Atrial stretch measurement for atrial fibrillation prevention
AssigneeEdwards Lifesciences Corporation
InventorsGregory Bak-Boychuk, Stanton J. Rowe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A stretch-measurement probe includes an elongate outer sleeve, expansion feature associated with a distal portion of the outer sleeve, and an elongate inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve. The expansion feature is configured to allow a longitudinal distance between a proximal end of the outer sleeve and the distal end of the outer sleeve to be varied.
Claims33
A stretch-measurement device comprising:
- an elongate outer sleeve;
- an expansion feature associated with a distal portion of the outer sleeve;
- and
- an elongate inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve;
- wherein the expansion feature is configured to allow a longitudinal distance between a proximal end of the outer sleeve and a distal end of the outer sleeve to be varied.
An implantable device for monitoring atrial stretch comprising:
- electrically-conductive material configured to be sensed by a monitor device through a chest wall;
- and
- means for securing the implantable device to a surface of an atrium of a heart.
A method of monitoring stretching of an organ, the method comprising:
- suturing an outer sleeve of a stretch-measurement probe to a surface of an atrium of a heart of a patient at a first attachment point of the outer sleeve, the stretch-measurement probe comprising an inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve;
- suturing the outer sleeve to the surface of the atrium at a second attachment point of the outer sleeve, the second attachment point being longitudinally spaced from the first attachment point by a first distance;
- disposing the stretch-measurement probe in a chest access channel in a chest of the patient;
- and
- when the surface of the atrium has stretched, thereby causing an expansion feature of the stretch-measurement probed to expand between the first and second attachment points such that the second attachment point becomes longitudinally spaced from the first attachment point by a second distance that is greater than the first distance, determining an amount of stretch associated with surface of the atrium based at least in part on a relative movement of a proximal portion of the outer sleeve with respect to a proximal portion of the inner rod.
A method of monitoring stretching of an organ, the method comprising:
- implanting a plurality of electrically-conductive markers on a surface of an atrium of a heart of a patient;
- closing a chest cavity of the patient;
- approximating a monitor device to a chest of the patient;
- detecting the plurality of electrically-conductive markers using the monitor device;
- and
- determining location information associated with the plurality of electrically-conductive markers using the monitor device.
An atrial stretch monitoring system comprising:
- a plurality of electrically-conductive markers configured to be implanted on a surface of an atrium of a heart;
- and
- a monitor device configured to detect locations of the plurality of electrically-conductive markers through a chest wall when the electrically-conductive markers are implanted on the surface of the atrium.
A method of determining an atrial stretch limit, the method comprising:
- determining first location information associated with a plurality of electrically-conductive marker devices implanted on a surface of an atrium of a heart of a patient;
- administering a fluid bolus to the patient;
- determining second location information associated with the plurality of electrically-conductive marker devices after said administering the fluid bolus;
- and
- setting an alarm setpoint based on the second location information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.