Micro-macro endovascular occlusion device and methodology
OwnerJohn S. DeMerittinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vascular plug comprises a superstructure expandable from a collapsed percutaneous insertion configuration to an expanded deployment or use configuration. The superstructure is comprised of both primary and secondary three-dimensional shapes allowing for the occlusion of a wide range of vessel sizes from small to large through a disproportionately small delivery catheter. The plug includes a shape memory element for the generation of radial force and the creation of the larger secondary three-dimensional twisting or helical superstructure as is needed for target vessel occlusion.
Claims19
A medical device comprising a superstructure expandable from a collapsed insertion configuration to a fully expanded deployment or use configuration,
- said insertion configuration being sufficiently small to enable percutaneous introduction,
- said fully expanded deployment or use configuration being sufficiently large to extend across a target cavity in organic tissues of a patient and engage an inner surface of such cavity,
- said insertion configuration of said superstructure taking the form of a collapsed self-expanding tubular structure expandable to said fully expanded deployment or use configuration, said fully expanded deployment or use configuration being a three-dimensional twisted or helical form of said tubular structure,
- said twisted or helical form of said tubular structure having a plurality of turns or windings of respective outer diameters,
- said plurality of turns or windings including at least one terminal turn or winding at at least one of two opposite ends of said twisted or helical form of said tubular structure and further including at least one center turn or winding intermediate said two opposite ends,
- said at least one center turn or winding having an outer diameter that is larger than a largest outer diameter of said at least one terminal turn or winding,
- said fully expanded deployment or use configuration having an arcuate envelope or shape that tapers down at said at least one of said two opposite ends from said at least one center turn or winding.
A medical method comprising:
- providing two medical occlusion devices each having a superstructure with a fully expanded form that includes a tubular structure;
- inserting, into a vascular system of a patient, a first one of said medical occlusion devices with the respective said superstructure in a collapsed configuration;
- thereafter expanding the superstructure of said first one of said medical occlusion devices from the collapsed configuration to an adaptively expanded configuration inside a cavity in the patient so that the expanded superstructure of said first one of said medical occlusion devices extends across a selected portion of said cavity and engages an inner surface of said cavity, wherein the adaptively expanded configuration of said first one of said medical occlusion devices has an opening;
- inserting, into the patient, a second one of said medical occlusion devices with the respective said superstructure in a collapsed configuration;
- thereafter expanding the superstructure of said second one of said medical occlusion devices from the respective collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration inside a target blood vessel with an end portion of said second one of said medial occlusion devices inserted into said opening in the expanded superstructure of said first one of said medical occlusion devices so that the expanded superstructure of said second one of said medical occlusion devices occludes said opening in the expanded superstructure of said first one of said medical occlusion devices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.