Heart Valve Crimping Blade Mechanism for Sterile OR Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prosthetic heart valve devices have a large cross-sectional dimension in the expanded state, making it challenging to package and store them compactly until implantation, and existing crimping devices are not highly portable or readily available as a sterile system.
Innovation Solution
A compact crimping device system that includes a crimping device with movable blades and a medical device holder, designed to reduce the cross-sectional dimension of prosthetic heart valve devices, allowing them to be loaded into a delivery system for percutaneous delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If prosthetic heart valve devices are stored in expanded state, then they maintain functional readiness for implantation, but they occupy large storage space and are difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping device is designed with a nested structure where the crimping mechanism, blades, and holder are compactly arranged within a limited space envelope. The movable blades fold or retract into the housing when not in use, allowing the entire device to be stored in a compact form factor suitable for operating room environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The crimping device employs movable blades that can transition between extended (crimping) and retracted (storage) positions. This dynamic configuration allows the device to achieve its full functional capacity during operation while maintaining a compact profile for storage and transport, effectively resolving the contradiction between operational functionality and storage compactness.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional crimping devices are used, then prosthetic heart valves can be crimped, but the devices are not highly portable or readily available as a sterile system
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping device is designed as a disposable, single-use sterile system. The entire device including blades, holder, and housing is pre-packaged in sterile condition and intended for one-time use followed by disposal. This eliminates the need for complex sterilization protocols and equipment maintenance, making the system readily available in sterile form while keeping the device compact and portable for operating room use.
3Reliability
If prosthetic heart valve devices are crimped immediately before implantation, then sterility is maintained, but the cross-sectional dimension must be reduced significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping action is achieved through segmented movable blades that apply radial compression forces in discrete zones along the prosthetic heart valve. This segmentation allows progressive crimping where the valve is compressed in controlled stages, enabling significant reduction in cross-sectional dimension while maintaining structural integrity and sterility through the closed-system design.
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 system effectively reduces the size of prosthetic heart valve devices, enabling them to be packaged and stored compactly, and provides a portable and sterile crimping solution that can be used in the operating room just before implantation.
Implementation Method 1
A compact crimping device system that includes a crimping device with movable blades and a medical device holder, designed to reduce the cross-sectional dimension of prosthetic heart valve devices
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and devices for crimping a medical device and associated methods are disclosed herein. A crimping device configured in accordance with embodiments of the present technology can include, for example, a frame including a stationary plate, a movable member, and a plurality of blades arranged to form a channel and each including a pin that projects through a slot on the movable member and a corresponding slot on the stationary plate. The crimping device can be actuated to move the movable member relative to the stationary plate to drive the pins along paths defined by the slots to thereby drive the blades radially inward to crimp a medical device positioned within the channel.