Vascular Clamps for Vascular Repair
A magnetic vascular clamp for vascular repair is described. There is a vascular sleeve forming a flexible cylindrical bellows that cylindrically encloses a section of vascular tissue to allow freely movement of the enclosed vascular tissue within the vascular sleeve. A pair of sleeve anchor rings are at each end of the vascular sleeve and they form a fixed seal with underlying vascular tissue to minimize fluid leakage from within the vascular clamp.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/030,540, filed Feb. 18, 2011, which in turn claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 61/306,689, filed Feb. 22, 2010; incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to surgical devices, and more specifically to devices for use in repairing vascular structures in a patient.
BACKGROUND ARTBlood vessels are the body's equivalents of pipes for circulating blood to where it is needed. These vessels can become damaged or compromised, for example, due to injury-related trauma or during surgical procedures. Vascular clamps are devices that surround damaged vascular tissue to provide structural support while minimizing blood loss while repair surgery is performed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the present invention include a vascular clamp for vascular repair which has a vascular sleeve which forms a flexible cylindrical bellows that cylindrically encloses a section of vascular tissue to allow freely movement of the enclosed vascular tissue within the vascular sleeve. At each cylindrical end of the vascular sleeve there is a sleeve anchor ring that forms a fixed seal with underlying vascular tissue to minimize fluid leakage from within the vascular clamp.
In further such embodiments, each sleeve anchor ring may include a plurality of sealing ribs for sealing with the underlying vascular tissue. The vascular sleeve may be made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material or the like. And the vascular clamp may come in different sizes suitable for different specific applications such as repair to small or large vascular structures and/or repairing gastrointestinal vessels.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a various vascular clamp devices for vascular repair. As shown in
Each clamp piece 201 and 202 also has a pair of magnetic sectional end surfaces 204 connecting the outer surface 205 and the inner surface 203 and having a characteristic magnetic field arrangement 301 as shown in
The sectional end surfaces 204 and the corresponding magnetic field arrangement 301 of each clamp piece 201 and 202 cooperate with the sectional end surfaces 204 and magnetic field arrangement 301 of the other clamp piece 202 and 201 to form a complete annular cylinder held together by the magnetic interaction between the magnetic field arrangements 301. As a result, the clamp pieces 201 and 202 together form a complete magnetic vascular clamp 200 that encloses an inner cylinder which structurally supports damaged vascular tissue therein with minimal fluid leakage.
Some embodiments may further have an outer encapsulation layer of bioinert material such as gold or titanium which covers some or all of each clamp piece 201 and 202. For example, some or all of the outer surface 205 and/or the inner surface 203 of each clamp piece 201 and 202 may have such a bioinert encapsulation layer. In addition or alternatively, there also may be a therapeutic coating on the inner surface 203 of each clamp piece 201 and 202 to promote healing of the enclosed vascular tissue.
Embodiments of the present invention also include a vascular clamp for vascular repair such as the ones shown in
Embodiments of the present invention also include a vascular clamp 800 for vascular repair as shown in
Although various exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made which will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the true scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A vascular clamp for vascular repair comprising:
- a vascular sleeve forming a flexible cylindrical bellows that cylindrically encloses a section of vascular tissue to allow freely movement of the enclosed vascular tissue within the vascular sleeve; and
- a pair of sleeve anchor rings, one at each end of the vascular sleeve, forming a fixed seal with underlying vascular tissue to minimize fluid leakage from within the vascular clamp.
2. A vascular clamp according to claim 1, wherein each sleeve anchor ring includes a plurality of sealing ribs for sealing with the underlying vascular tissue.
3. A vascular clamp according to claim 1, wherein the vascular sleeve is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2012
Publication Date: Apr 11, 2013
Applicant: VIBRANT MED-EL HEARING TECHNOLOGY GMBH (Innsbruck)
Inventor: Vibrant Med-El Hearing Technology GmbH (Innsbruck)
Application Number: 13/690,234
International Classification: A61B 17/08 (20060101);