Guy P Vanney

6391053, May 21, 2002

Jun 7, 1996

08/664235

Avrom M. Brendzel - Roseville MN
James R. Ringdal - Blaine MN
Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN

St. Jude Medical, Inc. - St. Paul MN

A61F 224

623 22, 623 239, 623 24

A heart valve prosthesis having a valve housing providing a lumen therethrough. The valve housing has a first annulus on one end and a second annulus on the other end spaced apart from the first annulus. A suture cuff is used for attaching the valve housing to heart tissue of a patient. The cuff is attached between the first annulus and the second annulus. The cuff is positioned such that prosthesis is attached in a supra-annular position relative to a tissue annulus of the heart. The design allows for an increased valve lumen.

6406488, Jun 18, 2002

Aug 27, 1998

09/141284

Katherine S. Tweden - Mahtomedi MN
Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN

HeartStent Corporation - St. Paul MN

A61F 206

623 116, 623 14, 623 143

A transmyocardial implant establishes a blood flow path through a myocardium between a heart chamber and a lumen of a coronary vessel residing on an exterior of the heart. The implant includes a coronary portion sized to be received within the vessel. A myocardial portion is sized to pass through the myocardium into the heart chamber. A transition portion connects the coronary and myocardial portions for directing blood flow from the myocardial portion to the coronary portion. The coronary portion and the myocardial portion have an open construction for permitting tissue growth across a wall thickness of the coronary portion and the myocardial portion. The myocardial portion includes an agent for controlling a coagulation cascade and platelet formation.

6406491, Jun 18, 2002

May 4, 1999

09/304650

Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN

HeartStent Corporation - St. Paul MN

A61F 206

623 13, 623 112, 623 136, 604 8

A transmyocardial implant includes a hollow rigid conduit having a vessel portion and a myocardial portion. The vessel portion is sized to be inserted into a coronary vessel. The myocardial portion is sized to extend from the vessel portion and through a myocardium into a heart chamber. The conduit has open vessel and myocardial ends on respective ones of the vessel and myocardial portions to define a blood flow pathway within an interior of the conduit between the vessel and myocardial ends. The myocardial portion is formed of a conduit material sufficiently rigid to resist deformation and closure of the pathway in response to contraction of the myocardium. The vessel portion has a radial compliance approximating a radial compliance of the vessel.

6409697, Jun 25, 2002

May 4, 1999

09/304730

Robert A. Eno - Plymouth MN
Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN

HeartStent Corporation - St. Paul MN

A61M 500

604 9, 604 8, 604264, 623 115, 623 1111, 606153, 606194

A transmyocardial implant establishes a blood flow path through a heart wall between a heart chamber and a lumen of a coronary vessel on the heart wall. The implant includes a hollow conduit having an open first end and an open second end. The conduit is dimensioned so as to extend at least from the vessel through said heart wall and into said chamber. The conduit has a conduit wall defining a blood flow pathway within an interior of said conduit between the first and second ends. The first and second ends are mutually positioned for the first end to reside within the vessel and opposing a wall of the vessel when the conduit is placed within the heart wall with the second end protruding into the chamber. The conduit wall is formed of a material sufficiently rigid to resist deformation and closure of the pathway in response to contraction of the heart wall. A flow restriction is formed in the pathway for reducing a discharge velocity of blood flow discharged from the first end.

6454760, Sep 24, 2002

Feb 26, 2001

09/793318

Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN

HeartStent Corporation - St. Paul MN

A61B 1700

606 1, 606108

An insertion tool facilitates insertion of a vessel end of a transmyocardial implant into a coronary vessel. The insertion tool has a hollow sheath and mating dilator. The sheath has an external dimension sized for the sheath to be received within a lumen of an expanded size of the coronary vessel. A tapered portion extends from the dilator coaxially with an axis of the sheath. The tapered portion narrows from a cylindrical body portion to a leading tip of the tapered portion. The leading tip of the tapered portion is sized to be received within the lumen of a constricted size of the coronary vessel. The tapered portion and body portion are retractable from the sheath. After such retraction, the leading end of the implant is placed within the sheath. The sheath is split at a part-line such that the sheath can be pulled rearwardly from the vessel without disrupting the coronary vessel following placement of the implant within the sheath.

6719790, Apr 13, 2004

May 21, 2002

10/152503

Avrom M. Brendzel - Roseville MN
James R. Ringdal - Blaine MN
Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN

St. Jude Medical, Inc. - St. Paul MN

A61F 224

623 24

A heart valve prosthesis having a valve housing providing a lumen therethrough. The valve housing has a first annulus on one end and a second annulus on the other end spaced apart from the first annulus. A suture cuff is used for attaching the valve housing to heart tissue of a patient. The cuff is attached between the first annulus and the second annulus. The cuff is positioned such that prosthesis is attached in a supra-annular position relative to a tissue annulus of the heart. The design allows for an increased valve lumen.

6916304, Jul 12, 2005

May 23, 2002

10/155926

Robert A. Eno - Plymouth MN, US
Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN, US

Percardia, Inc. - Merrimac NH

A61M005/00
A61M029/00
A61F002/06
A61F002/02
A61B017/08

604 9, 604 8, 623 115, 623 1111, 606153, 606194

A transmyocardial implant establishes a blood flow path through a heart wall between a heart chamber and a lumen of a coronary vessel on the heart wall. The implant includes a hollow conduit having an open first end and an open second end. The conduit is dimensioned so as to extend at least from the vessel through said heart wall and into said chamber. The conduit has a conduit wall defining a blood flow pathway within an interior of said conduit between the first and second ends. The first and second ends are mutually positioned for the first end to reside within the vessel and opposing a wall of the vessel when the conduit is placed within the heart wall with the second end protruding into the chamber. The conduit wall is formed of a material sufficiently rigid to resist deformation and closure of the pathway in response to contraction of the heart wall. A flow restriction is formed in the pathway for reducing a discharge velocity of blood flow discharged from the first end.

6960207, Nov 1, 2005

Jun 27, 2003

10/608297

Guy P. Vanney - Blaine MN, US
Jeremy D. Dando - Plymouth MN, US

St Jude Medical, Daig Division, Inc. - Minnetonka MN

A61B018/18

606 41, 606 49, 607104, 607105, 607113

An ablation catheter used for treatment of, for example, atrial fibrillation by electrically isolating a vessel, such as a pulmonary vein, from a chamber, such as the left atrium. The ablation catheter has a virtual electrode and a catheter shaft. The virtual electrode comprises a porous conductor. The catheter shaft includes a proximal portion and a distal portion. The distal portion includes an active region, which is either a looped structure transverse to the longitudinal axis of the catheter shaft, or a linear structure that extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the catheter shaft. During use, the active region is directed into contact with, for example, the wall of a pulmonary vein and, upon energization, the virtual electrode creates a continuous lesion at or near the ostium of the pulmonary vein, thereby electrically isolating the pulmonary vein from the left atrium.