Implantable access port device and attachment system
View Patent ↗A system for attaching an access port to bodily tissue includes an access port assembly and including an access port having a generally central axis. The access port assembly further includes an attachment mechanism structured to enable the access port to be attached, for example, to an abdominal muscle of a patient. The delivery tool includes a handle having a generally longitudinal axis and a delivery head structured to engage the access port assembly, and an activation mechanism for enabling deployment of the attachment mechanism when the delivery head is so engaged with the access port assembly. The delivery tool is configured such that the longitudinal axis of the handle is spaced apart from the generally central axis of the access port when the delivery head is so engaged with the access port assembly.
1. An implantable access port assembly, for use in conjunction with an inflatable gastric band for the treatment of obesity, the access port assembly being for implantation in a patient by attachment to a tissue of the patient, the access port assembly comprising:
an access port having a bottom, a sidewall, a septum that is made of a material that is needle penetrable, and a fluid reservoir under the septum, the septum being constructed to allow a needle to penetrate the septum and pass fluid to or from the fluid reservoir wherein the access port has a central axis extending through the bottom, the septum, and the fluid reservoir;
a housing sidewall for receiving the access port wherein the housing sidewall has an outer sidewall surface surrounding and being radially spaced from the central axis;
a coupler integrated with the housing sidewall;
a tissue attachment mechanism integral to the access port and having a plurality of reversibly deployable tissue penetrating anchors;
an outlet barb extending from the fluid reservoir and constructed to allow fluid to pass to or from the fluid reservoir;
a tube having a first end and a second end and a length from the first end to the second end, the first end positioned around and coupled to the outlet barb, the second end being constructed to couple to the inflatable gastric band, the tube being in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir for transmitting to transmit a fluid to and from the fluid reservoir to and from the inflatable gastric band via the outlet barb, the tube being in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir;
a strain relief element locked into the coupler and being positioned around the outlet barb and a portion of the tube adjacent to the access port, the strain relief element being constructed to protect the portion of the tube adjacent to the access port from folding, rotating or torquing;
a flexible sleeve not formed integral with the tube and constructed out of a puncture resistant material having a greater resistance to puncture by the needle than the material the septum is made out of, and configured to overlay overlaying a portion of the strain relief element positioned around a portion of the tube, and being positioned around a portion of the tube adjacent the strain relief element without being positioned around the entire length of the tube; and
wherein the coupler extends outward from the outer sidewall surface and in a direction outward from the central axis, and has a first sidewall portion, a second sidewall portion, and a top portion, each of the portions of the coupler extending in a direction outward from the central axis, the first and the second sidewall portions being positioned at opposing sides of the outlet barb, the top portion extending over and covering the outlet barb and connecting the first sidewall portion to the second sidewall portion, and a portion of the strain relief element has a rectangular shape and is constructed to lock into the coupler by being pushed into the coupler.
2. The access port assembly of claim 1 wherein the flexible sleeve is constructed to provide strain relief for the portion of the tube adjacent the strain relief element.
3. The access port assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second sidewall portions each extend vertically and the top portion extends horizontally.
4. The access port assembly of claim 3 , wherein the strain relief element is constructed to be locked to the coupler without the strain relief element being rotated.
5. The access port assembly of claim 4 , wherein the housing sidewall includes suturing holes constructed to receive sutures to fix the access port assembly to the tissue of the patient.