Integrated Heart Valve Assembly With Anchoring Rings for Stent Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current heart valve technologies face issues such as material aging, difficulty in connecting valve leaflet material to a stent, and invasive implantation methods, leading to complications and high requirements for skilled personnel.
Innovation Solution
A heart valve assembly with a tubular skirt body, integrated anchoring rings, and leaflet bodies made of biocompatible polymers, seamlessly woven using a shuttle narrow-width electronic jacquard loom, allowing for simplified assembly and integration with a stent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual suturing is used to connect valve leaflet material to stent, then connection can be achieved, but the process requires highly trained personnel and has high uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the valve leaflet material and stent into a single integrated structure where the leaflet material is directly formed on the stent framework. This eliminates the need for separate manual suturing operations, reduces assembly complexity, and improves connection reliability by removing human variability from the joining process.
2Reliability
If mechanical valve is used, then operation reliability is high, but it cannot be sufficiently compressed into catheter for minimally invasive implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic structure where the mechanical valve components are designed to be compressible during catheter delivery and then expand to their functional shape upon implantation. The stent framework and leaflet material are configured to transition from a compressed low-volume state for catheter passage to an expanded high-volume state for optimal mechanical function, thus achieving both minimal delivery profile and reliable operation.
3Ease of operation
If biovalve is used, then transcatheter transportation is supported, but the biological tissues easily age and degenerate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes composite materials combining biocompatible polymers with reinforcing elements to create a valve structure that resists aging and degeneration. The synthetic materials are engineered to mimic the mechanical properties of biological tissues while providing superior durability and fatigue resistance, thereby extending valve service life while maintaining transcatheter deliverability.
4Strength
If synthetic polymer valve is used, then material fatigue is solved, but rupture risk occurs at bent region due to cyclic stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality enhancement by providing additional reinforcement specifically at the bent regions where cyclic stress concentrates. The stent framework includes strengthened segments or additional support structures at these critical locations, while other areas maintain the base synthetic polymer construction. This localized reinforcement prevents rupture at high-stress zones without compromising the overall flexibility and fatigue resistance of the valve.
Data Source
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AI summary
A heart valve assembly, an artificial valve device, and a preparation method for a heart valve assembly. The heart valve assembly comprises: a skirt portion (1) having a tubular structure, at least two leaflets (2) provided on an inner wall of the skirt portion (1), a plurality of integrated anchoring rings (3) provided on the exterior of the skirt portion (1); one end of the integrated anchoring ring (3) is fixedly provided to the exterior of the skirt portion (1), and one end thereof is a free end; and the skirt portion (1), the leaflets (2) and the integrated anchoring rings (3) form an integrated valve structure. The heart valve component simplifies an assembly process by significantly reducing the need for precise sutures for connecting the valve component(s) to a stent (13), which can reduce the uncertainty of current suture technology.