Patent ID: 8475524

Claim:
An apparatus for performing percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty, comprising: a deployment catheter adapted to insert an annuloplasty device into a coronary sinus of a heart in a living subject, said deployment catheter being operative for actuating said annuloplasty device in an operative location in said coronary sinus; and a location positioning system comprising an image processor and a mapping catheter for acquiring an anatomic image of a portion of said heart and a positioning subsystem, said positioning subsystem generating magnetic fields in a predefined working volume, said mapping catheter comprising a position sensor for sensing the magnetic fields at the mapping catheter within the predefined working volume and for transmitting signals indicative of location and orientation coordinates of said mapping catheter and an array of ultrasonic transducers driven in a controlled manner in order to steer an ultrasonic beam in a desired direction for obtaining the anatomic image of the portion of said heart, said location positioning system being operative for registering said operative location of said annuloplasty device with said anatomic image while said annuloplasty device is being inserted by said deployment catheter using location and orientation coordinates, said location positioning system being operative for locating points of interest on a left circumflex coronary artery of said heart whereby an operator can determine whether actuation of said annuloplasty device in said operative location may compromise blood flow through said left circumflex coronary artery.