Mitral Annuloplasty Ring With Spring Contraction for Leaflet Coaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mitral valve repair procedures are invasive, painful, and have high morbidity, with imperfect results due to the mitral annulus's irregular shape and limited radial support, making it difficult to deploy devices effectively, and the chordae tendineae pose navigation challenges.
Innovation Solution
Minimally-invasive cardiac valve repair devices with annuloplasty features, including an anchoring member in the atrium and a spring mechanism that reduces the annular circumference, anchored by fixation members to the atrial wall, which over time shrinks the annulus to enhance leaflet coaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional surgical approaches (open and intravascular) are used for mitral valve repair or replacement, then the valve can be repaired or replaced, but the procedures are invasive, painful, and have significant morbidity with long recovery periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a delivery catheter as an intermediary device to transport the annuloplasty ring to the target site through the vasculature, enabling minimally invasive delivery. The catheter navigates through blood vessels to reach the heart, avoiding the need for open thoracotomy while still achieving effective valve repair through the implanted ring structure.
2Shape
If the mitral annulus is dilated, then the annulus size increases, but the leaflets cannot coapt properly during systole resulting in regurgitation
Solution Approach 1:
The annuloplasty ring is pre-formed with a specific geometry that corresponds to the desired healthy annulus shape. By implanting this pre-shaped ring, the dilated annulus is remodelled into the correct geometry, which then enables proper leaflet coaptation during systole without requiring additional corrective actions.
3Length of stationary object
If annuloplasty rings are implanted to reduce annulus size, then the annulus circumference decreases, but the irregular shape and limited radial support of the mitral annulus make effective deployment difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The annuloplasty ring is designed with dynamic properties that allow it to be compressed to a small profile for delivery through the catheter, then expand to its functional shape upon deployment. This dynamic transformation enables easy delivery through minimally invasive access while achieving the intended annulus size reduction and structural support.
4Reliability
If invasive procedures are used for mitral valve repair, then the valve can be addressed, but the procedures require large open thoracotomies causing pain and significant morbidity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex open surgical procedure and replaces it with a minimally invasive catheter-based approach. The annuloplasty ring delivery system is extracted from the operating room setting and delivered through peripheral vasculature, eliminating the need for large thoracotomies while maintaining effective valve repair capability.
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
The devices provide a simple, effective, and less invasive method to reduce mitral regurgitation by reshaping the annulus, improving coaptation without the complications of traditional surgeries, and reducing the risk of thromboembolic stroke.
Implementation Method 1
spring features that draw the native annulus inward to allow the valve leaflets (or portions thereof) to once again coapt during systole
Data Source
AI summary
Cardiac valve repair devices with annuloplasty features and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. A cardiac valve repair device configured in accordance with embodiments of the present technology can include, for example, an atrial fixation member configured to engage tissue within a left atrium proximate to a native mitral valve and a spring mechanism coupled to an inferior edge portion of the atrial fixation member. The spring mechanism has an extended state with a first length corresponding to a dimension of the atrial fixation member in a deployed state and a relaxed state with a shorter length corresponding to a desired dimension of the native valve annulus. When implanted, the spring mechanism contracts the atrial fixation member such that the native mitral annulus anchored to the atrial fixation member reduces in a cross-sectional dimension.