Gallbladder implants and systems and methods for the delivery thereof

Abstract

A filter device for implantation in a gallbladder, comprising: a filtering portion configured to filter gallstones of a certain minimum size to prevent them from exiting the gallbladder through an opening of the gallbladder; a tail extending from the filtering portion away from the opening of the gallbladder and towards a distal wall of the gallbladder; and, a stopper located at a distal end of the tail, near the distal wall of the gallbladder when the filter device is implanted; wherein the filtering portion, stopper and the tail are configured to be of an overall length within the gallbladder that they, when taken together, extend substantially the length of the gallbladder from the distal wall to the opening of the gallbladder to prevent migration of the filtering portion away from the opening of the gallbladder.

1 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A method of deploying a filtering device in a gallbladder, comprising:
 navigating a guide wire to an implantation site in the gallbladder;   placing an external catheter containing the filtering device over the guide wire;   advancing the external catheter and the filtering device in a distal direction along the guide wire to the implantation site; and, deploying at least a blocking portion of the filtering device out of the external catheter.   
     
     
         28 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein the deploying includes pushing at least one gall stone away from a gallbladder opening towards a distal wall of the gallbladder with the blocking portion. 
     
     
         29 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein placing further comprises placing over the guide wire, a tip on the distal end of the external catheter. 
     
     
         30 . A method according to  claim 29 , wherein the advancing further comprises using the tip to assist with the advancing to the implantation site. 
     
     
         31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . A method according to  claim 27 , further comprising retracting the external catheter to deploy at least the blocking portion of the filtering device. 
     
     
         33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . A filtering device for implantation in a gallbladder, comprising:
 an egg or ovoid shaped body configured to transition from a collapsed configuration to an expanded egg or ovoid shaped configuration;   wherein the body is formed from at least one egg or ovoid shaped coil of wire forming an interior space within the coil for trapping gall stones.   
     
     
         35 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , wherein the body does not exert pressure, in the expanded configuration, on a wall of the gallbladder. 
     
     
         36 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , comprised of a single wire. 
     
     
         37 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , wherein the coil of wire is denser on a proximal end of the filtering device near an opening of the gallbladder. 
     
     
         38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , wherein two ends of a linear coil of wire are welded together to form the ovoid or egg shape. 
     
     
         40 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , wherein the coil of wire is 0.05 mm-0.35 mm thick. 
     
     
         41 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , further comprising an internal blocking portion disposed in the interior space of the filtering device. 
     
     
         42 . (canceled) 
     
     
         43 . A filtering device according to  claim 41 , wherein the internal blocking portion is egg or ovoid shaped. 
     
     
         44 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , further comprising a mesh structure disposed on a proximal side of the filtering device near a gallbladder opening. 
     
     
         45 . A filtering device according to  claim 44 , wherein the mesh structure comprises a plurality of leaf or petal shapes. 
     
     
         46 . A filtering device according to  claim 34 , wherein the body is formed from a plurality of wires, the ends of which are joined together by at least one joining ring. 
     
     
         47 . A filtering device according to  claim 46 , further comprising at least one indentation formed by a curvature of the wires. 
     
     
         48 . A filtering device deployment system, comprising:
 an external catheter formed in a hollow cylindrical shape;   a central cylinder configured for insertion into and through the external catheter;   a filtering device; and, a release wire, biased to be straight, disposed near a distal end of the central cylinder and within the external catheter, wherein the release wire is releasably hooked around a portion of the filtering device to retain the filtering device within the external catheter.   
     
     
         49 . A filtering device deployment system according to  claim 48 , further comprising a ring disposed near and around the distal end of the central cylinder. 
     
     
         50 . A filtering device deployment system according to  claim 49 , wherein the release wire is attached to the ring.