Patent ID: 9700412
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. The method of repairing a heart valve comprising: using a delivery system comprising an applicator tube and an internal rod within the applicator tube to deliver a heart valve repair device to an area of the heart valve, the heart valve repair device comprising a ventricular winding that in an unconstrained condition has a generally spiral shape that moves increasingly further away from a center of the ventricular winding as it winds around the center of the ventricular winding, the generally spiral shape comprising at least a first turn and a second turn wherein at least the first turn is a full turn extending 360 degrees around the center of the ventricular winding, the heart valve repair device further comprising a grasping element that is connected to the center of the ventricular winding and that extends from the center of the ventricular winding, the applicator tube having a window through which at least a part of the heart valve repair device may be ejected, the delivery system comprising a ramp surface adjacent a distal end of the window, the internal rod of the delivery system terminating in a hook adapted to hold the grasping element of the heart valve repair device within the applicator tube, wherein the heart valve repair device is advanced to the area of the heart valve with the ventricular winding held in a constrained condition in which it has a relatively straightened shape; releasing the ventricular winding on an atrial side or a ventricular side of the heart valve, thereby allowing the ventricular winding to assume its unconstrained condition in which it has the generally spiral shape; after releasing the ventricular winding, positioning the ventricular winding on the ventricular side of the heart valve and turning the ventricular winding in a first direction such that the ventricular winding captures chords associated with a first leaflet of the heart valve and chords associated with a second leaflet of the heart valve within one generally spiral path defined by the generally spiral shape of the ventricular winding, wherein the generally spiral path extends at least between the first turn and the second turn of the ventricular winding, and such that, by turning the ventricular winding in the first direction, the captured chords of the first and the second leaflets within the generally spiral path are brought toward the center of the ventricular winding, thereby causing the first and the second leaflets of the heart valve to be drawn together; and releasing the heart valve repair device from the delivery system by advancing the internal rod distally within the applicator tube, thereby moving the hook distally relative to the applicator tube to be located at the window and advancing the grasping element of the heart valve repair device distally against the ramp surface, which results in forcing the grasping element of the heart valve repair device away from the hook and releasing the grasping element of the heart valve repair device from the hook; wherein the heart valve repair device is free of any atrial stabilizing section.