US20040102678A1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Bag for at least partially enveloping a heart
Assignee: Acorn Cardiovascular Inc
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Filing: 2003-11-07
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2023-11-07
Abstract
Abstract A pouch to at least partly enclose a heart ( 1 ), the wall of the pouch ( 2 ) being elastic. The purpose of the pouch is to enclose at least part of a heart ( 1 ) and to oppose excessive dilation of the heart ( 1 ) that might be due to infectious disease of the heart muscle, for instance a viral infection or an autoimmune process. In many cases the use of such a pouch ( 2 ) may circumvent the need for a heart transplant.
Inventors
- 👤 Hans Haindl
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 11:43
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F2/00; A61F2/02; A61F2/24; A61F2/2478; A61F2/2481; A61F2/0063; A61F2002/0068; A61F2250/00; A61F2250/0014; A61F2250/0018
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
29 words
1 . A pouch ( 2 ) enclosing at least partly a heart ( 1 ) characterized in that the wall of the pouch ( 2 ) is elastic.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
29 words
1 . A pouch ( 2 ) enclosing at least partly a heart ( 1 ) characterized in that the wall of the pouch ( 2 ) is elastic.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
2 . Pouch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the elasticity of the wall of the pouch ( 2 ) decreases with increasing stretching.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
3 . Pouch as claimed in claim 2 , characterized in that the stretching is bounded by a limit value.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
4 . Pouch as claimed in claim 3 , characterized in that the limit value is set at a pouch volume corresponding to the volume of the heart in the stage of maximum diastolic filling.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
5 . Pouch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the pouch volume in the stretched condition corresponds at a m maximum to the volume of the heart in the stage of maximum diastolic filling.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
6 . Pouch as claimed in claim 3 , characterized in that it is composed of elastic and of inelastic material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
7 . Pouch as claimed in claim 6 , characterized in that the elastic material consists of a sheet or a fabric or a knit consisting of threads into which are incorporated substantially non-elastic threads.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
8 . Pouch as claimed in claim 7 , characterized in that the substantially inelastic threads are incorporated into the sheet or the fabric or knit in longitudinally displaceable manner.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
64 words
9 . Pouch as claimed in claim 8 , characterized in that the substantially inelastic threads are guided each in by segment out of the pouch and thus are adjustable in length by means of segment-wise knotting and in that the volume and/or the shape of the pouch can be matched to the volume and/or the shape of the heart at maximum diastolic filling.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
10 . Pouch as claimed in claim 9 , characterized in that the substantially inelastic threads run from the aperture edge of the pouch to a substantially opposite pouch tip.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
11 . Pouch as claimed in claim 10 , characterized in that threads issue from the pouch in the vicinity of its tip.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
12 . Pouch as claimed in claim 3 , characterized in that consists of a sheet, a fabric or a knit comprising crimps, a pleat, accordion geometry or the like.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
13 . Pouch as claimed in claim 3 , characterized in that it consists of a fabric or knit of inelastic but bending threads crimped transversely to their longitudinal direction, in particular in wavy and/or sig-zag manner.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
14 . Pouch as claimed in claim 13 , characterized in that the crimps are thermally set.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
15 . Pouch as claimed in claim 3 , characterized in that the pouch is made of a knit and in that the knit's threads are inelastic but bending.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
16 . Pouch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the wall of the pouch ( 2 ) consists of plastic or a biological material.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
17 . Pouch as claimed in claim 16 , characterized in that the biological material is bovine pericardium.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
18 . Pouch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the wall is in the form of a netting ( 3 ).
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
21 words
19 . Pouch as claimed in claim 18 , characterized in that the netting ( 3 ) consists of open-pore foam.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
20 . Pouch as claimed in claim 18 , characterized in that the netting ( 3 ) consists of a perforated sheet.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
24 words
21 . Pouch as claimed in claim 18 , characterized in that the netting ( 3 ) consists of a fabric or a knit.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
24 words
22 . Pouch as claimed in claim 21 , characterized in that the sheet or the fabric or knit is coated with open-pore foam.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
60 words
23 . Pouch as claimed in claim 2 , characterized in that the pouch ( 2 ) consists of two kinds of thermoplastic threads or fibers, one kind of which is of a higher, preferably substantially higher shaping temperature than the other kind, the one kind being elastic and the other kind being relatively less elastic, preferably substantially less elastic.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
24 . Pouch as claimed in claim 23 , characterized in that the plastic is a thermoplastic.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
17 words
25 . Pouch as claimed in claim 19 , characterized in that the foam consists of silicone.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
17 words
26 . Pouch as claimed in claim 19 , characterized in that the foam is a lubricant.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
18 words
27 . Pouch as claimed in claim 26 , characterized in that the lubricant is a biological lubricant.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
17 words
28 . Pouch as claimed in claim 26 , characterized in that the lubricant is genetically engineered.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
19 words
29 . Pouch as claimed in claim 28 , characterized in that the genetically engineered lubricant is hyaluronic acid.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
60 words
30 . A method for manufacturing a pouch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that a mold in the shape of the article intended to enclose the heart is manufactured and in that a gas- and/or a liquid-permeable sheet or a netting or a knit made of a thermoplastic is pulled over the mold and shaped while heated.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
33 words
31 . Method as claimed in claim 30 , characterized in that the shape of the heart to be enclosed is imaged and in that the mold is made based on that image.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
27 words
32 . Pouch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the wall of the pouch is made of tetrafluoroethylene, in particular of open-pore polytetrafluoroethylne foam
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