Heart Valve Fixing System Using Pin and Opening Interlock
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for fixing artificial heart valves on cardiac prostheses are inefficient, particularly due to the need for suturing, which can be complex and prone to blood leakage, and are not adaptable to heart valves with non-planar bases, limiting their design flexibility and surgical ease.
Innovation Solution
A fixing system comprising a male ring with pins and a cooperating part with openings, allowing the pins to pass through a flange of the heart valve and enter the openings, providing a secure and adaptable mechanism for various heart valve designs, including those with non-planar bases, thus simplifying the assembly and ensuring blood-tightness without suturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional suturing methods are used to fix heart valves, then the connection can be secured, but the surgical time increases and the operation becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional suturing mechanism with a mechanical locking system consisting of a male ring with protrusions and a female ring with recesses. This mechanical interlocking system eliminates the need for time-consuming suturing operations while maintaining secure connection, directly resolving the contradiction between connection reliability and surgical time.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fixation parameter from suture tension and knot security to mechanical interlocking geometry. The male-female ring system with complementary protrusions and recesses provides immediate mechanical engagement, transforming the fixation process from a time-intensive suturing operation to a rapid mechanical assembly, thereby reducing surgical time while ensuring connection security.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional flat-base heart valves are used, then the fixation can be simplified, but heart valves with non-planar bases cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal fixation system where the male ring with protrusions can accommodate various heart valve base geometries (flat, wave-shaped, or other non-planar configurations). The complementary female ring with corresponding recesses provides a standardized interface that adapts to different valve designs, enabling both fixation simplicity and design versatility simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic adaptability in the fixation system geometry. The male and female rings are designed with flexible geometric parameters that can be adjusted to match different heart valve base shapes. This allows the same fixation mechanism to work with diverse valve designs without compromising fixation simplicity or compatibility.
3Reliability
If compression of the annulus and tissue conduit is applied to ensure blood-tightness, then sealing is improved, but the insertion effort increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the compression-based sealing mechanism with a mechanical interlocking system. The male-female ring engagement provides inherent sealing through precise geometric fit and contact surfaces, eliminating the need for high compression forces on the annulus and tissue conduit. This substitution maintains blood-tightness while dramatically reducing insertion effort.
4Volume of moving object
If the distance between the heart valve highest point and suture point is short, then the assembly is compact, but the surgeon's access for suturing is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing suturing with a mechanical locking system, the invention eliminates the need for surgical access to suture points. The male-female ring engagement can be performed from outside the patient's body, providing excellent surgical access while maintaining compact assembly dimensions. The mechanical operation is externally accessible without requiring internal suture points.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
- A system for fixing a heart valve onto a cardiac prosthesis and a cardiac prosthesis equipped with such a fixing system. - The system (1) has the function of fixing a heart valve (3) onto a cardiac prosthesis (2) intended to be implanted in the pericardial cavity of a patient and to replace the patient's natural left and right ventricles, this system (1) comprising a male ring (10) provided with pins (11) and a cooperating part (12) provided with openings (13), the male ring (10) or the cooperating part (12) being intended to be secured to the cardiac prosthesis (2), the pins (11) and the openings (13) being configured so that said pins (11) pass through a flange (9) of the heart valve (3) and enter the openings (13) in a fixing position, this system (1) being able to be used to fix heart valves (3) of various designs.