Expandable Anchor Locking Mechanism for Percutaneous Heart Valve Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for replacing heart valves are often invasive and require significant recovery time, and there is a need for less invasive methods to deliver and deploy replacement heart valves efficiently within the cardiovascular system.
Innovation Solution
A medical device system featuring an expandable anchor member with a locking mechanism that can be actuated between a delivery configuration and a deployed configuration using an actuator element with external threads and a ramp, allowing for percutaneous deployment and secure locking of the replacement heart valve within the heart.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional surgical methods are used for heart valve replacement, then reliable valve replacement is achieved, but patient trauma and recovery time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The heart valve replacement system is divided into separate functional components: an expandable anchor member for secure positioning, a replacement valve component for the actual valve function, and a separate actuator element for deployment control. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and delivered through a catheter-based approach, reducing patient trauma while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The replacement valve component and actuator element are nested within a delivery catheter system for percutaneous delivery. The anchor member can be nested within the valve component or delivery system, allowing all components to be delivered through a single access point in the patient's body, minimizing invasive procedures and recovery time
2Reliability
If an expandable anchor member with locking mechanism is used, then secure anchoring of the replacement valve is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed to engage automatically when the anchor member is expanded to its deployed configuration. The geometric relationship between the anchor member segments and locking portions creates self-locking action through the expansion process itself, eliminating the need for separate locking operations or complex control systems while ensuring reliable anchoring
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism uses spring arms that deflect circumferentially to engage with the anchor member segments. The spring arms are biased to naturally engage the locking portions when the anchor is expanded, creating a self-equilibrating system where the expanded state automatically produces the locked state without requiring additional energy input or complex control
3Ease of operation
If a ramp mechanism is used to deflect spring arms, then controlled deployment is achieved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ramp mechanism converts rotational motion of the actuator element into circumferential deflection of the spring arms through a controlled parameter change in the geometric relationship between the ramp surface and spring arm contact points. This allows controlled deployment through simple rotation while the ramp geometry can be manufactured with standard tolerances
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device system may include a replacement heart valve implant including an expandable anchor member reversibly actuatable between a delivery configuration and a deployed configuration, wherein the replacement heart valve implant includes at least one locking mechanism configured to lock the expandable anchor member in the deployed configuration, and at least one actuator element configured to releasably engage the at least one locking mechanism and actuate the expandable anchor member between the delivery configuration and the deployed configuration. The at least one actuator element may include external threads on a distal portion of each actuator element and a ramp disposed proximal of the external threads.