Expandable Stent Valve for Pediatric Growth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stent valve devices are unable to be deployed in children or adults with smaller passageways, as they are designed for fully grown adults with larger passageways, limiting transcatheter valve replacement options for younger patients or those with smaller anatomical structures.
Innovation Solution
Development of an expandable stent valve device that can be surgically implanted and subsequently expanded using transcatheter methods, featuring a valve frame with a sewing member and membrane that allows for attachment to heart tissue, accommodating growth and maintaining valve functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If current stent valve devices are designed for fully grown adults with larger passageways, then the valve size and structural integrity are sufficient for adult anatomy, but the devices cannot be deployed in children or adults with smaller passageways
Solution Approach 1:
The stent valve device incorporates an expandable framework that can transition from a compressed delivery state to an expanded deployed state. The stent includes struts connected by joints that allow radial expansion, enabling the device to fit through small catheters and then expand to appropriate valve sizes for different patient anatomies, from children to adults.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent valve is designed to be nested within a delivery catheter during implantation. The compressed stent framework fits inside the catheter lumen, allowing percutaneous delivery through small vascular access points. Once positioned at the target valve location, the stent is deployed by expanding it radially outward from the catheter, achieving final valve size without requiring large incisions or open surgery.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the stent valve is made expandable to accommodate growth, then the device can adapt to patient growth and development, but the structural stability and attachment security may be compromised during expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The stent incorporates expandable struts with joints that allow controlled radial expansion. The framework transitions from a low-profile compressed state for implantation to an expanded state that provides adequate valve diameter and structural support. The expandable design allows the valve to grow with the patient while maintaining structural integrity through the mechanical properties of the stent material and joint design.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent framework is divided into multiple segmented struts connected by joints, allowing independent movement and expansion of each segment. This segmentation enables the stent to expand uniformly while maintaining structural stability, as each strut can adjust its position to accommodate expansion forces without compromising the overall framework integrity or attachment security.
3Strength
If the sewing member is positioned between opposite ends of the valve frame, then the attachment to heart tissue is strengthened, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sewing member is integrated directly into the stent framework structure, merging the attachment function with the structural support function. The sewing member is positioned between opposite ends of the valve frame and is structurally connected to the stent struts, allowing it to serve both as an attachment point for heart tissue and as part of the load-bearing framework during expansion and operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An expandable valve (100) and valve frame device that may be implanted within the body, for example, at a position of the heart. The device may be surgically implanted and subsequently expanded at a later time. The device may include an expandable sewing member (160) surrounding the valve frame (130) at a region between upstream and downstream ends of the device, for attaching the device to surrounding tissue. The device may include a membrane (140) for blocking leakage out the side of the valve frame between opposite ends. However, the membrane may include a side opening (170) for guiding fluid flow toward an appropriate anatomical outflow tract. The device may include a hood-like covering attached to a tissue wall, for smoothly receiving and guiding fluid flow along a perpendicular bend. The device may further include a flared opening at a downstream end, providing adequate space for device attachment.