Ancora Heart, Inc.

Medtronic Vascular, Inc.

Guided Delivery Systems, Inc.

Stephen Clark Meier

Mariel Fabro

Eugene Serina

Shih-Hsiung Albert Yuan

John P Lunsford

Brian Tang

Niel F Starksen

Charles J Adam

Tammy Y Tam

Scott Doig

Tenny C Calhoun

Stephen Olson

Andrew J Kim

Karl S Im

Terrance D Belluche

Hillary K Huszar

Tiffany Huynh Mirchandani

Andrew Kim

Hillary Huszar

Described here are devices, methods, and kits for the deployment of tissue anchors. In some variations, the devices may comprise a shaft defining a lumen for housing at least one anchor therein and a mechanism for deploying the anchor distally from the lumen. In certain variations, the devices may comprise one or more stop elements. For example, a device may comprise a stop element that limits the advancement of the device through an opening in a wall portion or at the distal end of another device.

Anchor deployment devices and related methods

Devices and methods for locking and/or cutting tethers during a tissue modification procedure are described. In some variations, a tether may be used to tighten tissue by bringing two pieces or sections of the tissue together. The tether, which may be under tension, may be locked to maintain the tension, and excess tether may be severed, using one or more of the devices and/or methods. The devices and/or methods may be used, for example, in minimally invasive procedures.

Termination devices and related methods

Methods and devices for successively advancing a plurality of catheters over a guide element to a body tissue are described. In some of the methods, the guide element may be attached to the body tissue, which may be accessible minimally invasively. In certain variations, the guide element may not be detached from the body tissue after the catheters have been advanced over the guide element. The methods may further comprise deploying at least one implant from at least one of the plurality of catheters. In some variations, a method may comprise advancing a first delivery catheter to a first region of a body tissue, deploying a first anchor from the first delivery catheter, where the first anchor is attached to a guide element, proximally withdrawing the first delivery catheter, advancing a second delivery catheter over the guide element, and deploying a second anchor from the second delivery catheter.

Methods and devices for catheter advancement and delivery of substances therethrough

An intravascular delivery catheter includes a middle member or manipulator to ameliorate the effect of buckling of the graft cover during the tracking or positioning of the delivery device within a body flow lumen to deploy an exclusion device, such a stent graft. The delivery device/catheter includes a region or regions of lower resistance to bending than other portions of the delivery device, which are positioned, within the delivery device, to preferentially bend the delivery system at locations where buckling will have minimal effect upon the deployment of the exclusion device from the delivery system. The preferential bending is accomplished, by providing a middle member/manipulator that is a rod with laterally oriented slots, having different depth and spacing configurations, or by using a wire coil as a portion of the middle member where the variable stiffness is created either by providing a variable/multiple coil diameter or by using a wire having a variable diameter along its length while the wire coil diameter is relatively uniform.

Intravascular deployment device with improved deployment capability

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Stephen Clark Meier