Braided Wire Leaflets for Prosthetic Heart Valves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional prosthetic heart valves face issues with leaflet erosion or tearing over an extended patient lifespan, necessitating additional surgical interventions, particularly in younger patients who require longer-lasting solutions.
Innovation Solution
The development of prosthetic heart valves featuring collapsible and expandable stents with leaflets made from braided metal or wire frames, devoid of biological material, which include pores that close via acute clotting and endothelialization, providing durability and reducing the need for future replacements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If biological tissue leaflets are used in conventional prosthetic heart valves, then the valve can be delivered less invasively via catheter, but the leaflets may erode or tear over extended patient lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite construction by combining biological tissue leaflets with a metal frame structure. The leaflets are suspended within the stent framework, creating a hybrid system that leverages the flexibility and biocompatibility of biological tissue while gaining structural support from the metal frame to prevent erosion and tearing over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal frame is constructed with a porous or mesh-like structure that allows biological tissue leaflets to be integrated within the framework. This porous construction provides both structural support and allows for tissue ingrowth or interaction, enhancing the durability of the leaflets while maintaining the less-invasive delivery capability.
2Ease of operation
If biological material is used in leaflets, then the valve functions properly initially, but the material degrades over time requiring additional surgery
Solution Approach 1:
The metal frame structure serves as a pre-established protective framework that cushions and supports the biological leaflets before degradation can occur. This structural reinforcement is built into the design from the beginning, preventing the leaflets from undergoing the erosive stresses that would normally lead to failure over time.
Solution Approach 2:
By creating a composite structure with metal frame and biological leaflets, the patent combines the immediate functionality of biological material with the long-term durability of metal, extending the service life of the valve beyond what biological material alone could achieve.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional biological leaflets are used, then the valve can be implanted traditionally, but erosion creates need for further intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The metal frame creates a permanent structural copy or scaffold that replicates the supportive function normally provided by healthy tissue. This metal framework permanently replaces the structural role that biological tissue would eventually fail to provide, eliminating the need for future interventions to replace eroded leaflets.
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
The solution enhances the durability of prosthetic heart valves by preventing leaflet erosion and tearing, ensuring long-term functionality without biological material degradation, thus reducing the frequency of surgical interventions.
Implementation Method 1
pores that close via acute clotting and endothelialization
Implementation Method 2
pores that close via acute clotting and endothelialization
Data Source
AI summary
A prosthetic heart valve may include a collapsible and expandable stent, a cuff attached to an annulus section of the stent, and a plurality of leaflets attached to at least one of the cuff or the stent within an interior region of the stent. The stent may have a plurality of cells connected to one another in a plurality of annular rows around the stent. The leaflets together may have a coapted position occluding the interior region of the stent and an open position in which the interior region is not occluded. Each leaflet may include a flat mesh of braided wire material having a plurality of pores extending therethrough. The leaflets may be devoid of biological material at a time of implantation.