Granted Patent B2

US 12,599,481 · App. 18/504,477 · Granted Apr 14, 2026

Inventors: Jeffrey W. Chambers (Maple Grove, MN); Gregory G. Brucker (Minneapolis, MN); Joseph P. Higgins (Minnetonka, MN); Saravana B. Kumar (Minnetonka, MN); Jason S. Diedering (Minneapolis, MN); Karl A. Kabarowski (Maple Grove, MN); Robert J. Thatcher (Blaine, MN); James E. Flaherty (Minnetonka, MN); Jeffrey R. Stone (Minnetonka, MN)

Assignee: 4C Medical Technologies, Inc.

A61F2/243A61F2/2418A61F2/2436A61F2/2439

Abstract

Claims (29)

1 . A method of delivering a self-expanding prosthetic valve device to a heart chamber for expanded implantation, the method comprising:

disposing a lasso structure through a frame of the prosthetic valve device, the lasso structure:

being operatively connected to a manipulation wire that extends proximally from the lasso structure; and

comprising a closed wire loop;

connecting the lasso structure to the prosthetic valve device; and

during deployment of the prosthetic valve device in the heart chamber:

using the lasso structure to steer the prosthetic valve device out of a catheter; and

expanding the lasso structure to a diameter that is larger than an inner diameter of the catheter.

2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, after the disposing, connecting the lasso structure to the prosthetic valve device via a connector element.

3 . The method of claim 2 further comprising using the manipulation wire to manipulate the connector element.

4 . The method of claim 2 further comprising:

disconnecting the lasso structure from the connector element, wherein the connector element remains attached to the frame of the prosthetic valve device; and

retracting the lasso structure proximally through the catheter.

5 . The method of claim 2 further comprising:

disconnecting the connector element from the prosthetic valve device; and

retracting the lasso structure and the connector element proximally through the catheter.

6 . The method of claim 2 further comprising collapsing the frame of the prosthetic valve device.

7 . The method of claim 6 further comprising retracting the prosthetic valve device proximally into the catheter.

8 . The method of claim 7 wherein the collapsing the frame is performed after the expanding.

9 . The method of claim 2 further comprising pulling the manipulation wire to disconnect the manipulation wire from the connector element.

10 . The method of claim 1 further comprising manipulating the manipulation wire to steer the prosthetic valve device out of the catheter.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the lasso structure is operatively connected to a single manipulation wire.

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

the manipulation wire is a first manipulation wire; and

the lasso structure is operatively connected to a second manipulation wire that extends proximally from the lasso structure.

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein two proximal wire segments of the closed wire loop pass into a distal end of the catheter and thereby define a closure of the closed wire loop.

14 . The method of claim 1 wherein the lasso structure is connected to the prosthetic valve device in a middle of an interior of the prosthetic valve device.

15 . The method of claim 1 wherein the wire loop comprises two symmetrically opposed sides, each side comprising a curved wire segment.

16 . The method of claim 1 wherein the lasso structure comprises a single closed wire loop.

Continuity (4)

References Cited (400)