Prosthetic Heart Valve Anchors That Avoid Annulus Tissue Puncture
Solution Overview
Problem
Challenges exist in developing prosthetic heart valves that can be delivered minimally invasively and securely anchored to the native heart valve annulus without puncturing the surrounding tissue, particularly in the fibrous annular region and left ventricular muscle.
Innovation Solution
The design of anchoring elements, including specific foot geometries and contact surface areas, ensures that the prosthetic valve anchors to the fibrous annular region with pressures below the tissue's puncture resistance, utilizing adjustable foot angles and diamond-like structures to distribute load effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the prosthetic valve is anchored to the native heart valve annulus, then stable anchoring is achieved, but risk of puncturing the surrounding tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing the foot geometry to specifically target and load the fibrous annular region (which has higher puncture resistance) rather than distributing load uniformly. The foot is configured with specific orientation and contact area to engage primarily the annular tissue, creating localized quality in load distribution that avoids puncturing more vulnerable surrounding tissues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by carefully controlling the foot contact surface area and orientation angle to optimize the pressure distribution. By adjusting these geometric parameters, the pressure exerted by the foot is maintained below the puncture resistance threshold of the heart tissue while still achieving stable anchoring to the annulus.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the foot contact surface area is increased, then pressure on tissue is reduced, but anchoring stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction through precise parameter optimization of the foot geometry. The contact surface area is specifically designed to be large enough to distribute pressure below tissue puncture thresholds, while the foot orientation and engagement geometry are simultaneously optimized to maintain adequate anchoring stability. This balanced parameter selection achieves both reduced tissue pressure and reliable anchoring.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A valve prosthesis to be deployed within a native heart valve at a native heart valve annulus. The valve prosthesis including an expandable frame and a plurality of spaced anchors. The expandable frame includes a proximal end and a distal end and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough. The expandable frame collapses radially for delivery and expands radially upon deployment to an expanded configuration. The plurality of spaced anchors extend from the distal end of the frame towards the proximal end, each anchor formed with a free end, and each anchor being expandable from a collapsed anchor configuration to an expanded anchor configuration, wherein each of the anchors includes a foot angle of from 0 to 45 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis.