Methods and apparatus for endovascularly replacing a patient's heart valve
Apparatus for endovascularly replacing a patient's heart valve. The apparatus includes a replacement valve and an anchor having an expandable braid. In some embodiments, the expandable braid is fabricated from a single strand of wire. In some embodiments, the expandable braid comprises at least one turn feature. The anchor and the valve preferably are configured for endovascular delivery and deployment.
1. A replacement heart valve assembly having a deployed configuration and an undeployed configuration, the replacement heart valve comprising:
a replacement heart valve; and
an expandable anchor having a first end and a second end, the expandable anchor comprising a plurality of posts and a plurality of locks, the posts extending from the first end, the locks being disposed at the second end, wherein each of the posts has a distal end, the distal end having an interlocking element;
when the replacement heart valve assembly is in the undeployed configuration, the interlocking elements are separated from the locks and when the replacement heart valve assembly is in the deployed configuration, the interlocking elements are secured to the locks.
2. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the expandable anchor is formed from at least one braided wire.
3. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 2 , wherein the expandable anchor comprises first and second wires, the first wire having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the second wire.
4. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 2 , wherein the expandable anchor comprises first and second wires, the first wire formed from a material different from the material of the second wire.
5. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 2 , wherein the at least one braided wire is shape-memory alloy.
6. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 2 , wherein the at least one braided wire is stainless steel.
7. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the expandable anchor comprises a first region and a second region, the second region having a diameter larger than the diameter of the first region when the expandable anchor is in the deployed configuration.
8. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the expandable anchor comprises a first region and a second region, the first and second regions each having cells, the cells of the first region being larger than the cells of the second region.
9. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein, in the undeployed configuration, the expandable anchor has a length between 15 mm and 150 mm.
10. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 9 , wherein, in the deployed configuration, the expandable anchor has a length between 5 mm and 40 mm.
11. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the replacement heart valve is secured to the posts.
12. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 11 , wherein the replacement heart valve is secured to the posts via suture.
13. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the expandable anchor has a plurality of turns at the second end.
14. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the turns is W-shaped.
15. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the turns has an out-of-plane bend.
16. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the turns has an asymmetric loop.
17. The replacement heart valve assembly of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the turns has a double loop.