A catheter device and method are disclosed for transvascular delivery of a medical device to a cardiac valve region of a patient. The catheter device comprises an elongate sheath with releasable locking members for controllably locking the elongate sheath in a shape at least partly along its length from a relaxed state to a locked state when positioned in relation to a cardiac valve. Furthermore, alignment members are provided to provide for a desired positioning in relation to the cardiac valve. Embolic protection is further provided.

Various devices are described to provide filtering of flow from the aorta to the left carotid artery and the right carotid artery. The filters can be brought into a desired position through one or more peripheral arteries. A single filter device can provide the desired filtering or a plurality of devices can be used. In particular a single filter device can span between the brachiocephalic artery and the left carotid artery. These filter devices can be used effectively to capture emboli generated during procedures on the heart so that emboli do not travel to the patient's brain where the emboli can cause a stroke or other adverse event. In particular, these filters can be used during percutaneous procedures on the heart, such as endovascular heart valve replacement.

A filter device includes: a shaft having an intermediate coil wire between a proximal filter wire and a distal filter wire; a proximal filter on the proximal filter wire; and a distal filter on the distal filter wire. The intermediate coil wire is disposed to extend between downstream and upstream blood vessels to pass through a path of placement that leads to another downstream blood vessel. Both the filters have a contracted configuration for being delivered into the blood vessel and an expanded configuration for capturing an embolus inside the blood vessel. The proximal filter is oriented such that an inlet opening, for taking in the embolus, of a proximal filter body in the expanded configuration faces the distal side, and the distal filter is oriented such that an inlet opening, for taking in the embolus, of a distal filter body in the expanded configuration faces the proximal side.

A method for deploying a medical device such as a heart valve to a desired location in a blood vessel comprising first deploying a tubular filter adjacent to at least one tributary vessel location with a filter deployment member, disengaging said deployment member and removing it, inserting an expandable sheath into the blood vessel, passing a medical device through said sheath to deploy its removing said sheath and removing said filter.

An implantable permanent filter assembly (1) for deployment in a bifurcated vessel includes a main vessel and at least two branches. This assembly includes a filtering sleeve (2) formed of an expendable braided framework (20) able to expand from a radially compressed state in a delivery configuration to a radially expanded state. The filtering sleeve extends along an axis and defines a cylindrical lumen devoid of impermeable layer, having a distal end configured to extend toward the branches of the bifurcated vessel and a proximal end configured to extend toward away from the branches of the bifurcated vessel. The braided framework has a plurality of mesh layers (22,23,24) of wires (25) made of biocompatible material, forming a lattice with a plurality of wires of each layers. The lattice, when observed normal with respect to a wall of the implantable endoluminal prosthesis, defines polygonal openings.

A catheter device is disclosed for transvascular delivery of a medical device to a cardiac valve region of a patient. The catheter device comprises an elongate sheath (2) with releasable locking members for controllably locking the elongate sheath in a shape at least partly along its length from a relaxed state to a locked state when positioned in relation to a cardiac valve. Furthermore, alignment members (5) are provided to provide for a desired positioning in relation to the cardiac valve. Embolic protection (8) is further provided.

Disclosed is a novel filter and delivery means. The device described within will not interfere with standard practice and tools used during standard surgical procedures and tools such as cannulas, clamps or dissection instruments including valve replacement sizing gages or other surgical procedures where the patient must be put on a heart-lung machine cross-clamping the aorta.

An intravascular emboli capture and retrieval system for intravascular embolism protection and embolism removal or maceration. Guidewire mounted proximally and distally located multiple opening filters are deployed within the vasculature and used to part, divide and macerate embolic debris and to capture such embolic debris within the confines thereof. A deployable flexible preformed memory shaped capture sleeve is alternatively used to collapse one or more filters and embolic debris therein for subsequent proximal withdrawal from the vasculature.

A filter, including a main body part. The main body part includes a heart-proximal end, a plurality of connecting segments, and a first filter mesh connecting between the heart-proximal end and the plurality of connecting segments. An end of the connecting segments that is connected to the first filter mesh is bent towards a central longitudinal axis of the filter to form a bending part. A vertical distance between a proximal end of the bending part and the central longitudinal axis of the filter is less than a vertical distance between a distal end of the bending part and the central longitudinal axis of the filter.

An embolic protection device including a porous deflector screen including a filter, arranged to expand and to conform to a wall of the aortic arch covering entrances to arteries branching from an aorta, an emboli collector including a cylinder arranged to expand and to lie along walls of a descending aorta, pushing against walls of the descending aorta and anchoring the porous deflector screen, and a connecting portion for connecting the porous deflector screen and the emboli collector, arranged to push the porous deflector screen against a wall of the aortic arch while anchoring against the emboli collector. Related apparatus and methods are also described.