Transseptal delivery systems having a deflecting segment and methods of use

A delivery catheter for percutaneously delivering a heart valve prosthesis to a site of a native heart valve, the heart valve prosthesis being radially expandable from a radially collapsed configuration to a radially expanded configuration, the delivery catheter comprising:

• an outer sheath;
• an inner shaft slidably disposed within the outer sheath;
• a distal nosecone at a distal portion of the delivery catheter;
• and
• a deflecting segment including a proximal end coupled to the inner shaft and a distal end coupled to the distal nosecone, wherein the deflecting segment has a delivery state and a deflected state, and
• wherein when the deflecting segment is in the delivery state, the deflecting segment and the distal nosecone have a combined first longitudinal length along a central longitudinal axis of a distal portion of the inner shaft, and when the deflecting segment is in the deflected state, the deflecting segment has a second longitudinal length along the central longitudinal axis, wherein the combined first longitudinal length is greater than the second longitudinal length.

A method of delivering, positioning and deploying a heart valve prosthesis at a site of a native heart valve, the method comprising the steps of:

• advancing a delivery catheter with a heart valve prosthesis in a radially collapsed configuration retained therein to a native heart valve of a heart, wherein the delivery catheter includes an outer sheath and an inner shaft assembly, the inner shaft assembly including an inner shaft, a deflecting segment in a delivery state, and a distal nosecone;
• positioning the delivery catheter with the heart valve prosthesis in the radially collapsed configuration at a native heart valve;
• retracting the outer sheath of the delivery catheter to release a first portion of the heart valve prosthesis;
• advancing the delivery catheter such that the first portion of the heart valve prosthesis engages tissue of the native heart valve;
• advancing the inner shaft assembly such that the distal nosecone releases the second portion of the heart valve prosthesis and the deflecting segment transitions from the delivery state to a deflected state;
• advancing the outer sheath of the delivery catheter such that the outer sheath advances through the heart valve prosthesis;
• and
• retracting the inner shaft assembly such that the deflecting segment transitions from the deflected state to the delivery state as it is received within a distal portion of the outer sheath.