Kardium Inc.

Doug Goertzen

Daniel Gelbart

Jorge Jaramillo

Kevin Marc Chaplin

Ian Garben

Fernando Lopes

Monica Spisar

Jon Dahlgren

Dan Gelbart

A medical apparatus positionable in a cavity of a bodily organ (e.g., a heart) may constrict a bodily orifice (e.g., a mitral valve). The medical apparatus may include tissue anchors that are implanted in the annulus of the orifice. The tissue anchors may be guided into position by an intravascularly or percutaneously deployed anchor guiding frame. Constriction of the orifice may be accomplished by cinching a flexible cable attached to implanted tissue anchors. The medical device may be used to approximate the septal and lateral (clinically referred to as anterior and posterior) annulus of the mitral valve in order to move the posterior leaflet anteriorly and the anterior leaflet posteriorly and thereby improve leaflet coaptation and eliminate mitral regurgitation.

Medical device for constricting tissue or a bodily orifice, for example a mitral valve

A surgical instrument may be used to apply tension to a flexible suture to close and secure a broken or cut bone (e.g. a sternum following a sternotomy). The device preferably applies an adjustable tension to the flexible suture in order to secure the bone together. Multiple instruments may be used together to ensure the desired tension is applied to the entire bone structure being secured with the flexible sutures. Once the desired tension is achieved, the device preferably provides a mechanism to apply a uniform twist to the flexible suture to lock the flexible suture in place. The instrument preferably decreases the upward tension applied to the flexible sutures over the duration of the application of twisting. The device may automatically cut the flexible suture, or the flexible suture may be cut by the surgeon once the twisting action has been performed.

Surgical instrument and method for tensioning and securing a flexible suture

A surgical instrument may be used to apply tension to a flexible suture to close and secure a broken or cut bone (e.g. a sternum following a sternotomy). The device preferably applies an adjustable tension to the flexible suture in order to secure the bone together. Multiple instruments may be used together to ensure the desired tension is applied to the entire bone structure being secured with the flexible sutures. Once the desired tension is achieved, the device preferably provides a mechanism to apply a uniform twist to the flexible suture to lock the flexible suture in place and maintain the tension previously achieved. The device may automatically cut the flexible suture, or the flexible suture may be cut by the surgeon once the twisting action has been performed.

A device positionable in a cavity of a bodily organ (e.g., a heart) may discriminate between fluid (e.g., blood) and non-fluid tissue (e.g., wall of heart) to provide information or a mapping indicative of a position and/or orientation of the device in the cavity. Discrimination may be based on flow, or some other characteristic, for example electrical permittivity or force. The device may selectively ablate portions of the non-fluid tissue based on the information or mapping. The device may detect characteristics (e.g., electrical potentials) indicative of whether ablation was successful. The device may include a plurality of transducers, intravascularly guided in an unexpanded configuration and positioned proximate the non-fluid tissue in an expanded configuration. Expansion mechanism may include helical member(s) or inflatable member(s).

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New Westminster, Canada

Doug Goertzen