Heart failure treatment device and method
AssigneeParacor Medical, Inc.
InventorsLilip Lau, Anuja Patel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for treating heart failure is configured to be placed about at least a portion of a patient's heart to apply a mild compressive force on the heart over a range of elastic deformation of the apparatus. The apparatus can be shifted to second range of deformation. In some embodiments, the apparatus is shifted to the second range of deformation by application of a stimulus or alteration of environmental conditions beyond a threshold level.
Claims32
An organ reshaping device, comprising:
- a reshaping member comprised of elastic material, said reshaping member configured to be placed about at least a portion of the organ such that the elastic material is subject to substantially the same environmental conditions as the surface of the organ;
- said elastic material having an elastic characteristic which:
- a) changes upon alteration of the environmental conditions beyond a threshold level;
- and
- b) remains at least partially changed upon return of the environmental conditions from beyond the threshold level to an unaltered level.
An organ reshaping device for exerting a force on an organ, comprising:
- a bending member configured to be placed in contact with the organ so that the organ urges the bending member into a deformed shape relative to an at rest shape of the member, and the bending member exerts a bending force on the organ;
- the bending member has a first elastic deflection range and a second elastic deflection range, and may operate over only one deflection range at a time;
- wherein the bending member is responsive to inputs to shift between the first and second elastic deflection ranges.
A method, comprising:
- providing a harness comprised of a shape memory material;
- placing the harness around an organ while the shape memory material is in a generally martensitic state;
- and
- raising the temperature of the shape memory material to transform the shape memory material to a generally austenitic state so that the harness generally hugs the surface of the organ.
A method of reshaping an organ from an initial shape to a desired shape, comprising:
- placing a reshaping harness about at least a portion of the organ, said placing comprising elastically deforming the harness such that reshaping forces in response to deformation are applied by the harness to the organ within an elastic deflection range of the harness, the reshaping forces urging the organ from the initial shape towards an intermediate shape between the initial shape and the desired shape;
- and
- after the organ has assumed the intermediate shape, altering the elastic deflection range of the harness so that the reshaping forces act within the altered deflection range to urge the organ from the intermediate shape towards the desired shape.
An organ shaping device for exerting a force on an organ within a patient's body, comprising:
- a bending member configured to be placed around at least a portion of the organ so that the organ urges the bending member into an expanded deformed shape relative to an at rest shape of the member, and the bending member exerts a bending force on the organ that tends to squeeze the organ, wherein the bending member comprises a material configured to increase in stiffness as the temperature of the material is increased within an operational range of temperatures.
A method, comprising
- providing a harness comprised of a shape memory material having an at rest shape;
- and
- placing the harness around an organ, said placing comprising expandingly deforming the harness from the at rest shape so that the harness fits around at least a portion of the organ and the harness applies a pressure onto the organ in resistance to the deformation;
- wherein the shape memory material is in a generally austenitic state when at a temperature of the organ.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.