Adjustable Lollipop Heart Valve Implant for Regurgitation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Dysfunctional heart valves, particularly those experiencing regurgitation due to dilation, face challenges in maintaining optimal coaptation and preventing blood leakage, as existing implantable devices often fail to account for variances in construction and heart movement, leading to suboptimal performance over time.
Innovation Solution
A selectively adjustable, implantable system comprising a lollipop-shaped device with an expandable occluding member and anchoring mechanism, allowing for real-time adjustment of the occluding member's diameter and position to ensure optimal coaptation of heart valve leaflets, thereby mitigating or preventing regurgitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If existing implantable devices are used to treat regurgitant heart valves, then the valve structure is simplified and implantation is easier, but the devices fail to account for variances in construction and heart movement leading to suboptimal coaptation and performance over time
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates an adjustable occluding member that can be dynamically repositioned and resized after implantation to account for heart movement and construction variances, transforming a static implant into a dynamic system that adapts to physiological changes
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows modification of key parameters including occluding member diameter, position, and orientation post-implantation, enabling optimization of coaptation geometry to maintain reliable valve performance despite anatomical variations
2Productivity
If the occluding member diameter is fixed at implantation, then the device structure is simpler and implantation is faster, but it cannot adapt to variances in heart construction and movement resulting in suboptimal coaptation
Solution Approach 1:
The occluding member is designed with adjustable diameter capability through an expansion mechanism that allows the device to adapt its size post-implantation, converting a fixed-structure limitation into a dynamic adaptation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The device is implanted in a compressed or smaller diameter state for rapid deployment, then expanded or adjusted to the optimal size afterward, allowing fast initial implantation followed by optimization of coaptation geometry
3Reliability
If the device is designed to be fully adjustable after implantation, then optimal coaptation can be achieved despite anatomical variances, but the device complexity increases and adjustment mechanisms become more intricate
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment mechanisms serve multiple functions including diameter modification, positional adjustment, and orientational control, consolidating what could be separate complex systems into integrated multi-functional components
Data Source
AI summary
A system for treating regurgitation of blood through a diseased heart valve having at least two leaflets can include an implantable, lollipop-shaped device and an adjustment mechanism. The device can have a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, and an intermediate portion extending therebetween. The intermediate portion can include an expandable occluding member having a selectively adjustable diameter and a biocompatible layer attached to at least a portion thereof. The distal end portion can include an anchoring member. The adjustment member can include a distal connecting end that is operatively connected to the proximal end portion of the device. Operation of the adjustment member, after implantation of the device, can cause the diameter of the occluding member to change so that at least one of the heart leaflet coapts with a portion of the occluding member to mitigate or prevent regurgitation of blood through the diseased heart valve.