The invention relates generally to medical implant systems. In particular, the invention relates to a tool to endovascularly deliver and deploy a medical implant, such as a replacement heart valve. Aspects of the invention may also be used to deliver and deploy other medical implants and to deliver those implants percutaneously, endoscopically, laparoscopically, etc.
Medical devices may be implanted within patients' bodies for a variety of medical purposes. Many implants can be delivered in a minimally invasive manner, such as through percutaneous access to the patient's vasculature, through an existing orifice, etc. For example, replacement heart valves may be endovascularly delivered to a patient's heart, as described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/982,388; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/746,120, filed Dec. 23, 2003; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/870,340, filed Jun. 16, 2004. Multiple implant operations may need to be performed during the minimally invasive delivery and deployment of a medical implant; the prior art is replete with handles and actuators for these purposes.
Replacement heart valves may be delivered endovascularly to the patient's heart from an entry point far from the patient's heart. For example, replacement aortic valves can be delivered retrograde (i.e., against the blood flow) from an insertion point near the patient's groin through the femoral artery and the aorta. Any physician-operated actuators used to deliver, deploy, retrieve or otherwise operate the replacement valve or its components must perform their operations over this distance. In addition to any expansion of the valve and/or anchor from a deployment shape or self-expanded shape to a deployed shape, these operations may include expansion of the replacement valve against the inward force of the tissue in and around the patient's native valve. Each of these operations could require the delivery of an expansion force from the external actuator to the implant. Other possible valve replacement procedure operations controlled by external actuators include detachment of the delivery tool from the implant after a successful placement procedure, collapsing and moving an implant to a more desirable implant location, and retrieval of the implant back into a delivery tool catheter or sheath.