Design of a Catheter-Based Device for Performing Percutaneous Chordal-Cutting Procedures

This paper focuses on the design and implementation of a percutaneous catheter-based device to provide physicians with an externally controlled tool capable of manipulating and cutting specific chordae tendinae within the heart to alleviate problems associated with some forms of mitral valve (MV) regurgitation. In the United States alone, approximately 500,000 people develop ischemic or functional mitral regurgitation per year. Many of these patients do not possess the required level of health necessary to survive open-heart surgery, and the development of a chordal cutting procedure and device is needed to allow these patients to receive treatment. A deterministic design process was used to generate several design concepts and then evaluate and compare each concept based on a set of functional requirements. A final concept to be alpha prototyped was then chosen, further developed, and fabricated. Experiments showed that the design was capable of locating and grabbing a chord and that ultrasound imaging is a viable method for navigating the device inside of the human body. Once contact between the chord and radio-frequency (RF) ablation tip was confirmed, the chord was successfully ablated.