30 results about "Atrial tissue" patented technology

An embodiment of the invention includes a surgical device for coagulating soft tissue such as atrial tissue in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia; tendon or ligament shrinkage; or articular cartilage removal. The surgical device integrates a suction mechanism with the coagulation mechanism improving the lesion creation capabilities of the device. The surgical device comprises an elongate member having an insulative covering attached about conductive elements capable of coagulating soft tissue when radiofrequency or direct current energy is transmitted to the conductive elements. Openings through the insulative covering expose regions of the conductive elements and are coupled to lumens in the elongate member which are routed to a vacuum source. Suction causes the soft tissue to actively engage the opening thus the integrated, exposed conductive elements to facilitate the coagulation process and ensure the lesions created are consistent, continuous, and transmural. The embodiments of the invention can also incorporate cooling mechanisms associated with the conductive elements and coupled to a fluid source to passively transport fluid along the contacted soft tissue surface to cool thus pushing the maximum temperature deeper into tissue.

An embodiment of the invention includes a surgical device for coagulating soft tissue such as atrial tissue in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia. The surgical device can include at least one elongate member comprising conductive elements adapted to coagulate soft tissue when radiofrequency or direct current energy is transmitted to the conductive elements. Openings through said conductive elements are routed through lumens in the elongate member to a vacuum source to actively engage the soft tissue surface intended to coagulate into intimate contact with the conductive elements to facilitate the coagulation process and ensure the lesions created are consistent, contiguous, and transmural. The embodiments of the invention can also incorporate cooling openings positioned near the conductive elements and coupled with a vacuum source or an injection source to transport fluid through the cooling openings causing the soft tissue surface to cool thus pushing the maximum temperature deeper into tissue. The embodiments of the invention can also incorporate features to tunnel between anatomic structures or dissect around the desired tissue surface to coagulate thereby enabling less invasive positioning of the soft tissue coagulating device and ensuring reliable and consistent heating of the soft tissue.

An apparatus and method for performing cardiac ablations employs a catheter comprising an anchoring device and an ablating device to perform the ablations to electrically isolate the pulmonary veins and left atrium from surrounding atrial tissue. The anchor can comprise a balloon-type device, a stent-like device, a strut-like device, a spring-strut-like device, an umbrella-like device, a mushroom-like device, or other device that allows the catheter to maintain a position with respect to target tissue. The ablator can comprise a balloon ablator, an umbrella ablator, a pinwheel ablator, an umbrella ablator incorporating a cinch mechanism, a mushroom balloon ablator and a segmented balloon or pinwheel ablator. The anchor and ablator can also comprise a combination mushroom balloon anchor section and mushroom balloon ablator section. The anchor and ablator can include electrodes for measuring a conductance therebetween when in deployed position, so as to determine the effectiveness of the ablation.

A method and apparatus for treating a body tissue in situ (e.g., an atrial tissue of a heart to treat atrial fibrillation) include a lesion formation tool is positioned against the heart surface. The apparatus includes a guide member having a tissue-opposing surface for placement against a heart surface. The guide member also has interior surfaces and a longitudinal axis. A guide carriage is sized to be received with the guide member and moveable therein along the longitudinal axis. An optical fiber is positioned within the guide carriage with the carriage retaining the fiber. The carriage receives the fiber with an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis and bends the fiber to a distal tip with an axis of said fiber at said distal tip at least 45 degrees to the longitudinal axis and aligned for discharge of laser energy through the tissue opposing surface.

Featured is a catheter device for ablating tissue that includes an elongated body member having a distal portion and a deflection mechanism operably coupled to the distal portion so as to cause the distal portion to deflect with respect to a longitudinal axis of the elongated body member. Such a catheter device also includes a guide member and a guiding mechanism that is coupled to the elongated body member and is configured so as to guide the guide member. The guiding mechanism includes an exit portion from which the guide member exits during deployment The exit portion is disposed with respect to the distal portion end so the distal portion deflects from and with respect to the guide member as well as rotating about the guide member. Also featured are systems and methods related thereto.

A method and apparatus for treating a body tissue in situ (e.g., an atrial tissue of a heart to treat) atrial fibrillation include a lesion formation tool is positioned against the heart surface. The lesion formation tool includes a guide member having a tissue-opposing surface for placement against a heart surface. An ablation member is coupled to the guide member to move in a longitudinal path relative to the guide member. The ablation member has an ablation element for directing ablation energy in an emitting direction away from the tissue-opposing surface. The guide member may be flexible to adjust a shape of the guide member for the longitudinal path to approximate the desired ablation path while maintaining the tissue-opposing surface against the heart surface. In one embodiment, the ablation member includes at least one radiation-emitting member disposed to travel in the longitudinal pathway. In another embodiment, the guide member has a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart tissue attachment locations with at least two being separately activated at the selection of an operator to be attached and unattached to an opposing tissue surface. Various means are described for the attachment including vacuum and mechanical attachment. The guide member may have a steering mechanism to remotely manipulate the shape of the guide member.

A method and apparatus for treating a body tissue in situ (e.g., an atrial tissue of a heart to treat) atrial fibrillation include a lesion formation tool is positioned against the heart surface. The lesion formation tool includes a guide member having a tissue-opposing surface for placement against a heart surface. An ablation member is coupled to the guide member to move in a longitudinal path relative to the guide member. The ablation member has an ablation element for directing ablation energy in an emitting direction away from the tissue-opposing surface. The guide member may be flexible to adjust a shape of the guide member for the longitudinal path to approximate the desired ablation path while maintaining the tissue-opposing surface against the heart surface. In one embodiment, the ablation member includes at least one radiation-emitting member disposed to travel in the longitudinal pathway. Transmurality can be assessed to approximate a location of non-transmurality in a formed lesion.

A novel improved enhanced cardiac surgical method yields unexpected results by having an enhanced intraluminally emplaced cooling system. In preferred device embodiments improvements include a first means for draining venous blood from at least one of the right atrium, superior vena cava and inferior vena cava and an improved means for cooling involved luminal surfaces. Tissue insult and injury is substantially mitigated by engagement of the cooling means with select aspects of involved atrial tissue to augment transfer of heat. In one embodiment of the invention, the right atrium is cooled while the patient's body is maintained at a normothermic temperature during surgery. The alternate cooling mechanisms disclosed have applicability both on- and off-pump in a variety of procedures ranging from traditional open cardiac surgical repair and by-pass to endovascular procedures using percutaneous access and minimally invasive therapies.

The invention relates to a stent valve prosthesis and a conveying system thereof. The stent valve prosthesis comprises a stent, valve leaflets and clamping pieces; the stent comprises a support section and a valve leaflet sewing section, the near end of the support section is connected with the far end of the valve leaflet sewing section, the valve leaflets are connected to the valve leaflet sewing section, the support section is placed on the valve leaflets of a patient and abuts against the atrial tissue after being released, and each clamping piece comprises one or multiple side wings, wherein one end of the clamping piece is fixedly connected to the outer surfaces of the valve leaflets, and the clamping piece has three forms from compression to complete releasing in sequence, the firstform is that the side wings are compressed in a control device, the second form is that the side wings stretch in the radial direction of the valve leaflets, penetrate through the valve leaflet junction of adjacent tissues and reach the portion between the valve leaflets and the heart wall, and the third form is that the side wings stretch in the circumferential direction of the valve leaflets and fit the outer surface of the valve leaflet sewing section, after releasing is completed, the tissue valve leaflets of the patient and the adjacent chordae tendineae are clamped between the side wings and the valve leaflet sewing section, the valve leaflet stent anchoring fastness is improved conveniently, and the operative successful rate is increased.

The invention discloses a method for constructing virtual physiological tissues of a sinus node, a storage medium and a computing device. The method comprises the following steps: creating a geometricmodel for the virtual physiological tissues of a sinus; dividing the geometric model into a plurality of areas including a non-excited tissue area, a central sinus node tissue area, a peripheral sinus node tissue area and an atrium tissue area; respectively constructing corresponding cell models for the non-excited tissues, the central sinus node tissues, the peripheral sinus node tissues and theatrium tissues; and respectively constructing electrical excitation conduction models for the non-excited tissues, the central sinus node tissues, the peripheral sinus node tissues and the atrium tissues obtained after the division. The virtual physiological tissues constructed by the method of the invention construct a bridge for changing from microscopic molecules to macroscopic organ, recurring sinus node pace-making and electrical conduction processes are in line with the electrophysiology of the human sinus node, the time and money cost of animal experiments is reduced, and the pace-making mechanism of the sinus node can be fast, well and safely studied.

The invention provides a robust in vitro 3D atrial tissue platform made from human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes. The platform is useful for evaluating atrial-specific chemical responses experimentally and computationally.

The present disclosure provides ex vivo chamber-specific cardiac tissues, methods for generating the cardiac tissues in a bioreactor, and methods of using the cardiac tissues. Examples of cardiac tissues that can be generated include, but are not limited to, atrial tissues, ventricular tissues, and composite tissues having an atrial tissue connected to a ventricular tissue.