Cardiac Valve Support System Anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cardiac valve replacement methods, especially those involving minimally invasive techniques, can cause trauma to native valves, leading to long-term heart deterioration and potential obstruction of the Left Ventricle Outflow Track (LVOT), and existing assistive devices face challenges in effectively blocking retrograde blood flow without interfering with natural leaflet movement.
Innovation Solution
A cardiac valve support system comprising a frame with anchoring extensions that extend through the natural valve commissures and behind the leaflets, preventing backflow while allowing natural leaflet movement, and a flexible sheet that absorbs back pressure, reducing the need for strong anchors and minimizing interference with the native valve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive valve replacement techniques are used, then patient trauma is reduced and recovery is faster, but the native valve structure is damaged and LVOT obstruction may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the valve replacement function into two separate components: an implantable frame structure that provides anchoring and support, and a valve prosthesis that performs the valve function. This segmentation allows the frame to be anchored in the annulus without requiring damage to the native valve leaflets or commissures, thereby reducing patient trauma while preventing LVOT obstruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The implantable frame acts as an intermediary structure between the annulus and the valve prosthesis. It provides a stable anchoring mechanism through the annulus tissue without requiring damage to the native valve structures, thus mediating the connection while preserving the native valve integrity and preventing LVOT obstruction.
2Reliability
If existing assistive devices are used to block retrograde blood flow, then backflow is reduced, but natural leaflet movement is interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is designed with localized anchoring features that engage specifically with the annulus tissue at predetermined locations, while leaving the native leaflet attachment regions undisturbed. This local quality ensures effective backflow blocking through the frame structure while maintaining natural leaflet movement at the commissural regions.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of anchoring the assistive device to the native leaflets or chordae tendineae (the conventional approach), the invention inverts the anchoring strategy by securing the frame to the annulus tissue itself. This inversion allows the device to block backflow effectively while leaving the native leaflet movement mechanisms completely intact.
3Strength
If strong anchors are used to secure the valve prosthesis, then anchoring strength is improved, but interference with native valve structures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the anchoring function from the native valve structures (leaflets and chordae) and relocates it to the annulus tissue. The frame includes anchoring features that engage with the annulus at locations that do not interfere with the native valve structures, thereby providing strong anchoring while eliminating interference with leaflet movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring mechanism operates in a different spatial dimension by engaging with the annulus tissue in the radial direction, while the native leaflet movement occurs in the axial direction. This dimensional separation allows strong anchoring forces to be applied without interfering with the natural leaflet movement plane, resolving the contradiction between anchoring strength and native structure preservation.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A device for placing in a cardiac valve to assist operation of natural cardiac valve leaflets, the device including a frame for anchoring the device, configured to be placed upstream of the cardiac annulus and shaped to prevent the frame from shifting downstream of the cardiac valve annulus, and at least one anchor extension attached to the frame, the anchor extension configured to extend through the leaflets of the cardiac valve at commissures of the cardiac valve and behind the natural leaflets, preventing the anchor extensions from shifting back from the downstream side of the annulus to the upstream side of the annulus. Related apparatus and methods are also described.