| 主权项 |
1. A method of capturing a moving heart valve leaflet in a beating heart of a patient, comprising:
inserting an instrument through a chest wall of the patient and into a chest cavity of the patient through a minimally invasive opening; inserting a distal end of the instrument through a heart wall and into the beating heart of the patient; grasping the moving valve leaflet of a heart valve in the beating heart with the distal end of the instrument; confirming, at a proximal end of the instrument external to the patient, capture and proper positioning of the moving valve leaflet relative to the instrument with a fiber optic capture confirmation system having a plurality of illumination fiber optics and a plurality of detection fiber optics, the detection fiber optics configured to detect light from the illumination fiber optics reflected off of the leaflet when the leaflet is properly positioned relative to the instrument, the capture confirmation system providing a plurality of independent indications of the positioning of the leaflet relative to the instrument, wherein the step of confirming capture and proper positioning includes confirming that the moving valve leaflet is captured directly against and in contact with a capture surface at the distal end of the instrument, the capture surface defining a plurality of apertures that are covered by the valve leaflet when the valve leaflet is properly captured and positioned, each aperture connecting to a respective longitudinal channel extending through the instrument, each longitudinal channel containing at least one of the illumination fiber optics and at least one of the detection fiber optics. |
