Aortic Valve Cutter

Abstract

An aortic valve cutter of the present disclosure comprises a flexible housing with a central lumen for receiving a guide wire. A high-speed rotating wire is disposed within the housing near an edge of the housing. A trough cut into a side of the housing exposes a portion of the rotating wire such that the rotating wire can be used as a cutter. Two pusher wires are disposed on an opposite side of the housing from the rotating wire, also housed within the housing. Troughs cut into the side of the housing form openings from which the pusher wires can extend if they are advanced. The pusher wires are staggered with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction. When the pusher wires are advanced, they extend outwardly from the troughs and can be used to stabilize the cutter at the aortic valve and push the cutting wire against the valve on the opposite side. Two wire pressure transducers are disposed on the housing, one above the rotating wire and another below the rotating wire. The pressure transducers allow for monitoring of the pressure gradient across the valve as the cutting proceeds. By monitoring the transvalve gradient while the cuts are made to the aortic valve, the aortic valve area can be estimated during the procedure.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.