Heart Valve Leaflet Repair With Anchored Transcatheter Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for effective devices and methods to treat valve issues such as leaflet flail, prolapse, and restricted leaflet motion in heart valves, particularly the mitral valve, which can lead to valve regurgitation and cardiovascular compromise.
Innovation Solution
A system for treating heart valves using a delivery tool with a shaft and an implant that expands out of a catheter, featuring a wing and anchor mechanism to secure the implant to the valve tissue, providing dynamic support and resistance to leaflet deflection through a flex element and limiter, allowing for adjustable expansion and deflection limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical repair or replacement of the valve is performed during open heart surgery, then effective treatment for valve regurgitation is achieved, but the invasiveness and surgical risk are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical surgical intervention system with a transcatheter delivery system that uses minimally invasive percutaneous access. The implantable device is delivered through a catheter via the venous system, eliminating the need for open heart surgery while maintaining the mechanical function of valve repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a transcatheter delivery system as an intermediary between the operator and the target valve. The delivery catheter serves as a mediator to transport the collapsible cage and valve prosthesis to the implantation site without requiring direct surgical access to the heart.
2Strength
If a collapsible cage and valve prosthesis are implanted to support leaflets, then structural support is provided, but the implantation complexity and procedural difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a collapsible cage structure that transitions from a compressed delivery state to an expanded functional state. The cage is delivered in a collapsed configuration through the catheter and then expanded at the implantation site, allowing the structure to adapt its form factor for minimally invasive delivery while maintaining structural integrity for valve support.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested configuration where the valve prosthesis is positioned within the collapsible cage, which in turn is contained within the delivery catheter. This nested arrangement allows the complex multi-component implant to be delivered through a relatively small access point while maintaining the structural relationships necessary for proper function.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises an anchor, having an anchor head that defines a forward-torque face and a reverse-torque face. A delivery tool comprises a transluminally advanceable driver, comprising a driveshaft, and a distal drive head. The drive head is shaped to engage the anchor head such that while the driveshaft presses the drive head distally into engagement with the anchor head, forward rotation of the drive head screws the anchor into the tissue. Reverse rotation of the drive head hooks the drive head onto the anchor head. While the drive head remains hooked onto the anchor head, reverse rotation of the drive head, and pulling the anchor head by tensioning of the driveshaft, unscrews the anchor from the tissue. Tensioning the driveshaft while the drive head is not hooked onto the anchor head pulls the drive head away from the anchor head. Other embodiments are also disclosed.