Ultrasound-guided delivery system for accurate positioning/repositioning of transcatheter heart valves

1. A method for positioning or repositioning a transcatheter heart valve at a target site in a heart of a subject comprising:

a) providing an integrated ultrasound guided delivery system comprising:

(i) a delivery catheter coupled to the transcatheter heart valve, and

(ii) an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter operably coupled to the delivery catheter, wherein the IVUS catheter comprises an ultrasound transducer tip that is aligned with a base of leaflets of the transcatheter heart valve;

b) advancing the transcatheter heart valve, via the delivery catheter, in the vicinity of a native valve at the aortic root of the heart,

c) visualizing the native valve and the target site in real-time with pull-back imaging by the IVUS catheter, wherein visualizing the native valve further comprises visualizing calcification on the native valve at the target site, wherein the pull-back imaging provides real-time two-dimensional cross-sectional images or three-dimensional images of the aortic root and calcified spots on the native valve; and

d) deploying the transcatheter heart valve at the target site, via the delivery catheter, based on the determination of a pattern of calcification on the native valve at the target site, aiming to maintain a conformal placement within the native valve annulus, thereby avoiding or minimizing paravalvular leak.

2. The method according to claim 1 comprising approaching to reach the heart through a vascular system.

3. The method according to claim 1 comprising approaching to reach the heart directly by poking the heart.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising producing a stack of cross-sectional images while retracting the IVUS catheter relative to the native valve, and tomographically combining the images to produce a three-dimensional representation of the aortic root.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target site is viewed while the ultrasound transducer tip is positioned distally past a distal terminus of the transcatheter heart valve or wherein the target site is viewed while the ultrasound transducer tip is positioned within the transcatheter heart valve.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein deploying the transcatheter heart valve at the target site comprises simultaneously viewing the target site and the transcatheter heart valve using the IVUS catheter.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein viewing the native valve and the target site comprises displaying the real-time images on a display.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein deploying the transcatheter heart valve to the target site comprises radially expanding the transcatheter heart valve.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: radially compressing the transcatheter heart valve; repositioning the delivery catheter with respect to the target site while viewing the target site with the with the IVUS catheter; and redeploying the transcatheter heart valve while viewing the transcatheter heart valve and the target site with the IVUS catheter.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the IVUS catheter is rotated and moved distally or proximally while imaging.

11. The method of claim 1 , performed without a second imaging modality.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target site comprises an aortic annulus and the transcatheter heart valve is a prosthetic aortic heart valve.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein deploying the transcatheter heart valve comprises positioning or repositioning the transcatheter heart valve in six degrees of freedom.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound transducer tip is positioned such that annular diameters of a native valve can be imaged and measured.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the delivery catheter is 24 French (Fr) or less in size.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the system is additionally equipped with an optical computed tomography (OCT) sensor.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transcatheter valve is selected from the group consisting of an aortic valve, a mitral valve, a pulmonary valve, and a tricuspid valve.