Anchor delivery system and methods for valve repair

A method for delivering an anchor by an anchor delivery system for repairing a valve in a body of a patient, comprising:

• inspecting tissue of the valve by a distal end of a delivery catheter, the distal end of the delivery catheter being comprised of two or more rotatably coupled knuckles, and a plurality of cables operable by a respective motor, to form an articulable distal end of the delivery catheter;
• opening first and second pincer arms of an anchor delivery mechanism disposed distally of the two or more knuckles, the first pincer arm having a distal end and a proximal end rotatably coupled to a distal end of the anchor delivery mechanism at a first connection point, and the second pincer arm having a distal end and a proximal end rotatably coupled to the distal end of the anchor delivery mechanism at a second connection point opposite the first connection point;
• rotating the first and second pincer arms into a closed position to pierce the tissue and position the distal ends of the first and second pincer arms together toward a center of the anchor delivery mechanism;
• delivering an anchor to the first and second pincer arms;
• rotatably opening the first and second pincer arms to retract from the tissue, the delivered anchor remaining in the tissue;
• inserting additional anchors around the tissue as necessary to repair the valve.

An anchor delivery system for repairing a heart valve, comprising:

• an anchor delivery mechanism disposed at a distal end of a delivery catheter, the anchor delivery mechanism including:
• a first pincer arm having a distal end and a proximal end rotatably coupled to a distal end of the anchor delivery mechanism at a first connection point;
• a second pincer arm having a distal end and a proximal end rotatably coupled to the distal end of the anchor delivery mechanism at a second connection point opposite the first connection point;
• wherein, in a closed position, the distal ends of the first and second pincer arms are positioned together toward a center of the anchor delivery mechanism;
• and
• wherein, in an open position, the distal ends of the first and second pincer arms are rotated apart from each other.