are formed of a metal chosen from the group consisting of stainless steel, elgiloy, titanium, tantalum and nitinol.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the springs are formed of nitinol.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least two of the springs have different stiffness.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein one of the springs is thicker than another of the springs.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the cardiac harness is configured to extend substantially circumferentially around a patient's heart.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein at least some of the springs are substantially elastic in a direction circumferentially around the heart and are substantially inelastic in a substantially perpendicular direction.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the springs is configured so that the inwardly-directed force is generated by bending stresses within the springs.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the compliance of the cardiac harness is about the same as the compliance of a patient's pericardium.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
84 words
An apparatus for reducing wall stress in a patient's heart during at least a portion of the cardiac cycle, the apparatus comprising a cardiac harness having a plurality of interconnected metallic springs formed of nitinol, the plurality of springs being wrapped about at least a portion of a patient's heart and being configured to exert an inwardly-directed force on an exterior wall of the heart, the force increasing as deformation of the springs increases, and at least two of the springs have different stiffness.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
84 words
An apparatus for reducing wall stress in a patient's heart during at least a portion of the cardiac cycle, the apparatus comprising a cardiac harness having a plurality of interconnected metallic springs formed of nitinol, the plurality of springs being wrapped about at least a portion of a patient's heart and being configured to exert an inwardly-directed force on an exterior wall of the heart, the force increasing as deformation of the springs increases, and at least two of the springs have different stiffness.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein one of the springs is thicker than another of the springs.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
94 words
An apparatus for reducing wall stress in a patient's heart, the apparatus comprising an elastic cardiac harness configured to be wrapped about at least a portion of a patient's heart, the elastic harness configured to elastically expand and contract with the heart during the cardiac cycle and to exert an inwardly-directed force on the heart wall, wherein the elastic compliance of the harness in an operational range of the harness is always greater than the compliance of the heart wall during the cardiac cycle so that the elastic harness does not constrict the heart.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
94 words
An apparatus for reducing wall stress in a patient's heart, the apparatus comprising an elastic cardiac harness configured to be wrapped about at least a portion of a patient's heart, the elastic harness configured to elastically expand and contract with the heart during the cardiac cycle and to exert an inwardly-directed force on the heart wall, wherein the elastic compliance of the harness in an operational range of the harness is always greater than the compliance of the heart wall during the cardiac cycle so that the elastic harness does not constrict the heart.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the elastic harness comprises a plurality of spring elements constructed of a first material, and the harness is configured so that the spring elements do not exceed the elastic limit of the material during use.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
12 words
The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the material comprises a metal.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
11 words
The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the material comprises Nitinol.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein a first one of the spring elements is more compliant than a second one of the spring elements.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the first spring element is a different size and/or shape than the second spring element.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the elastic harness is sized and configured so that during the cardiac cycle, the inwardly-directed force is never greater than about 10 mmHg.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-01-26 | 2007-07-28 | 2008-01-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-01-26 | 2011-07-28 | 2012-01-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-01-26 | 2015-07-28 | 2016-01-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |