Mechanical valves and their leaflet motion monitoring systems

Abstract

This invention discloses a mechanical valve and its leaflet motion monitoring system. An induction coil is installed on the valve annulus to form an inductor, and the two leaflets in the middle of the annulus form a capacitor. The two ends of the induction coil are each connected to a leaflet, forming a resonant circuit in parallel with the induction coil and the leaflets. When the leaflets open and close, the capacitance of the capacitor changes accordingly, causing a change in the resonant frequency. When it is necessary to obtain the leaflet motion state, an excitation signal is provided to the induction coil, and the resonant circuit receives the frequency response to the excitation signal through transmission and reflection. The change in frequency response allows the system to obtain the leaflet opening state and motion velocity, thus facilitating the acquisition of data such as cardiac output.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a mechanical valve and a valve leaflet motion monitoring system. Background Technology

[0002] Artificial mechanical valves are implantable organs made of artificial materials that replace natural heart valves (aortic, tricuspid, and mitral valves), allowing blood to flow in one direction and mimicking the function of natural heart valves. The design of artificial mechanical valves aims to utilize the dynamics of blood flow to find the optimal combination of the three components: valve leaflets or occluders, stents or hinge mechanisms, and valve annulus, in order to achieve the best performance and simulate the function of natural heart valves. However, currently, after implantation, the movement of the valve leaflets cannot be monitored, and the valve opening size and blood velocity cannot be obtained. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a mechanical valve and its leaflet motion monitoring system to solve the problem that the current system cannot monitor the leaflet motion state of mechanical valves.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a mechanical valve, comprising a valve annulus forming a blood flow channel and two leaflets located within the valve annulus that allow blood to flow in the forward direction and prevent blood backflow. An induction coil is provided on the valve annulus, and one of the leaflets is connected to each end of the induction coil. The induction coil is electrically connected to the leaflet.

[0005] Furthermore, the induction coil is wound along the outer wall of the valve ring.

[0006] Furthermore, the metal leaflets are made of copper.

[0007] Furthermore, the two ends of the induction coil are electrically connected to the leaf blades via wires.

[0008] Furthermore, both ends of the leaflet are rotatably connected to the leaflet ring via a rotating shaft. The leaflet ring is provided with a limiting hole that cooperates with the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is rotatably installed in the limiting hole. The induction coil is electrically connected to the rotating shaft installed in the limiting hole via a wire.

[0009] Furthermore, the inner wall of the limiting hole is provided with a limiting groove that cooperates with the wire, and one end of the wire that is electrically connected to the rotating shaft is fixed in the limiting groove.

[0010] In addition, this application also provides a leaflet motion monitoring system for mechanical valves, including a resonant circuit composed of the aforementioned induction coil and leaflet, and a resonant frequency electrical measurement unit for providing an excitation signal to the resonant circuit and receiving the response of the resonant circuit to the excitation signal through transmission and reflection.

[0011] Furthermore, the resonant frequency electrical measurement unit is a vector network analyzer.

[0012] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: by installing an induction coil on the valve annulus to form an inductor, and the two leaflets in the middle of the valve annulus to form a capacitor, the two ends of the induction coil are respectively connected to one leaflet, so that the induction coil and the leaflet are connected in parallel to form a resonant circuit; when the leaflet moves to open and close, the capacitance of the capacitor formed therein also changes, thereby causing a change in the resonant frequency; when it is necessary to obtain the movement state of the leaflet, by providing an excitation signal to the induction coil, and then receiving the frequency response of the resonant circuit to the excitation signal through transmission and reflection, the opening state and movement speed (blood speed) of the leaflet can be obtained from the change in frequency response, thereby facilitating the acquisition of cardiac output, etc. Attached Figure Description

[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, use the same reference numerals to denote the same or similar parts. The illustrative embodiments of this application and their descriptions are used to explain this application and do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the positions of the leaflets and induction coil according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] 1. Leaflet; 11. Rotating shaft; 2. Leaf ring; 21. Limiting groove; 3. Induction coil. Detailed Implementation

[0017] like Figure 1 The mechanical valve shown includes a valve annulus 2 forming a blood flow channel and two leaflets 1 located within the valve annulus 2, which allow blood to flow in the forward direction and prevent blood backflow; an induction coil 3 is provided on the valve annulus 2, and each end of the induction coil 3 is connected to one of the leaflets 1, and the induction coil 3 is electrically connected to the leaflet 1.

[0018] This application adds an induction coil 3 electrically connected to the leaflet 1 to the existing mechanical valve. The two metal leaflets 1 with insulating coatings in the middle of the valve ring 2 form a capacitor. The two ends of the induction coil 3 are each connected to one leaflet 1 to form a resonant circuit. The formula for calculating the resonant frequency f0 for the induction coil 3 is:

[0019]

[0020] Where L is the inductance of induction coil 3, and C is the capacitance of the capacitor formed by leaf 1. When designing the resonant circuit, the quality factor Q should also be considered to achieve better circuit matching and higher radiation intensity.

[0021] When leaflet 1 opens and closes, the relative area between the two leaflets 1 changes, and the capacitance of the capacitor formed by them also changes, thereby causing a change in the resonant frequency. When it is necessary to obtain the motion state of leaflet 1, it is only necessary to provide an excitation signal to the induction coil 3, and then the receiving resonant circuit can obtain the frequency response of the excitation signal through transmission and reflection. The opening state and motion speed (blood velocity) of leaflet 1 can be obtained from the change in frequency response. This makes it easy to obtain information such as valve function (dynamic range), transvalvular pressure gradient (systolic phase), and leaflet 1 closing speed. It also makes it easy to determine information such as cardiac output (cardiac output = blood flow velocity * valve orifice area) and heart rate based on the motion of leaflet 1.

[0022] The induction coil 3 is wound along the outer wall of the leaflet 2, and the positional relationship between the induction coil and the leaflet is... Figure 2 As shown, by winding the induction coil 3 into a shape that conforms to the valve ring 2 and attaching it to the outer wall of the valve ring 2, the function of the mechanical valve itself is not affected, and it occupies almost no additional space. In addition to the above method, other induction coils 3 can also be used, as long as they can connect the coil to the valve leaf 1 to form a resonant circuit.

[0023] The metal leaflets 1 can be made of copper, which has good electrical conductivity, and the two oppositely positioned leaflets 1 exhibit good capacitance characteristics. When connecting the induction coil 3 and the leaflets 1, wires can be added as needed, so that the two ends of the induction coil 3 are electrically connected to the leaflets 1 through wires respectively.

[0024] Both ends of the leaflet 1 are rotatably connected to the leaf ring 2 via a rotating shaft 11. The leaf ring 2 has a limiting hole that mates with the rotating shaft 11, and the rotating shaft 11 is rotatably installed within the limiting hole. The induction coil 3 is electrically connected to the rotating shaft 11 installed within the limiting hole via a wire. The inner wall of the limiting hole has a limiting groove 21 that mates with the wire. One end of the wire that is electrically connected to the rotating shaft 11 is fixed within the limiting groove 21, and the wire conforms to the wall of the limiting hole. By fixing the wire connected to the induction coil 3 within the limiting hole, and by providing a limiting groove 21 within the wall of the limiting hole to mate with the wire, the connection of the wire can be prevented from affecting the rotation of the rotating shaft 11.

[0025] This application also provides a leaflet motion monitoring system for a mechanical valve. The system includes a resonant circuit composed of the aforementioned induction coil 3 and leaflet 1, and a resonant frequency electrical measurement unit for providing an excitation signal to the resonant circuit and receiving the circuit's response to the excitation signal through transmission and reflection. The coil (primary coil) of the resonant frequency electrical measurement unit provides an excitation signal to the induction coil 3 (secondary coil) on the mechanical valve. When the induction coil 3 is energized, the resonant circuit operates. When the opening degree of leaflet 1 changes, the capacitance changes, and the resonant frequency shifts. Therefore, the movement of leaflet 1 can be inferred by monitoring the resonant frequency shift. The mutual coupling relationship between the primary and secondary coils can be expressed as:

[0026]

[0027] The resonant frequency electrical measurement unit can be an existing vector network analyzer, which includes a radio frequency signal generator, a signal separation device, a receiver, and a processing and display unit. The radio frequency signal generator is used to provide excitation to the device under test (DUT). The signal separation device includes a power divider and a directional coupling device, which respectively extract the input and reflected signals of the DUT. The receiver is used to test, compare, and analyze the reflected, transmitted, and input signals of the DUT. The processing and display unit is used to process and display the test results.

[0028] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all such modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mechanical valve comprising a valve annulus forming a blood flow channel and two leaflets located within the valve annulus, allowing blood flow in the forward direction and preventing backflow, characterized in that, An induction coil is provided on the petal ring, and each end of the induction coil is connected to one of the petal leaves, with the two petal leaves forming a capacitor. The induction coil and the petal leaves are electrically connected to form a resonant circuit. By providing an excitation signal to the induction coil, and then receiving the frequency response of the resonant circuit to the excitation signal through transmission and reflection, the opening state and movement speed of the petal leaves are obtained based on the change in frequency response. The induction coil is wound along the outer wall of the petal ring. The petal leaves are made of copper. The two ends of the induction coil are electrically connected to the petal leaves through wires. The two ends of the petal leaves are rotatably connected to the petal ring through a rotating shaft. The petal ring has a limiting hole that cooperates with the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is rotatably installed in the limiting hole. The induction coil is electrically connected to the rotating shaft installed in the limiting hole through a wire. The inner wall of the limiting hole has a limiting groove that cooperates with the wire, and one end of the wire that is electrically connected to the rotating shaft is fixed in the limiting groove.

2. A leaflet motion monitoring system for a mechanical valve, characterized in that, It includes a resonant circuit consisting of an induction coil and a leaflet as described in claim 1, and a resonant frequency electrical measurement unit for providing an excitation signal to the resonant circuit and receiving the resonant circuit's response to the excitation signal through transmission and reflection.

3. The leaflet motion monitoring system for mechanical valves according to claim 2, characterized in that, The resonant frequency electrical measurement unit is a vector network analyzer.

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