Crown-and-Cuff Heart Valve for Controlled Stent Deployment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heart valve designs lack flexibility and compatibility with MRI, and there is a need for improved structural integration with a frame or stent for efficient deployment and positioning.
Innovation Solution
A heart valve design featuring at least two leaflets interconnected to a crown piece, top and bottom cuffs, and a foldable/unfoldable frame with guiding structures and tension threads for controlled deployment, made from MRI-compatible materials, allowing for adjustable diameter and secure attachment to a stent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a heart valve is integrated with a frame or stent for efficient deployment, then deployment efficiency is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heart valve is divided into separate functional components: leaflets, crown piece, top cuff, and bottom cuff. Each component can be independently manufactured and then assembled onto the frame, allowing for optimized deployment while maintaining structural integrity. The frame itself is segmented into multiple bars that can be independently positioned.
Solution Approach 2:
The heart valve components are nested within or attached to the frame structure. The crown piece is positioned at the apex and interconnected with the leaflets, while the top and bottom cuffs are attached to the frame bars, creating a nested configuration that simplifies deployment while maintaining structural complexity only where necessary for functionality.
2Adaptability or versatility
If MRI-compatible materials are used, then MRI compatibility is improved, but material selection and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame and heart valve components are designed to be compatible with multiple materials, particularly those that are MRI-compatible such as shape memory alloys. This universal design approach allows the same structural configuration to be manufactured with different MRI-compatible materials depending on specific clinical requirements, without redesigning the entire device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies that the frame may be made from shape memory material, which allows for parameter changes in terms of material properties. Shape memory materials can be programmed to change their physical properties (such as diameter) in response to temperature changes, enabling MRI-compatible construction while maintaining deployability through controlled material property changes rather than complex manufacturing processes.
3Manufacturing precision
If a foldable frame with tension threads is used for controlled deployment, then positioning control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is designed to be dynamically changeable between compressed and expanded states through the use of tension threads. The tension threads allow for controlled transformation of the frame structure during deployment, enabling precise positioning control while maintaining a relatively simple base structure that does not require complex mechanisms for state transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
Tension threads serve as intermediary elements between the operator and the frame structure. By manipulating the tension threads, the operator can control the deployment and positioning of the frame without directly manipulating the frame itself, simplifying the user interface while maintaining precise positioning control through the intermediary tensioning mechanism.
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
Enables flexible deployment and secure attachment to a stent, while maintaining MRI compatibility, reducing the risk of damage to adjacent structures and providing efficient fluid flow, with improved structural integrity and positioning control.
Implementation Method 1
The frame may be made from shape memory material, which allows for parameter changes in terms of material properties.
Data Source
AI summary
Heart valve comprising a crown piece interconnected to leaflets, a top cuff and a bottom cuff; and a medical implant. The present invention relates to a heart valve (100), comprising at least two leaflets (101, 101′, 101″); at least one crown piece (111) interconnected to the leaflets (101, 101′, 101″) and intended to be interconnected to a frame (1) of a medical implant or a heart valve assembly; a top cuff (121); and a bottom cuff (131), the crown piece (111), the top cuff (121) and the bottom cuff (131) each being ring-shaped, and each of the top cuff (121) and the bottom cuff (131) being interconnected with the crown piece (111).