Patent ID: 7585277
Filing Date: 2009-09-08
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A device for stabilizing a portion of a beating heart, using a minimally invasive procedure, said device comprising: at least one contact member configured to engage the surface of a beating heart in a deployed configuration to stabilize a portion of the beating heart in a vicinity of a location engaged by said at least one contact member, each said at least one contact member having a retracted configuration used for insertion of the at least one contact member through a minimally invasive opening in a patient, wherein each said at least one contact member has a first length in said deployed configuration and a second length in said retracted configuration, said second length being less than said first length; an elongated member connected to said at least one contact member and extending proximally therefrom, said elongated member having sufficient length such that a proximal end portion can extend outside of a patient, through an opening in the patient, when said at least one contact member engages the surface of the beating heart; at least one controlling link connecting to said at least one contact member and extending proximally therefrom along a length of said elongated member sufficient to extend a proximal end portion of said at least one controlling link outside of the patient, through an opening in the patient, when said at least one contact member engages the surface of the beating heart ; and an actuator linked to a proximal end portion of said at least one controlling link and manipulatable, from a location outside the patient, to reposition said at least one contact member when said at least one contact member is inside of the patient.