Vascular valve prosthesis

Abstract

A valve prosthetic implant for treating a vein or other blood vessel includes a tubular, expandable anchoring frame extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the implant, a valve seat formed at or near the middle of the anchoring frame, an expandable ball disposed within the lumen of the anchoring frame, and a ball retention tether attached to the expandable ball and to the valve seat and/or the anchoring frame. The anchoring frame may include a cylindrical proximal portion at the proximal end, a cylindrical distal portion at the distal end, an inwardly angled inlet portion between the cylindrical proximal portion and a middle of the anchoring frame, and an inwardly angled outlet portion between the cylindrical distal portion and the middle of the anchoring frame.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for treating a vein, the method comprising:
 deploying a venous valve prosthetic implant out of a distal end of a catheter into the vein,   wherein upon exiting the catheter a tubular anchoring member of the venous valve prosthetic implant expands within the vein and contacts an inner wall of the vein to maintain the venous valve prosthetic implant within the vein, and wherein an expandable ball inside the tubular anchoring member expands after exiting the catheter and moves between an open position, in which the ball is positioned to allow forward flow of blood through the venous valve prosthetic implant, and a closed position, in which the ball contacts a valve seat, to prevent or reduce backflow of blood through the venous valve prosthetic implant; and   removing the catheter from the vein.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein deploying the venous valve prosthetic implant out of the distal end of the catheter comprises at least one of retracting a catheter body of the catheter or advancing a deployment plunger of the catheter. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the tubular anchoring member and the expandable ball comprise a shape memory material. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising using the catheter to cure a curable material of which the expandable ball is at least partially made. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein curing the curable material comprises emitting a curing agent selected from the group consisting of heat, light, electricity, sound waves, and a chemical mixture. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 advancing an inflation tube out of a catheter body of the catheter, wherein a distal end of the inflation tube is positioned through an aperture of the expandable ball; and   inflating the expandable ball, using the inflation tube.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein inflating the expandable ball comprises inflating with a substance selected from the group consisting of air, a fluid, a gel and an elastic, hollow sphere. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising inflating the expandable ball, using an inflation attachment of the catheter to pass fluid through a lumen in at least one of a valve seat or a ball retention tether of the venous valve prosthetic implant. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising orienting the venous valve prosthetic implant with the catheter, using at least one orientation feature on at least one of the venous valve prosthetic implant, the delivery catheter or a handle coupled with the catheter. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising extracting the expandable ball from the venous valve prosthetic implant, using a ball extraction device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein extracting the expandable ball comprises:
 grasping the ball with a grasper of the extraction device; and   cutting a tether attached to the ball, using a cutter of the extraction device.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the expandable ball is attached to the tubular anchoring member via a tether. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the tubular anchoring member comprises a stent comprising a shape memory material. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the tubular anchoring member has an hourglass shape.