Expandable Prosthetic Heart Valve Structure for Secure Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing prosthetic heart valves are large in size, difficult to deliver without causing damage to healthy tissue, and challenging to securely implant at the native valve site, often protruding into surrounding heart chambers and impairing cardiac function.
Innovation Solution
Prosthetic heart valves with expandable designs featuring struts and tissue anchoring legs of varying cross-sectional areas, allowing for reduced axial length and improved maneuverability, along with delivery systems that facilitate secure implantation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing prosthetic heart valves are made large in size to ensure adequate valve function and coverage, then valve effectiveness is improved, but deliverability through the vasculature deteriorates and causes damage to healthy tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthetic valve is designed with a nested structure where the valve body is collapsed within a delivery catheter during delivery. The valve can be compressed to a small profile for passage through the vasculature and then expanded at the implantation site to achieve adequate valve function and coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve incorporates expandable and collapsible elements that allow dynamic size change. The valve transitions from a compressed state during delivery to an expanded state at the implantation site, enabling it to adapt to different size requirements for delivery versus functional performance.
2Reliability
If existing prosthetic heart valves are made large in size to ensure adequate valve function, then valve coverage is improved, but maneuverability to the implantation site deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is nested within a delivery catheter system that guides it to the implantation site. During delivery, the valve remains compressed within the catheter, allowing it to be maneuvered through the vasculature to the target location without causing tissue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve is pre-compressed to a small profile before delivery to facilitate easy maneuverability through the vasculature. The expansion to full size occurs only after the valve is positioned at the implantation site, ensuring adequate coverage without compromising deliverability.
3Reliability
If existing prosthetic heart valves are made large in size to ensure adequate valve function, then valve coverage is improved, but protrusion into surrounding heart chambers increases causing impairment of cardiac function
Solution Approach 1:
The valve design provides adequate coverage at the implantation site while controlling the protrusion into surrounding heart chambers. The valve structure is optimized to achieve sufficient functional coverage without excessive extension into adjacent chambers that would impair cardiac function.
Data Source
AI summary
An expandable prosthetic valve for implantation within a heart valve includes an expandable valve body having upstream and downstream ends and an intermediate portion. The valve body includes an outer frame including a plurality of outer frame struts intersecting at junctions of the outer frame struts, and an inner frame situated at least partially within the outer frame and comprising a plurality of inner frame struts intersecting at junctions of the inner frame struts. The prosthetic valve includes a plurality of tissue anchoring legs. Each leg extends from a junction of the outer frame struts that is within the intermediate portion of the valve body. A connector pin is at an intersection of one of the tissue anchoring legs and two outer frame struts that are adjacent to the tissue anchoring leg, and connects the inner and outer frames. Other embodiments are also described.