Axially Movable Nosecone Assembly for Percutaneous Valve Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices for delivering replacement heart valves are often invasive and require significant recovery times, posing challenges in treating defective heart valves effectively.
Innovation Solution
A percutaneous valve delivery system comprising an outer sheath, an inner catheter with lumens, a tubular extension, a nose cone, and a handle that allows for the percutaneous delivery and deployment of a replacement heart valve, minimizing invasiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional surgical methods are used to deliver replacement heart valves, then the valve can be effectively replaced, but the procedure is invasive and requires significant recovery time
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system employs nested components where the inner catheter is disposed within the outer sheath, the tubular extension extends from the inner catheter, and the nose cone is attached to the tubular extension. This nested configuration allows the entire assembly to be delivered through a percutaneous approach while maintaining structural integrity and enabling effective valve replacement with minimal patient trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery system is divided into multiple separable components including the outer sheath, inner catheter, tubular extension, and nose cone. This segmentation allows for flexible assembly and disassembly, enabling the system to be delivered through small percutaneous openings while maintaining the capability for effective valve replacement, thereby reducing patient trauma and recovery time compared to traditional open-heart surgery.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a percutaneous delivery system is used, then patient trauma is reduced, but the device complexity increases due to multiple movable components
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system incorporates dynamic components including the tubular extension that is axially movable relative to the inner catheter, and the nose cone that is movable relative to the tubular extension. These movable components enable the system to navigate through the body via percutaneous access while maintaining the capability to deploy the valve effectively, thus reducing patient trauma despite the increased device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A percutaneous valve delivery system may include an outer sheath and an inner catheter disposed within the outer sheath. The inner catheter may include a plurality of lumens formed therein. A tubular extension may extend distally from a distal end of the inner catheter, wherein the tubular extension is axially movable relative to the inner catheter. A nose cone may be attached to the tubular extension. A handle may be attached to the outer sheath, wherein the handle is configured to shift the outer sheath between a first position and a second position relative to the inner catheter. A valve replacement implant may be releasably coupled to the inner catheter.