INTERVENTIONAL MEDICAL SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED TETHERING ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS

摘要

An implantable medical device is tethered to a delivery catheter by a length of a tether, which extends through an attachment feature of the device and between a free end thereof and a secured end thereof, wherein the secured end is fixedly coupled to a tubular member of the catheter in proximity to a distal end thereof, and the free end is engaged against an inner surface of a sidewall that extends within the tubular member. The free end of the tether may be engaged against the inner surface by an enlarged distal tip of an elongate wire that extends within a lumen defined by the inner surface of the sidewall. An operator may move the distal tip of the wire out through a distal opening of the lumen, thereby pushing the free end of the tether out from engagement with the surface, to untether the device from the catheter.

主权项

1. A method for tethering an implantable medical device to a delivery catheter, the method comprising:
threading a length of a tether through an aperture of an attachment feature of the implantable medical device, the tether extending between a free end thereof and a secured end thereof, the secured end being fixedly coupled to a tubular member of the catheter in proximity to a distal end tubular member; inserting the free end of the threaded tether into a lumen of the tubular member through a distal opening of the lumen, the lumen being defined by an inner surface of a relatively rigid sidewall that extends within the tubular member; moving an elongate wire proximally within the lumen so that an enlarged distal tip of the wire enters into the lumen through the distal opening, thereby engaging and holding the inserted free end of the threaded tether against the inner surface of the sidewall; and continuing to move the wire proximally within the lumen, after the distal tip enters into the lumen, to pull the engaged free end of the tether proximally along the inner surface, thereby bringing the threaded length of the tether into the lumen until a proximal end of the device contacts the distal end of the of the tubular member.