Tools and methods for removing anchors from medical leads

摘要

Tools and methods for removing anchors from medical leads involve a guide portion and a blade. The lead is inserted within a lead passageway of the guide portion of the tool and the tool is moved along so that the blade contacts the anchor and cuts a slit in the anchor as the tool. Once the blade has cut the slit through the entire anchor, the anchor comes free of the lead and the tool can be removed. The tool may include a manner of opening and closing the guide portion so as to provide access to the lead when open and to contain the lead when closed. Opening the guide portion allows the lead to be inserted or removed by laterally moving the lead into or out of the lead passageway such that the tool may be installed or removed at any available point along the lead.

主权项

1. An implantable medical lead anchor removal tool, comprising:
a first body including a guide portion having an inner lead passageway having a longitudinal dimension defined along the length of the guide portion; a second body movably coupled to the first body by a coupling providing an axis of rotation of the second body relative to the first body where the axis of rotation is parallel to the longitudinal dimension from at least one perspective perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension, the second body having a protrusion that is present within the inner lead passageway, the inner lead passageway being opened along the longitudinal dimension when the second body is moved relative to the first body about the axis of rotation of the coupling to thereby remove the protrusion of the second body from the inner lead passageway, wherein at least one of the first body and the second body provides an elongated portion including an arcuate top edge and an arcuate bottom edge where a radius of curvature of both the arcuate top edge and the arcuate bottom edge has a center point spaced from the bottom edge in a direction away from the top edge and wherein the arcuate top edge and the arcuate bottom edge span more than half of a length of the elongated portion; and a blade present within the first body, the blade having a cutting edge that is at least partially exposed from the first body and that is aligned so that a plane defined by the blade intersects with the guide portion in the first body such that the blade contacts the guide portion where the guide portion forms the inner lead passageway and with the entire blade being outside of the inner lead passageway.