Transcatheter Heart Valve Delivery System Venous Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional transcatheter heart valve delivery systems face challenges in delivering prosthetic valves through the venous system due to the need for navigating tight turns without damaging surrounding tissue, and the risk of emboli from plaque dislodgement in patients with small arterial diameters, particularly in the elderly population.
Innovation Solution
A transcatheter delivery system that includes a radially expandable valve anchor, a support frame, and an engagement mechanism allowing for precise control and expansion of the valve prosthesis, enabling delivery through the venous system with a compact configuration that minimizes tissue damage and reduces the risk of emboli.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a delivery system is delivered through the arterial system via transfemoral pathway, then minimally invasive benefits are achieved, but the risk of emboli from plaque dislodgement increases and the system cannot accommodate patients with small arterial diameters
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system is divided into separate functional components: a catheter for navigation, a compression device for collapsing the valve, and a deployment mechanism. This segmentation allows the system to be delivered through small arterial diameters while maintaining the capability to deliver large valves to the destination
Solution Approach 2:
The valve prosthesis is nested within a compression device that collapses it to a small profile for delivery through the arterial system. The compressed valve is then nested within the catheter lumen during delivery. This nesting approach enables the system to pass through small arterial diameters while delivering a functional-sized valve
2Length of moving object
If the valve prosthesis is compressed to a small diameter for delivery, then the system can navigate through small arterial diameters, but the complexity of controlling expansion and placement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement mechanism uses dynamic elements including a movable pusher rod that can be advanced to deploy the valve, and a compression device that can be expanded or contracted under control. This dynamic design allows controlled expansion from a compressed delivery state to a deployed functional state through simple axial movements
Solution Approach 2:
The pusher rod acts as an intermediary element between the operator and the valve deployment mechanism. By advancing or retracting this single intermediate component, the operator can control the expansion and deployment of the compressed valve without directly manipulating complex mechanisms
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the valve prosthesis is delivered in a compressed configuration, then tissue damage during navigation is reduced, but the ability to maneuver tight turns without system damage becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter and delivery system components utilize flexible materials and designs that can bend and conform to the tortuous anatomy of the arterial system. The compressed valve prosthesis within the catheter can flex and follow the vessel path, enabling navigation through tight turns while maintaining a low-profile configuration that minimizes tissue damage
Data Source
AI summary
A valve prosthesis and a system for delivering a valve prosthesis are described herein. The valve prosthesis can include a valve anchor having a longitudinal axis and proximal and distal end portions. The valve anchor can include a plurality of U-shaped members and a plurality of anchoring legs, each of the plurality of anchoring legs comprising a connection aperture at a distal end portion thereof and a longitudinal slot extending along a length of the anchoring leg, wherein the plurality of anchoring legs and the plurality of U-shaped members can radially expand in stages to permit a native valve structure to be interposed therebetween for anchoring the valve prosthesis relative to the native valve structure.