Artificial Blood Vessel With Inserting Port Check Valve

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional surgeries for aortic diseases, such as aortic aneurysm and dissection, are invasive and burdensome, requiring extracorporeal circulation and large incisions, making them risky for patients.

Innovation Solution

An artificial blood vessel with a proximal-end and at least one distal-end, featuring an inserting port with a check valve that allows easy insertion of intravascular devices while preventing fluid leakage, enabling bypass of the aortic arch without extracorporeal circulation and facilitating stent graft placement.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional surgery involving replacement of the aortic arch with an artificial blood vessel is performed, then the aortic disease can be cured, but the surgery is greatly invasive and imposes a large burden on the patient due to extended incision and requirement for heart-lung machine

Engineering Contradiction:
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The artificial blood vessel is divided into multiple segments: a main body portion and a separate inserting port portion. This segmentation allows the inserting port to be positioned optimally for device insertion while keeping the main vessel in place, enabling minimally invasive access without requiring extensive surgical exposure of the entire aortic arch.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The inserting port acts as an intermediary structure that facilitates the introduction of intravascular curing devices (such as stent grafts) into the aorta. By providing a dedicated access point with a check valve, it enables device delivery without requiring open surgical exposure or extracorporeal circulation, thus reducing invasiveness while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If intravascular curing devices are inserted from the groin of the thigh, then the procedure is less invasive, but the insertion of stent graft into the aortic arch is difficult and not smooth

Engineering Contradiction:
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The inserting port is designed with specific local characteristics: it includes a check valve that allows unidirectional flow for device insertion while preventing blood leakage, and it is positioned at an optimal location on the artificial blood vessel. This localized structural optimization enables smooth device delivery directly into the aortic arch without the tortuous path required when accessing from the groin, thereby improving operational ease while maintaining minimally invasive benefits.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If an inserting port is added to the artificial blood vessel to facilitate device insertion, then device delivery is improved, but the structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The inserting port portion is designed to be integrally connectable to the main body portion of the artificial blood vessel. The check valve is incorporated within the inserting port structure itself rather than being a separate component. This merging approach consolidates multiple functions (access provision, valve mechanism, and connection interface) into a unified structure, minimizing the increase in overall complexity while achieving the desired ease of device insertion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This design reduces patient burden by allowing minimally invasive procedures with reduced invasiveness and risk, enabling smooth insertion of stent grafts and intravascular devices without the need for heart-lung machines, enhancing compatibility with the body's anatomy.

Implementation Method 1

the inserting port being provided with a check valve that permits an intravascular curing device to pass through up to the proximal-end and also prevents body fluid from flowing out from the artificial blood vessel

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCheck valve mechanism: Valve

Data Source

PatentEP2543342B1Artificial blood vessel
Publication Date: 2019.11.13
  • EP2543342B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2543342B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2543342B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An artificial blood vessel which includes one proximal-end (14) and at least one distal-end (16a) communicating with the proximal-end (14) and an inserting port (22) positioned between the proximal-end (14) and the distal-end (16a), the inserting port (22) being provided with a check valve (28) that permits an intravascular curing device (36) to pass through up to the proximal-end (14) and also prevents body fluid from flowing out from the artificial blood vessel. The proximal-end (14) is connected to the ascending aorta (12c) and the distal-end (16a, 16b, and 16c) are connected respectively to the right branchiocephalic arterial trunk (24a), the left common carotid artery (24b), and the left subclavian artery (24c).